The work of arts
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Minnesotans love their arts.
An innovative way to directly A safer ride to school
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It’s that time in the legislative session when proposals for the state bonding bill pour in. The Minnesota legislature is considering borrowing $775 million for state infrastructure work, maintenance, and research for future projects. It’s also an opportunity to redesign infrastructure at a neighborhood level.The Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota, policy makers, and city planners gathered at the capitol to announce proposals for a $3 million Safe Routes to School program that would make it safer to get to class in Minnesota school districts on two wheels. Continue Reading
‘No Child Left Inside’ would augment environmental education
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Some Minnesota K-12 schools emphasize environmental education on their own, yet shrinking state aid has made field trips and ELC visits cost-prohibitive for some districts.A federal bill, branded “No Child Left Inside”, would augment the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to help Minnesota school districts incorporate environmental education across the curriculum to promote literacy of the natural world, and combat nature deficit disorder head on. Continue Reading
Grad students vie for union
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University of Minnesota Twin Cities graduate students are following the trend of schools around the country to form a union under the United Auto Workers.Graduate assistants perform crucial research, serve as a resource for undergrads, and even teach courses; yet they’re often left out of contract negotiations effecting 5,000 assistants. Recent attention of union rights has fueled a resurgance and now they’re closer than ever to an election to establish collective bargaining on campus. Continue Reading
Benign by design: Exploring sustainability in chemistry labs
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Many manufacturing and pharmaceutical companies have embraced sustainability as smart business. Reducing hazardous waste and maximizing health is good for a company’s public image and good for the bottom line in the long-run.
Inside the maker movement
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Just as open-source software has changed the course of technology development, the maker-movement is central to sharing ideas in the same way beyond just computers.
TC Maker is a “hacker-space” in Minneapolis which hosts a monthly night of sharing, learning, and making. At a recent visit we saw everything from a handmade trebuchet, to a programmed LED light system, to a computer controlled router for wood working.
To “hack” is to deconstruct, figure out, and 
The year 2011 in video
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From light rail construction’s start to the rising Red River to the state shutdown and “Occupy,” Minnesota 2020 brought you the sounds and visuals from this year’s public policy debates. It was our first full year using video, and we hope it provided greater context to your understanding of critical public policy issues. (Video below)We dug into this year’s archive, pulling out 2011’s video highlights. Continue Reading