Minnesota’s continuous living groundcover

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Of Minnesota’s 55.6 million acres, 27 million acres are taken up by farmland. Currently, crop production is dominated by summer annuals like corn and soybeans, which need to be replanted each year and grow only in the summer. The consequence of this type of cropping is that for most of the year, no active roots exist in the soil to filter water, reduce runoff, or prevent erosion. Covering the ground with crops for a larger portion of the year by adding winter annuals and perennials to the landscape provides multiple benefits, including diversifying agricultural operations, protecting soils and waterways, and increasing wildlife habitat. Continue Reading

COMMUNITY VOICES | Condoleezza Rice and the Humphrey School: It’s not about free speech

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Dear Humphrey School Faculty, Fellows Staff and PASA members,April 17 will be a sad day for the University of Minnesota and in particular for the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. That is when Dr. Condoleezza Rice, at the Humphrey School’s invitation, will deliver a Distinguished Carlson Lecture as part of the month-long series of events commemorating the reopening of Northrop Auditorium.The university is a place where ideas get tested, where multiple viewpoints are welcomed. In such a setting, opposition to a speaker seems to violate the very essence of the institution.But I oppose this invitation and in fact believe the University of Minnesota would be doing a valuable service to humanity by withdrawing it, no matter how awkward that might be at this late date.This isn’t about free speech, a diversity of viewpoints, excluding voices, or discouraging dialogue. Rather, it’s about the University becoming associated with abhorrent conduct done in our names.This isn’t about suppressing free speech. Dr. Rice will continue to have no shortage of available forums in which to express her views. Continue Reading

The Bell Museum unveils plans for new facility

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Museum of Natural History officials earlier this month unveiled plans to build a new $57.5 million state-of-the-art facility in Falcon Heights to replace its “outdated and inflexible facility” on the East Bank.

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University of Minnesota may disclose its green investments, proposed policy change will likely pass in May

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After hearing appeals from students for the University of Minnesota to halt its investments in fossil fuel companies, the Board of Regents is weighing a policy change. The new policy would require the institution to file reports detailing investments in sustainable and renewable energy companies.The regents discussed sustainability efforts at a committee meeting Thursday, where a spokesman for the board said the change will likely pass in May.The University invests its endowment in various companies and organizations but doesn’t track how many of those investments are environmentally friendly, said Stuart Mason, associate vice president of the Office of Investments and Banking.But if the regents pass the resolution, the University would have to disclose which of those companies are renewable energy firms, Mason said.Mason, who presented the plan Thursday, said the policy change is likely to pass.“As I looked around the room and the response from the regents, they were asking good questions,” he said. “By the time the questions were answered, they were all in favor of this change.”Some student groups have pushed University administration to move investments away from fossil fuel companies — but Mason said this isn’t currently feasible because such divestment would cost the University a lot of money.John Reichl, a student representative to the Board of Regents, said he met with members of Fossil Free Minnesota, the main University student group pushing for divestment, before helping present the policy to the regents.Reichl said the proposed policy will enhance clarity and transparency with University investments. The University’s investors should be more socially responsible with the school’s endowment by investing in more sustainability focused companies, Reichl said.If the resolution passes, Mason said it will mark a step in the right direction for the University.“It’s a very good way to highlight what we are doing [with investments] and make further steps to evaluate if we think it’s sufficient or appropriate,” he said. Continue Reading

Minneapolis Police Department to test body cameras, while University police hold off

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Minneapolis police officers will soon sport small cameras to record their patrols, but University of Minnesota police officers will not be joining them.The City Council voted in December to set aside $400,000 to equip Minneapolis police with body cameras to help improve accountability, but University police Deputy Chief Chuck Miner said he doesn’t see a need for the devices on University officers — at least not right now.He said he expects body cameras to be common policing equipment in 10 years as law enforcement continues to use more video recording technology, but functionality and financial reasons are keeping the cameras out of UMPD.“Now is not the time,” he said.University police have had video cameras in their squad cars for about a decade, and UMPD was one of the first departments to do so. Miner said these cameras provide enough surveillance, but the department isn’t completely against the idea of getting body cameras in the future.Miner said the department started looking into buying body cameras for officers about a year ago but found they aren’t as functional as squad car cameras and are a big spending decision.He also said some officers might be concerned about the privacy implications of having cameras on their bodies at all times.“I think all of us would have a concern about that,” he said.If UMPD installed the body cameras, then the University, not the city of Minneapolis, would cover the cost. The body cameras would likely come at the same time the department purchases new squad-car cameras, Miner said.Still, many city police officers patrol in neighborhoods surrounding the University. John Elder, Minneapolis police public information officer, said he’s confident officers will be testing the cameras before the year ends.The project is still in its preliminary phases, and many details have to be ironed out, he said, but it’s on the “front burner.”Greater transparencyWhile officers have traditionally reacted to recording devices with reservation, using body cameras while on patrol to improve transparency is a growing trend nationwide.In Minnesota, the Burnsville Police Department started using body cameras in 2010 because squad car cameras didn’t record most police action, Chief of Police Eric Gieseke said.He said they were useful for investigating, documenting crime scenes and evaluating complaints about officers.Elder said there were privacy concerns when police departments started using cars with camcorders years ago. Now, he said, officers appreciate the recording because it often serves as evidence that clears officers during misconduct cases.Liability issues and cases of police misconduct were some of the main reasons the City Council voted to approve the budget allocation for the cameras, said John Dybvig, policy aide for the chair of the Ways and Means Committee.If a police officer is accused of misconduct, the case often turns into a series of “he-said, she-said” evidence, Dybvig said, but the cameras would help give concrete evidence.Minneapolis police received 75 allegations of misconduct last quarter, according to the Office of Police Conduct. Continue Reading