Holiday Letters

The holidays are here and with them come the inevitable rush of holiday letters. We all have seen those lengthy, to-much-information letters, so what makes a good Holiday letter? University of Minnesota Professor Bernadette Longo makes her living teaching people how to write and has some handy tips to make your writing more enjoyable for the reader.

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10,000 Corn Piles

Harvest time is over in Minnesota and Jerry Fruin, a professor of Applied Economics in grain and transportation talks about the state's bountiful corn and soybean crop.

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Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

As temperatures drop, days shorten, and holiday stress builds, Minnesotans are at risk for seasonal mood changes called Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD, says Dr. David Adson, a University of Minnesota psychiatrist.

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Rudy Perpich

Recently Betty Wilson, a former Star Tribune reporter appeared at the U of M Bookstore signing copies of her latest book, “Rudy! The People’s Governor.” Wilson explains why she wrote about the late Perpich.

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Rural Internet Access

U of M professors John Sullivan and Eugene Borgida recently concluded a study of two Minnesota cities that have taken different paths in the way Internet access is offered. In Grand Rapids, local leaders pushed for broad public access to the Net, while another similar size city simply let the marketplace dictate Internet progression. Borgida explains why they conducted the research.

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Health Insurance, Open Enrollment

Health insurance is one of the most important benefits employees receive. In most cases, now is the time to reassess your options as Open Enrollment is available nationwide. University of Minnesota assistant professor of finance Stephen Parente says that health insurance costs keep going up.

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Family Time, Less Sports

Bill Doherty, a leading U.S. expert on family time and a university professor in family social science, is taking the lead on calling for parents to reclaim family time from youth sports. In one case, parents in Apple Valley, Minnesota, are demanding for no sports practices, games or other activities for children on Sundays.

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Bird Flu

Recently, the Bird Flu has been at the top of minds of health professionals and the public alike. National expert Mike Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, says that concern over the bird flu is justified.

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National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics -- NSF

You hear a lot about the medical research that goes on at the University of Minnesota, but chances are you probably haven’t heard about the university's federally funded National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics laboratory. The center’s Vaughn Voller explains.

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Thanksgiving Day Food Safety

Thanksgiving Day is fast approaching and the University of Minnesota’s Francisco Diez is a food safety expert and gives some advice on how to make sure that when you're sending your family back home, you’re not sending them home sick! When people do get sick, it usually starts with the Turkey.

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Ovarian Cancer

Thalidomide—a drug blamed in the 1950s for causing birth defects—is now showing promise as a safe and effective treatment for women with recurrent ovarian cancer. In a study involving 75 women, Dr. Levi Downs, a University of Minnesota Cancer Center researcher, said that the drug showed promising results.

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National Bladder Health Week

The week of Nov. 14 is National Bladder Health Week, a time to shed light on incontinence—a problem that affects millions of Americans, says Jean Wyman, a researcher in the University of Minnesota School of Nursing.

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Compulsive Buying

TV ad blitzes, radio commercials and your daily newspapers stuffed with ads like a Thanksgiving Day turkey. Yup … the official shopping season is within view, and like eating too much at the dinner table, some people just can’t help but buy too much. Ron Faber, a professor of mass communication in the University of Minnesota's journalism school, has studied compulsive buying.

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Winterizing

Last week legislators called on the governor for a special session to help elderly and low-income citizens with heating cost assistance. Everyone in the state will be paying more for heating fuel. Pat Huelman with the university’s Extension Service says that there are things we can do to lower costs.

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Big Box Stores

You have probably heard the term Big Box stores in the news lately. It refers to the larger chain stores, like Walmart and Target. In rural communities Big Box store openings sometimes create controversy. The university’s David Karjanen has studied the effects of when these stores come into town.

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North Country

The movie North Country recently opened in movie theatres nationwide. It entails the story of female miners in northern Minnesota who sued their union and mining company in the first large class action sex discrimination suit.

The university’s Gene Borgida with the College of Liberal Arts was a social psychologist expert in the real-life case.

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Rudy Perpich

Recently Betty Wilson, a former Star Tribune reporter appeared at the U of M Bookstore signing copies of her latest book, “Rudy! The People’s Governor.” Wilson explains why she wrote about the late Perpich.

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China

In upcoming weeks, Gov. Tim Pawlenty and University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks will be headed to China to talk to Chinese leaders about trade and educational issues.

The university’s Minyuan Zhao says that China is an important market and supports the trade mission.

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Emergency Preparedness

Hurricane Katrina and fears about the Avian Flu have prompted many cities and states to ponder what they would do if an emergency struck close to home. In Minnesota, there’s help thanks to a $2.7 million federal grant to the University of Minnesota. The grant allows University nursing and public health experts, such as program director Carol O’Boyle, to educate and train health care workers in emergency preparedness.

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Cheddar Cheese, Blood Pressure

Cheese is great on pizza, but scientists at the University of Minnesota are discovering that cheese might also be good for your heart.
U of M food science professor Lloyd Metzer says that a current study is looking at the protein in Cheese to reduce high blood pressure.

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Health Insurance, Open Enrollment

Health insurance is one of the most important benefits employees receive. In most cases, now is the time to reassess your options as Open Enrollment is available nationwide. University of Minnesota assistant professor of finance Stephen Parente says that health insurance costs keep going up.

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Deer Opener

The deer hunting season in Minnesota opens soon. It’s a boon to the economy as 500,000 hunters representing $20 million in license fees and upwards of $500 million spent in total expenditures.
David Fulton with the university’s College of Natural Resources says the school recently sent out a new study aimed at 6,000 random hunters. He explains.

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