Today's News Friday, August 3, 2012
Research
Butter flavoring linked to key Alzheimer's process
An artificial food flavoring compound used for its butter-like taste and mouthfeel may be linked with key processes in the development of Alzheimer's disease, according to new research [conducted by Professor Robert Vince at the University of Minnesota]
Foodnavigator.com
http://www.foodnavigator.com/Science-Nutrition/Butter-flavouring-linked-to-Alzheimer-s-disease
Digging into data helps understand climate change effects
Vipin Kumar of the University of Minnesota's computer science and engineering department serves as the principal investigator for a National Science Foundation Expeditions project team focusing on the use of data to understand climate change.
Live Science
http://www.livescience.com/22002-data-study-climate-change-impacts-vipin-kumar-nsf-sl.html
Sleep smarts: Sleep is an important part of back-to-school preparation
Does your list of school supplies include sleep? Studies say it should, especially for teens. ...In 2010, a University of Minnesota study found a significant positive correlation between the amount of sleep per night and GPA.
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
http://www.jsonline.com/sponsoredarticles/education/sleep-smarts-sleep-is-an-important-part-of-backtoschool-preparation8069810102-164802326.html
US: The rise of Minnesota hazelnuts
Louis Braun, a University of Minnesota hazelnut researcher has recently led a Hybrid Hazelnut Research Update Walk n Talk event. At the event, in answer to a question, he said that he could imagine a day when hazelnuts became a, but not the, third crop in the state.
Fresh Plaza
http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=99207
Business and Politics
Minneapolis judge grants inheritance in same-sex marriage
A Hennepin County judge ruled this week that Minnesota's existing ban on gay marriage doesn't negate basic inheritance rights of same-sex couples married legally in other states. ...Judge Jay Quam ordered that James Morrison of Minneapolis be treated as the heir of Thomas Proehl, the long-time partner he married in California. Morrison was forced to press the issue after Proehl died suddenly without a will, and before he had a chance to add Morrison's name to some of the couple's assets. ..."At the University of Minnesota there's been incredible support, and everyone has wanted to do the right thing, but the law has not allowed them to do the right thing," Morrison said.
KARE
http://www.kare11.com/news/article/985410/391/Minneapolis-judge-grants-inheritance-in-same-sex-marriage
Chick-fil-A Day vs Same-Sex Kiss Day
Fans of Chick-fil-A, led by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, flocked to restaurants across the country on Wednesday in support of the recently-controversial fast food chain. ...At the U of M's Coffman Memorial Union, a long line wrapped around the Minnesota Marketplace cafeteria, where Chick-fil-A has a counter.
KMSP
http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/19167504/chick-fil-a-day-vs-same-sex-kiss-day
Chick-fil-A protest marks rise of 'eat-in' movement
In the 20th century India's Mahatma Gandhi famously used the hunger strike as political protest. In America today we demonstrate by eating fast food. Call it an “eat-in,” call it a “buycott”: By whatever name, it’s a tactic that’s growing in popularity. As Wednesday's Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day indicates, it’s a form of protest Americans find increasingly easy to swallow. “This is a convenient way to protest or to make a statement,” said Jean Kinsey, director emeritus at The Food Industry Center at University of Minnesota. And unlike a boycott, “It’s more of a proactive statement. The proactive element might be more attractive to some people.”
NBC News
http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/02/13088211-chick-fil-a-protest-marks-rise-of-eat-in-movement?lite
Millions of ex-offenders given a voting 'death sentence'
Nearly 6 million former prisoners –1 million of them Black – will not be able to vote in the November presidential election because of state laws that continue to punish them even after they have completed their sentences, according to a recent report by the Sentencing Project. ...Christopher Uggens, a criminologist at the University of Minnesota and one of the researchers that worked on The Sentencing Project report, found that 80 percent of those polled favored restoring voting rights for ex-felons, and 60 percent agreed that probationers and parolees should also have the right to vote. Support for voting rights dropped below 50 percent for those still imprisoned. “As a criminologist that has studied this issue for many years, I’m not used to seeing such strong support for doing anything for a convicted felon,” Uggens said. “It reminded me of how dear the right to vote is and how close to core it is for most Americans.”
The Madison Times
http://www.themadisontimes.com/news_details.php?news_id=2168
Professors: Court erred on BWCA cell tower
Six law professors from four universities in two states said last week that the Minnesota Court of Appeals was wrong to allow a 450-foot cell phone tower on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and asked the state Supreme Court to review the case. ...“These interpretations are really important and something that the Supreme Court should take a look at,” said Alexandra Klass, one of three environmental law professors from the University of Minnesota who signed the petition.
Lake County News-Chronicle
http://www.twoharborsmn.com/event/article/id/23827/group/Outdoors/
Commentary and Opinion
Michele Bachmann's damaging innuendo
If the casual use of public innuendo is not challenged at every turn, we will undermine our national security. ... Eric Schwartz is professor and dean at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/164814806.html?refer=y
Updates and Events
Tubby Smith contract extension includes $2.5M buyout max
Minnesota's contract extension with coach Tubby Smith has a $2.5 million limit on what the university must pay if he's fired before the end of the deal.
Sports Illustrated
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/basketball/ncaa/08/03/Tubby-Smith-contract-Minnesota.ap/index.html
New deal sets $2.5M as price for 'U' to fire Tubby Smith after season
The University of Minnesota released details of men's basketball coach Tubby Smith's contract extension on Friday.
1500 ESPN Radio Twin Cities
http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Gophers_release_details_of_Tubby_Smiths_recent_contract_extension080312
Star Tribune gains a majority owner
For the first time since emerging from bankruptcy nearly three years ago, the parent company of the Star Tribune will have a majority owner. ... J. Keith Moyer, former Star Tribune publisher who now teaches at the University of Minnesota School of Mass Communication, said the deal will likely be good for the Star Tribune because the majority ownership is based in Minneapolis. "Unlike Credit Suisse and other nonlocal investors, this is Wayzata's local newspaper and the market's leading media outlet," Moyer said. "They seem like decent folks, and I'm inclined to think they wouldn't make huge cuts or attempt to bigfoot the news and editorial policy."
Minneapolis Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/business/164829866.html?refer=y
Meeting of the minds
When Triton Systems Inc. was looking to develop and commercialize its surface treatment products, the company discovered that North Dakota State University in Fargo had expertise in the surface engineering technology that it was creating. ...Kevin Cooper, business instructor at the University of Minnesota Crookston and director of its Center for Rural Entrepreneurial Studies, says that companies increasingly look to universities for research assistance. “Traditionally universities tended to be somewhat removed from this type of engagement with the private sector. Now there is a more proactive orientation toward collaboration with research-based private firms,” he says.
Prairie Business Magazine
http://www.prairiebizmag.com/event/article/id/12810/
University of Minnesota renames its Institute on Race and Poverty
The University of Minnesota Law School has renamed its Institute on Race and Poverty. The institute, founded in 1993, will now be called the Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity.
The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
http://www.jbhe.com/2012/08/university-of-minnesota-renames-its-institute-on-race-and-poverty/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=university-of-minnesota-renames-its-institute-on-race-and-poverty
Beware of otter: Two more take bites out of St. Michael swimmer
Forget pesky mosquitoes or black bears. It's angry otters that are chasing visitors out of the woods in northern Minnesota. In less than a month, unusually aggressive otters have attacked two Twin Cities women swimming in lakes about 60 miles apart. They're two of the three attacks reported to the state in the past three months, puzzling experts who say otters are generally meek, playful creatures. ...They usually eat fish and clams and breed in the spring, which is why University of Minnesota Prof. James David Smith surmises the otters were protecting nearby pups. "I think it's just a rare event," he said, adding that people are more likely to run into a black bear or mountain lion.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/west/164833466.html