News Archive

2009 / 2008 / 2007 / 2006

2010

(7/23/10) WRC co-director Deborah Swackhamer is featured in this month's "Inside the Issues," a cable TV public affairs show produced by the League of Women Voters that airs on Twin Cities channel 15. The show can be seen Tuesdays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 5 p.m. through August 8.(7/19/10) Karlyn Eckman presented the paper “Evaluating Social Outcomes in Water Resources Projects: Lessons from Minnesota” July 13 2010 at the Universities Council on Water Resources (UCOWR) annual conference in Seattle. The conference was co-sponsored by the National Institutes of Water Resources (NIWR).

(6/30/10) WRC co-director Deb Swackhamer was quoted in the Star Tribune's June 30 editorial titled 'Losing Our Lakes,' or losing our soul?

(6/29/10) WRC Extension Educator Barb Liukkonen was featured in a KSTP story about mercury in Minnesota waters. To view the segment, click here.

(6/28/10) The watershed group Friends of the Sunrise River won a state-wide "Best River Community" award from Minnesota Waters. WRC Senior Fellow Larry Baker is previous chair of the group.

(5/14/10) WRC co-director Deb Swackhamer is featured in this Science magazine article on the future of water-related careers.

(5/9/10) WRC Co-Director Deborah Swackhamer Wins University of Minnesota's Ada Comstock Distinguished Women Scholar Award. The award acknowledges the scholarly accomplishments and leadership of distinguished women faculty at the University. Swackhamer will give a University-wide lecture in November. Read more about the Ada Comstock award.

(3/25/10) Gary Doer, Ambassador of Canada to the United States, discussed transboundary water policy at the Humphrey Center. Watch the discussion.

(3/1/10) The Water Resources Center co-sponsored a summit on climate change this past December. View a summary of the event. (.pdf)

(2/23/10 and 2/24/10) Water Resource Center Co-Director Deborah Swackhamer was featured in the University of Minnesota Metropolitan Consortium's TV special "Shaping the Urban Environment," scheduled for broadcast on the Twin Cities Public Television's Minnesota Channel. Broadcast Schedule: Tuesday, February 23 at 7 p.m.; Wednesday, February 24 at 1 a.m; and Wednesday, February 24 at 7 a.m.

(2/22/10) WRC co-director Deb Swackhmaer was interviewed about the Minnesota Water Sustainability Framework project on Twin Cities Public Television's "Almanac." To view the segment, go to http://www.tpt.org/almanac/, select Almanac - Feb. 19, 2010, then click on the link titled "Water, Water Everywhere."

(2/12/10) WRC Senior Fellow Larry Baker was quoted in a Discovery News story about the environmental impacts of road salt. Full Story

(1/8/10) WRC Senior Fellow Larry Baker was quoted in a Star Tribune story about a local environmental group's claims of sewage dumping in near North Branch, Minn. Full Story

2009

(12/31/09) Barb Liukkonen, Citizen Engagement Coordinator for the Minnesota Water Sustainability Framework project, was featured in University of Minnesota News Service's "Minnesota Moment" web and radio broadcast.

(12/31/09) Karlyn Eckman retired in December as a board member on the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization. Karlyn was a fifth-term commissioner representing the City of Saint Paul from 2000-2009. Outgoing commissioners Eckman and Paul Ostrow (City of Minneapolis) were given awards acknowledging their years of service. Karlyn will continue to serve on MWMO’s education technical advisory committee in 2010.

(12/23/09) U of M's Water Resources Center to hold public meetings around the state on Minnesota's investments in water priorities. U of M News release.

(12/9/09) Deborah Swackhamer, co-director of the Water Resources Center, was interviewed by Don Shelby about the United Nation's 2009 Summit on Climate Change on WCCO Radio's The Don Shelby Show.

(12/2/09) Karlyn Eckman organized a “how-to” Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) survey workshop for staff at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. This impact assessment method can provide data on project results and outcomes, especially for projects with smaller audiences.

(11/25/09) Minnesota Public Radio Reporter Dan Gunderson interviews WRC's Deborah Swackhamer on chemicals in Minnesota waters. Full story

(11/23/09) News of Deborah Swackhamer's Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry’s Founders Award prompted a profile in the Minnesota Daily. Full story

(11/10/09) Deborah Swackhamer, co-director of the Water Resources Center, is the 2009 recipient of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry's (SETAC) Founders Award. U of M News Release

(11/6/09) The Water Resource's Center Minnesota Water Sustainability Framework project is featured in the November/December issue of "Shore to Shore" published by the University of Minnesota's Shoreland Education Team.

(11/6/09) Karlyn Eckman presented a half-day Water in the World seminar in collaboration with the Institute for Global Studies. The topic was “Water and Conflict in Somalia.”

(10/26/09) Karlyn Eckman and Erika Rivers co-presented a paper called “What Will it Take to Get you to Conserve? at the 2009 Minnesota Water Resources Conference. The paper was based on their mid-term findings from the LCCMR-funded Native Shoreland Buffer Incentives project (NSBI). The NSBI is implemented in partnership with the WRC, MNDNR and Minnesota Extension, with Itasca and East Otter Tail counties as local partners.

(10/23/09) U of M's Water Resources Center Receives $750,000 To Create Framework for Sustainable Management of State's Water Resources. U of M News release.

(10/16/09) Karlyn Eckman presented a half-day Water in the World seminar in collaboration with the Institute for Global Studies. The topic was “Water Issues in the Lower Mekong Basin."

(10/13/09) Karlyn Eckman gave a talk at the Natural Resources Research Institute in Duluth. The topic was “Impact Assessment for Natural Resources Projects.”

(10/12/09) The 40th anniversary of the Environmental Protection Agency is the subject of an opinion piece in Environmental Science & Technology, co-authored by Deborah Swackhamer, University of Minnesota Water Resources Center co-director. The article, "EPA at 40: Bringing Environmental Protection into the 21st Century," traces the history of the EPA from a protector of public lands to the country's most powerful force for environmental protection. The article calls for even greater proactive environmental leadership on the part of the EPA through more agency integration and increased public discourse of the risks and trade-offs of decisions facing us. The article will be published in the December 2009 print edition of Environmental Science & Technology and can be read online at http://pubs.acs.org/journal/esthag.

(10/08/09) Cutting-edge research and the latest hands-on practices in the area of Minnesota's water quality management will be spotlighted at the Minnesota Water Resources Conference, a two-day event hosted by the University of Minnesota Water Resources Center Oct. 26 and 27 at the Saint Paul RiverCentre, 175 West Kellogg Boulevard, St. Paul. U of M News Release

Minnesota newspapers
Clara City Herald
The Herman Review
Kanabec Times
The Glydon Farmer
The Byron Review.

(9/10/09) Karlyn Eckman gave a presentation at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s leadership team meeting. The presentation summarized Minnesota’s experience in testing the social indicators evaluation framework.

(9/3/09) WRC co-director Deborah Swackhamer's reappointment to Minnesota's Clean Water Council was mentioned in AgriNews.

(9/1/09) Michael Sadowsky, a professor in WRC's Graduate Program in Water Resources Science, has been appointed director of the University's BioTechnology Institute. U of M News Release

(8/27/09) Read "Septic Sense: Is your septic system compliant?" written by Sara Heger Christopherson

(8/25/09) Ag producers likely to save money, adopt water-friendly practices after attending nutrient workshops, according to U of M study U of M News Release

(8/24/09) Deborah L. Swackhamer, co-director of the university's Water Resources Center, professor in the School of Public Health and Charles M. Denny Jr. Chair in Science, Technology and Public Policy at the Humphrey Institute, has been appointed by Governor Pawlenty to the Clean Water Council. Full Story

(08/10/09) Department of Civil Engineering Associate Professor and Water Resources Science Instructor Paige Novak heads up a groundbreaking study on estrogen in industrial wastewater U of M News Release

(08/04/09) WRC's Sara Christopherson was featured in a Minnesota Daily story about federal stimulus money and efforts to clean up wastewater Read the Article

(07/22/09) Swackhamer was a guest on WCCO AM's The Don Shelby Show at 2:10 p.m. Her appearance was part of Shelby's weekly "E-Day" show on energy and the environment.

(07/21/09) WRC co-director Deborah Swackhamer was the featured guest on Minnesota Public Radio's Midmorning Show with host Mike Mulcahy Listen to the program

(07/20/09) MinnAqua in the Pioneer Press: "Family Outings: Free learn-to-fish programs hook kids, parents on the Minnesota pastime" Full Story

(07/15/09) Read Conservation Minnesota's interview with WRC Co-Director Deborah Swackhamer

(07/10/09) Expert Alert: WRC Co-Director Deborah Swackhamer on the bottled vs. tap water debate U of M News

(07/07/09) U of M water expert Deborah Swackhamer elected president of D.C.-based National Institute of Water Resources U of M News Release

(06/11/09) The WRC's Onsite Sewage Treatment Program team has launched a quarterly column for outstate Minnesota newspapers called "Septic Sense."
U of M News Wire
Sauk Rapids Herald
Plainview News

Morris Sun Tribune
The Wheaton Gazette

(06/03/09) U of Minnesota Three-State Survey Finds U.S. Households Flushing More Organic Material Than Expected Down the Drain. U of M News Release

(05/28/09) WRC Co-Director Deborah Swackhamer was named the Charles M. Denny, Jr. Chair in Science, Technology, and Public Policy by the University of Minnesota's Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Humphrey News Release

(05/21/09) WRC Co-Director Deborah Swackhamer, Department of Civil Engineering Associate Professor Bill Arnold and Water Resources Science Graduate Student Chris Wennen held a media availability at Edina's Pamela Park to demonstrate WRC's wireless water sensor project.
KARE 11 story and video
Minnesota Daily story
Star Tribune story
Star Tribune "West Metro Town Briefs" story
WCCO TV story and video

(05/19/09) "U of M Water Researchers use Remote-controlled Sensors to Track Pollutant Loads from Storms" by Deane Morrison with University of MInnesota News Service. The project - in its third year - was made possible by a seed grant from the Water Resources Center. Full story

(05/18/2009) U of M Researchers Install Remote Control Sensors in Neighborhood Lakes, Streams for Live, Up-to-the-Minute Water Quality Monitoring. U of M News Release

(05/17/09) Deb Swackhamer was featured in a Fox 21 TV online news story and several other weekly newspapers around the state on why fish may have higher levels of chemical contamination than other meats, such as beef or chicken. Full story

(4/29/09) WRC Co-Director Deborah Swackhamer was featured in a Minnesota Public Radio story about the tug of war regarding amendment money priorities. Full story

(4/29/09) Deborah Swackhamer was featured in a Minnesota Daily story on the first draft of the University's Sustainable Goals and Outcomes Committee's plan to integrate sustainable practices into all areas of University life. The plan, which sets forth specific goals and outcomes, also aims to position the University as a national leader in the area of sustainability. Full story

(4/29/09) Les Everett is a 2008-09 recipient of the CFANS Professional and Academic Staff award for research.

(2/19/09) WRS and Civil Engineering Associate Professor Paige Novak has been selected as a 2009 Leopold Leadership Fellow. The Fellows will take part in intensive leadership and communications training designed to hone their skills in delivering scientific information to decision makers, the media, and the public. More about the program

(1/15/09) Expert Alert: Nick Haig on keeping your septic-system from freezing this winter. View this and other January 2009 Expert Alerts
 

2008

(12/05/08) WRC Co-director Deborah Swackhamer was a guest on MPR's Midday as a Voice on the Environment. Listen to the program.

(09/23/08) One of the segments on Midmorning with Kerri Miller explored what steps are being taken to save the Great Lakes. WRC Co-Director Deborah Swackhamer was among the guests. Listen to the program

(9/17/08) WRC Co-director Deborah Swackhamer been appointed chair of the USEPA Science Advisory Board. In her new role, Swackhamer will be providing scientific advice on environmental regulation. Read the news release

(7/11/08) A report on the critical environmental issues facing Minnesota in the next fifty years was recently released. WRC Co-Director Deborah Swackhamer appeared on Twin Cities Public Television's Almanac: At the Capitol to discuss some of the key findings of the report. View the show

(6/1/08) Effective June 2008, the Water Resources Center is the first Affiliate Organization of the Institute on the Environment. The two will collaborate on research, education, and/or public engagement activities.

(5/13/08) Kevin Blanchet (pictured right, University of Minnesota Extension) was recognized with a 2008 CFANS Distinguished Academic/P&A Award. Blanchet worked with the WRC from 1998-2008. Mike Sadowsky (Professor, Department of Soil, Water, and Climate and WRS Faculty) received the 2008 Faculty CFANS Distinguished Diversity and Inclusion Award. The award recognizes his “significant efforts to assure broad access to University programs for students of color thorough a host of active and collaborative recruitment and retention efforts.”

(5/5/08) Fromer WRS student Dr. Holly Dolliver (Ph.D. 2007) received Honorable Mention for 2008 Universities Council on Water Resources Ph.D. Dissertation Award in Natural Science & Engineering. Current student Allison Gamble has been awarded a 2008-2009 Graduate School Dissertation Fellowship.
 

2007

(10/30/07) WRS student Adam Sealock's master's thesis titled "An investigation of disturbance, sampling methods, the river continuum concept, and hydroseres in Hardwood Creek a ditched stream in Minnesota, USA" has been selected for the University of Minnesota Distinguished Master's Thesis Award for 2007-08 and will represent the University of Minnesota at the Midwest Association of Graduate Schools' (MAGS) Distinguished Master's Thesis Award.

(6/6/07) Deborah Swackhamer has been selected as the 2006 winner of the Harvey G. Rodgers Environmental Health Leadership Award, given by the Minnesota Public Health Association (MPHA). This award honors “an individual who through years of dedication, distinguished service and technical contribution has promoted the public's health through preservation of the environment." She will receive the award at the MPHA's annual meeting on June 14, 2007.

(6/4/07) Heiko Schoenfuss' research on estrogenic compounds appeared in the June 4, 2007 edition of Newsweek. More on the research
 

2006

(10/4/06) Listen the daily radio feature for a U of M Moment discussion of the Institute on the Environment by Deborah Swackhamer, the Interim Director.

(10/2006) Barb Liukkonen (WRC and MN Sea Grant), Nick Zlonis (MN Sea Grant, and Eleanor Burkett (University of Minnesota Extension) were awarded the Sea Grant Program Leaders' Outstanding Program Award at Sea Grant's Great Lakes Network Conference in Alpena, MI. The award was for a project on preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species via water gardens. Wendy Strombeck (oneD.design), Mike Klepinger (MI Sea Grant), and Mandy Beall (WI DNR) were also part of the award-winning team. The project will represent the Great Lakes Region at the next Sea Grant Week event.

(08/13/06) Deborah Swackhamer, the WRC's Co-Director was featured in a KARE 11 Extra segment during the 10:00 p.m. news broadcast. She discussed phosphorous in Minnesota's lakes and rivers.

(6/4/06) WRC staffer Sara Heger Christopherson discussed sewage treatment in rural Minnesota in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The story focused on untreated sewage illegally entering Minnesota's water bodies because of failed septic systems. Sara is a member of the Onsite Sewage Treatment Program.

(4/20/06) Larry Baker (Water Resources Center) and Kristen Nelson (WRS, Forest Resources and Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology) joined John Curry, Campaign Director for the Minnesota Campaign for Conservation, at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis to discuss the future of the Minnesota environment. The event was sponsored by the Citizens League and Minnesota Public Radio, and was the latest installment of the Citizen League’s “Policy and a Pint” lecture series. DJ Steve Seel of 89.3 The Current moderated the discussion. Listen to the program

(4/7/06) Giana Glesey and Erica Schram, WRS MS students, were awarded GK-12 Fellowships from NSF. They were two of twelve fellows selected from the University of Minnesota. The fellowship begins in July 1, 2006 and runs through June 30, 2007. Giana is co-advised by Mark Edlund and Len Ferrington while Erica is advised by Jim Perry.

(3/30/01) Jeffrey Werner received one of the 2006 Graduate Student Paper Awards from the Division of Environmental Chemistry of the American Chemical Society. Jeff's paper, titled "The environmental photochemical kinetics of tetracycline as a function of pH and water hardness"will be presented at the Environmental Chemistry Awards Symposium, 232nd National ACS Conference in San Francisco, CA, September 10-14, 2006. Bill Arnold and Kris McNeill are his advisors.

(3/27/06) WRS student Summer Streets was runner-up for the best student platform presentation at the Meeting of the Midwest Chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry meeting. The meeting was held in St. Cloud, MN, March 21-22, 2006. Her paper titled " Bioaccumulation Factors of PBDE Congeners in Lake Michigan Fish" is co-authored by Scott Henderson, Amber Stoner, Matt Simcik and Deborah Swackhamer. Summer is advised by Swackhamer.

(3/27/06) A number of WRS students participated in the first Sigma Xi Juried Research Poster Exhibit for Graduate Students at Coffman Memorial Union. Four of the participants were honored at the Annual Banquet following the poster presentation event. Mark Green was co-recipient of First Place for excellence in communicating science and engineering research while Filiz Dadaser Celik and Ole Olmanson received Honorable Mentions. Filiz was also elected Associate Member. Michelle Marko received the Charles and Dorothy Andrew Bird Award for outstanding research in any field of pure or applied science and was promoted to Full Member.

(3/12/06) Professor Mike Sadowsky, WRS faculty from the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, was highlighted in the TIME magazine (Vol. 167 No. 12) for his research on distinguishing human versus non-human sources of E. coli bacteria. Read the full article

(2/28/06) In conjunction with the Great Conversation, "Protecting Water Quality for Future Generations," to be held on Tuesday, February 28, 2006, Deborah Swackhamer, WRC co-director, will appear on The Don Shelby Show on WCCO radio at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, February 28.

(2/23/06) In the UMNnews article, Water Will Not Wait, Deborah Swackhamer, WRC co-director, and David Schindler, professor of ecology at the University of Alberta, describe the urgency of protecting the Great Lakes and other bodies of water that will fuel their Great Conversation on Tuesday, February 28, 2006.

(31/1/06) Deborah Swackhamer appeared in the January-February 2006 edition of the U of MN Alumni Association's "Minnesota Magazine" discussing her upcoming Great Conversation with David Schindler on February 28th, 2006.

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