UMRA Breakfast: Aging back problems and solutions
Thu, May 14, 2026, 8:30am
For the UMRA Breakfast meeting on Thursday, May 14, we will discuss back problems as we age, what we do about them, and how we can treat them. Many UMRA members have difficulty with aging backs. Let’s commiserate and learn from our collective experience.
Our expert resource person for the breakfast meeting will be Paul Schanfield, MD. He is a retired neurologist, a member of UMRA member—and, perhaps more importantly, has personal experience with back surgery.
Schanfield is also the author of A Migraine in Room 3, A Stroke in Room 4: A Physician Examines His Profession, and in 2024 was the presenter for an UMRA Living Well Workshop on dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
If you’d like to attend the UMRA Breakfast meeting on Thursday, May 14, please register (required) and join us at The Original Pancake House in Roseville.
We will limit attendance to 20 people for the sake of the discussion. All you need to do is pay for your own breakfast and participate. We hope to see you there!
—Bill Donohue and Lynn Slifer, UMRA Breakfast coordinators
Upcoming Events
Kayaking at Lake Bde Maka Ska.
UMRA Book Club I will discuss The Silent Patient, a psychological thriller and debut novel by Alex Michaelides, when it meets via Zoom on Friday, July 17.
Two major conferences, one organized by the Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education (AROHE) and the other by the Big Ten Retirees Association (BTRA), will take place this year. The AROHE conference will be held in Florida and the BTRA conference will be hosted by UMRA on the UMN campus.
The AROHE conference invites all interested retirees and university faculty and staff to reimagine retirement. You are invited to register if interested at https://www.arohe.org/2026-Conference.
The BTRA is being hosted by UMRA this year. Leadership of retiree organizations around the US will convene to share competencies. Attendance is restricted.
Bev leads the Nokomis walk to Minnehaha Falls.
Nanette leads a trail of two cities hike.
10:30 a.m. check in; 10:45 boarding; cruise from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Join UMRA friends and colleagues for a summer cruise and lunch aboard the Paradise Destiny II on beautiful Lake Minnetonka. Paul Maravelas, sailor, historian, and author of The History of Big Island, Lake Minnetonka will join us to share stories from 200+ years of lake-dwellers. Come early or stay after the cruise to explore Excelsior, a charming small town on the big lake.
Ticket price includes lunch: chef's sandwich, garden salad, fruit, chips, and cookies. Coffee, iced tea, and lemonade are complimentary and there will be a cash bar for other beverages. A vegetarian sandwich can be selected during registration.
The theme for September is "Monuments."
Bev leads a Lake of the Isles hike with Bun Coffee afterwards.
Critical issues facing detained immigrants and their families will be discussed.