We will continue to discuss the pros and cons of Medicare Advantage. You will also hear about notable non-health plan and non-broker resources.

Jon Hallberg, MD, is the creative director of the U of M Medical School’s Center for the Art of Medicine and medical director of the M Physicians Mill City Clinic in Minneapolis. For UMRA’s September 17 Living Well Workshop he will talk about his lifelong effort to embody the art of medicine in all that he does.

There is no getting around it. Fall 2024 will include a national election, and to prepare us for the season, we’ll kick off UMRA’s fall forums with a fascinating presentation by UMRA member and former University of Minnesota senior associate general counsel Mark Bohnhorst. 

Judy Helgen will lead the discussion of Half-Life of a Secret by Emily Strasser, the story of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, when the UMRA Book Club meets at 2 p.m. on Friday, September 20, via Zoom.

UMRA Hiking Club regulars Linda and Bruce Anderson will introduce us to a new location for an UMRA Hike: Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve in Savage, Minnesota. If you haven't hiked this park yet, you are in for a treat. The hike will be about 4 miles, with an option to do an additional loop, bringing the total to a 6-mile hike. 

Tour all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums with Will Craig, and discover central Scotland with Craig and Janet Swan when UMRA’s Armchair Traveler program meets on Wednesday, September 25, via Zoom.

October is the season for Nobel Prize announcements, so it is fitting that UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club will be reading books by two Nobel Prize-winning authors this fall: Main Street by Sinclair Lewis and Vintage Munro by Alice Munro. 

Topics relevant to managing investments in retirement.  By David Foster, CFP©, CRPC©, CRPS©

Our October 7 hike will be a reprise of our hike last summer at William O'Brien State Park.  This is a beautiful park with a winding trail and a great view of the countryside.  The hike is about 5.5 to 6 miles and we'll go at a moderate pace with frequent water breaks.  After the hike, we will eat lunch at Rustic Roots Winery, a half mile north of the park. 

The UMRA Photo Club will in the Hennepin County St. Anthony Branch Library, in the small shopping center at New Brighton and St Anthony Blvds.  For those interested in lunch, meet at the Great Dragon at 11:30 am. 

For September the THEME will be Plains.

This trip begins in Madrid and ends in Barcelona with stops 3 cities in between. International round trip airfare from NYC is included in the quoted price. See the attached a copy of the e-brochure with highlights and complete itinerary.  Register by May 1.

Our annual workshop on Open Enrollment for University retiree health insurance plans for the coming year will include information about changes in federal law impacting drug coverage in 2025. The presentation by Katie Kolodge will also include a preview of changes ahead for 2026, when the U will introduce a new “exchange program” offering a wider variety in premium and plan options to choose from and navigators to help guide your decision-making. 

We are thrilled and honored that Rebecca Cunningham, MD, the new president of the University of Minnesota, has agreed to share her vision and priorities for the University with us at UMRA’s October luncheon forum. And we hope to have a big turnout to show her that our members are engaged and involved. 

Should We Stay or Should We Go by Lionel Shriver.

We will hike Nerstrand Big Woods State Park, located 15 minutes southeast of Northfield, Minnesota, and about one hour from the Twin Cities northern suburbs, one of the last remnants of Minnesota’s Big Woods. We will see the ancient forests of pre-settlement Minnesota: sugar maple, basswood, elm, green ash, and ironwood trees; over 50 varieties of wildflowers and many species of ferns and mushrooms along the rolling hills and glacial-cut valleys. 

Vintage Munro is a collection of short stories from throughout the literary career of author Alice Munro, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2013. 

Your UMRA Travel Committee has added a new Road Scholar tour in 2024 for members, "On the Road: Absolute Southwest - A Canyon Lands Adventure." The journey begins on Monday, October 28, 2024 to Friday, November 8, 2024. Register by May 1.

The Retiree Association at Winona State is inviting UMRA members to join them a trip to Costa Rica in 2024. The final date to register is October 2, 2023. You're encouraged to register some time in August as spaces will fill up.

Estate Planning Attorney Matt Guttman discusses trusts and other estate planning issues.

The Kerlan is one of the world’s leading collections of rare books, manuscripts, and original art of children’s literature. It contains the work of more the 1,700 authors and illustrators from the 19th and 20th centuries to today, and it is the founding and largest collection within the University’s Children’s Literature and Research Collections.

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