News Archives

The root cause of the homeless problem is the housing crisis, according to Tim Marx, a leading authority on homelessness in the Twin Cities and the guest speaker for UMRA’s April 2022 forum, “Advancing the public good through housing.” More …
Jean Kinsey and Frank Busta spent 3 weeks in Turkey in 2013. They share their incredible experience through pictures and wonderful descriptions that include archaeological, historical, religious, political, culinary, and geological perspectives.

Age-related eye diseases including macular degeneration and glaucoma were discussed during UMRA’s April 2022 workshop with Dr. Erik van Kuijk, chair of the U of M Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences. More …

The Things They Carried is an exquisitely written collection of short stories by Minnesota-born author Tim O’Brien about a platoon of American soldiers fighting on the ground in the Vietnam War. More …
The University of Minnesota Retirees Association and the University Retirees Volunteer Center have agreed to reconnect as a single organization to broaden and expand volunteer service opportunities for U of M retirees. More …
This year’s election of UMRA’s officers and new board members will be conducted via an online poll from May 17 to 22. More …

Meet Michelle Trudeau-Spanjers, an UMRA member since 2021 who’s fast-paced job in the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory amplified her respect for anyone involved in public health regarding the COVID crisis. More …
UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees program provides funding for University of Minnesota retirees to continue their scholarship or pursue interesting new projects. All U of M retirees are eligible to participate in the annual competition. More …
Social media is a fantastic way to communicate, share, and have fun with others; it is also a low-cost way for cyber criminals to trick and take advantage of millions of people. More …
The Nominating Committee has presented a strong slate of candidates to the UMRA Executive Committee and Board for approval. The membership will vote in May. More …
A new memorandum of understanding, signed by UMRA President Jan Morlock and University Provost Rachel Croson on March 1, is a renewal of our mutually beneficial commitment and support. More …

There are some very special UMRA volunteers who reach out to individual members and/or our families with personal notes in times of grief and loss, and for the past five years Kathleen O’Brien has led this important work with exceptional dedication and grace. More …

Meet Lee Munich, who started work as a paperboy and retired as senior fellow and director of the Humphrey School’s State and Local Policy Program. More …

Organized annually by the University of Minnesota Alumni Association, this year’s U of M Day of Service has been expanded from a single day to the full month of April. More …
Several UMRA members with website and communication interests and skills have begun meeting to work on a redesign of the UMRA website. More …

Mark your calendars and register for the inaugural Age-Friendly University Day to be hosted by the University of Minnesota Age-Friendly University Council on June 20 at the McNamara Alumni Center on the East Bank of the Twin Cities Campus. More …

Caroline Fraser’s Pulitzer prize-winning book Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder is a meticulously researched biography of the much-loved author of the Little House books. More …
Wayne E. Potratz, Professor Emerita, Art Department, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota was awarded a PDGR grant for Texture: Form, Process, and the Aesthetics of Surface and Attendance at the 9th International Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art, Berlin, September 15-20, 2022.

This evolving story of life in Alaska is suspenseful and easily keeps the reader engaged, even if it sometimes feels like watching a train wreck where you can’t turn away. More …

The mRNA technology that enabled the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines rests on decades of basic and translational research and came to fruition at the exact time when it was most needed. The effort was akin to the Apollo moon program. More …
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Event Archives
Please join us for a special event hike and outing on Monday, May 23 at Franconia Sculpture Park at 29836 St. Croix Trail N, Shafer MN 56074, near Taylors Falls. You must sign up online for this hike.

Paula Knutzen will lead the discussion of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson when the UMRA Book Club I meets via Zoom on Friday, May 20. More …

Our May workshop, via Zoom, will be about Minnesota’s state parks and how we can engage with this wonderful resource and use it to help ourselves and our families become healthier and happier.

The UMRA Photo Club is planning an outdoor photo shoot at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in May. More …
Please join us on Monday, May 9, 2022 for a 5 to 6 mile hike at Hyland Lake Park Reserve located at 10145 East Bush Lake Road in Bloomington. You must sign up online for this hike.

Join other UMRA members to celebrate U of M Day at Target Field, when the Minnesota Twins take on the Oakland Athletics on Saturday, May 7. More …

Join Armchair Traveler via Zoom on April 27 when UMRA members Frank Busta and Jean Kinsey will share their 2013 journey through Turkey’s eastern sacred lands and ancient civilizations. More …

UMRA’s April 2022 Forum will feature Tim Marx, ’83 JD, long-time president and CEO of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis and a leading authority on the homeless crisis in the Twin Cities. Marx will comment on the causes of homelessness, its extent, its context in relationship to other major poverty-related challenges, and solutions.
The second hike in April is on Monday April 25 at Afton State Park. We will meet at Afton at 9:30 for a 5 tp 6 mile hike. This park has great prairie trails and views of the St. Croix River. It has some hills but nothing our hiking club can't handle!. We will gather for lunch after the hike.

“A Tale of Two Cities” is historical fiction at its best, and is remarkably, and sadly, relevant today. More …

UMRA’s April 19 workshop will address changes in our eyes as we age. Erik van Kuijk, MD, PhD, chair of the U of M Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences, will discuss what happens to the anatomy of the eye and offer preventive and preservation measures for taking care of our eyes.
Diane Madlon-Kay will lead the discussion of The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien when the UMRA Book Club I meets on Friday, April 15. More …

Have you always wanted to capture your family stories but never known where to begin? Perhaps you started but are feeling stuck or overwhelmed. Writer and teacher Brenda Hudson will share her story-project method when the Family History Interest Group meets via Zoom on April 13. More …
“Black and white” will be the theme when the UMRA Photo Club meets via Zoom on April 12. More …
The UMRA Hiking Club will meet on Monday, April 11, for a 4–5-mile hike on one of the beautiful trails in North Oaks north of St. Paul. More …

Iron Lake, by master storyteller William Kent Krueger, is the book selection for UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club meeting on Friday, March 25, via Zoom. More …

What is the purpose of a campus when most universities worked almost entirely remotely for two years? Thomas Fisher, the influential director of the Minnesota Design Center and author of the new book Space, Structures and Design in a Post-Pandemic World, will share his thoughts on the question for the UMRA Forum on March 22.
Beth Bedell will lead the discussion when the UMRA Book Club meets on March 18. More …

One of the benefits of the University’s choice of Fidelity Investments to manage retirement funds is that this association allows us to take advantage of some of the financial planning resources of one of the world’s largest asset managers. UMRA's March 15 workshop will be an overview of these resources.
The March 14th hike will be led by Michelle Trudeau-Spanjers at Como Park. Meet in the parking lot south of the Como Lakeside Pavilion, 1360 Lexington Parkway N., St. Paul, at 9:30 am, and be ready to hike by 9:40.
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