Event Summary

Book Notes | ‘Where the Rivers Part’

Event Date: February 20, 2026, at 2:00 PM

UMRA’s Book Club members learned a great deal about Hmong traditions, traumas, and relationships from acclaimed St. Paul author Kao Kalia Yang’s 'Where the Rivers Part.' A tribute to her mother, this lyrical and complex book won the 2025 Minnesota Book Award in the memoir category.

How the current generation of older Americans is transforming retirement

Well-known Twin Cities-based financial journalist and economics commentator Chris Farrell will be the featured guest for UMRA’s February 17 Living Well Workshop via Zoom. He will discuss why and how the current generation of older Americans is not following the traditional retirement pattern of a relaxed lifestyle. 

What did grandfather find in America?

Event Date: February 11, 2026, at 10:00 AM

Family history with Jim Kurle. A tale of Swedish emigration to Dunn County, North Dakota including my grandfather, whose unusual relationship to several churches, and religion in general, was one of the reasons for his emigrating.

An Icelandic saga

Event Date: January 21, 2026, at 10:00 AM

When you are of Icelandic descent you can trace your ancestors back to around 1200 and sometimes further.

Identity development: How memories become selves

Developing a sense of identity is a central psychological task of the lifespan. Memories and stories from our personal past, as well as cultural memories and stories in society play key roles in how we develop our identities. This presentation will discuss psychological theory and research on how memories and stories make us who we are.

Book Notes | ‘52 Loaves’

Event Date: January 16, 2026, at 2:00 PM

In William Alexander’s humorous memoir, readers are taken on a wild ride as he searches for the recipe and technique to replicate—from scratch—the “perfect bread.” He tries his hand at growing, harvesting, and threshing the wheat, attends a kneading conference in Maine, and even enrolls in a week-long bourlangerie class at the École Ritz Escoffier in Paris.

Understanding the history shared by the University, U of M Physicians, and Fairview Health Services

Event Date: January 8, 2026, at 8:30 AM

A large group of UMRA members gathered at the Original Pancake House in Edina in early January for a discussion led by UMRA member Frank Cerra, MD, former dean of the University of Minnesota Medical School and senior vice president of the U’s Academic Health Center, who retired from the University in 2011.

Book Notes | ‘An Unfinished Love Story’

Event Date: November 21, 2025, at 2:00 PM

Presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin turns personal in this illuminating memoir of the unparalleled 1960s and the life she shared with her husband of 42 years, Richard “Dick” Goodwin, speech writer and confidant of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Robert F. Kennedy.

Culture, history, and geology—along the Rhine

Event Date: November 19, 2025, at 10:00 AM

Cathy Lee Gierke presented photos about her cruise on the Rhine river, Italian Switzerland, and Lake Como -- and the history, culture and geology along the way.

A fight between courage and capitulation

Jane Kirtley, JD, will be the guest speaker for UMRA’s luncheon forum on Tuesday, November 18. She will discuss challenges to preserving academic freedom and independent speech during the Trump Administration, and how institutions should respond to the unprecedented attacks on their independence.

The bigamist and the optimist

Event Date: November 12, 2025, at 10:00 AM

After my grandmother gave birth to her ninth child, my grandfather ran off with another woman. They were caught living together in a small town 250 miles away. This presentation will describe the three main characters and what happened next.

New advances in understanding the developing brain

Many of us have been touched in some way by conditions such as autism, dementia, and other cognitive disorders. To help us better understand this topic, particularly as it relates to children, Damien Fair, PhD, will join us at the October 28 UMRA Luncheon Forum to address new advances in understanding the developing brain. 

Enhancing personal wellbeing, mindfully

Mindfulness techniques are a proven way of helping people maintain emotional equilibrium. UMRA’s October 21 workshop will focus on using mindfulness to strengthen personal wellbeing and emotional resilience, including everyday strategies for mitigating the effects of stress as we age. 

Medicare Advantage and Traditional Medicare with the New UMOHR Exchange: Issues & Choices.

Event Date: October 20, 2025, at 10:00 AM

See this recording of Fin & Legal session on how the new "OHR Exchange" can assist?

Book Notes | ‘The Cello Still Sings’

Event Date: October 17, 2025, at 2:00 PM

Author Janet Horvath was the associate principal cello of the Minnesota Orchestra from 1980 until 2012. The thrust of this story is about the her journey to uncover her father’s depravations during World War II, when he was forcibly relocated to a labor camp along with thousands of other Hungarian Jews.