Event Summary

Financial life in retirement

Event Date: October 5, 2026, at 10:00 AM

See presentation recording and slides below with topics on:

• Longevity
• Distributions
• Long Term Care
• Social Security
• Comprehensive planning

Iceland—architecture, culture, and geology

Event Date: September 30, 2026, at 10:00 AM

The architecture in Iceland is as spare as the culture -- honest and simple. See the recorded presentation.

Tourism ethics in a world on the move

Professor Arun Saldanha, the featured speaker for the first luncheon forum of UMRA’s 2026–27 program year, will examine how tourism has evolved in an era shaped by pandemics, climate concerns, and changing global realities; and encourage us to think about what it means to be thoughtful, responsible, and curious travelers. 

Health sciences in the spotlight

UMRA’s September Living Well Workshop will feature Carol Bradford, MD, MS, FACS, interim dean of the University of Minnesota Medical School and interim executive vice president for Health Affairs. She is an internationally recognized cancer surgeon-scientist who also brings considerable leadership and administrative experience. 

Assisting immigrants "imprisoned" and their families

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

Critical issues facing detained immigrants and their families will be discussed. Recording and documents are available from the presentation.

Book Notes | ‘ The Secret Book of Flora Lea’ by Patti Callahan Henry

Event Date: September 18, 2026, at 2:00 PM

Overall, our group liked 'The Secret Book of Flora Lea' with its rich descriptions and happy ending. We also talked about the heart-wrenching removal of 1.5 million people from British towns and cities over three days in September 1939.

Strategies for managing the ups and downs of sleep

Event Date: September 17, 2026, at 8:30 AM

Questions and comments on topics ranging from consistent bedtimes to the use of CPAP machines and over-the-counter sleep aids contributed to an engaging and goodhearted discussion for the UMRA Breakfast meeting on September 17.

Minnesota Genealogical Society

Event Date: September 9, 2026, at 10:00 AM

Mike, president of the Minnesota Genealogical Society, provided a brief overview of the library, the society and the many volunteers who help maintain it and entertained questions about the Society.

Book Notes | ‘Buckeye’ by Patrick Ryan

Event Date: August 21, 2026, at 2:00 PM

The book chronicles the lives of three generations of two families living in Ohio in the mid 20th-century. Midway through the book, the reader learns that the two families are connected in a most unusual way.

Book Notes | ‘The Silent Patient’

Event Date: July 17, 2026, at 2:00 PM

Referred to as a psychological thriller, this New York Times best-selling novel by Alex Michaelides is narrated by the lead character, a psychotherapist who becomes obsessed with a woman who, after being found guilty of murdering her husband, has chosen not to speak.

Book Notes | ‘In Winter’s Kitchen’

Event Date: June 19, 2026, at 2:00 PM

'In Winter’s Kitchen' by award-winning food writer and author Beth Dooley is part memoir and part guidebook. It is a story about discovering community-based agriculture and finding delicious, healthy food even during winter. Autobiographical information about the author is woven into each chapter of the book.

Meet the U’s chief academic officer and Twin Cities campus provost

Executive Vice President and Provost Gretchen Ritter will discuss her role and offer reflections on her first year at the University of Minnesota as the featured speaker for the UMRA Luncheon Forum on May 19 at Midland Hills Country Club in Roseville. The forum will be preceded by UMRA’s 2026 Annual Meeting.

Book Notes | ‘The Alchemy of Us’

Event Date: May 15, 2026, at 2:00 PM

The things we take for granted required materials and humans working together to develop inventions including the telegraph, steel, medical treatments, photographic techniques, and the electronic devices we now depend on in our daily lives.

An advocate for gun violence prevention

UMRA’s Living Well Workshop on May 12 will feature Megan Walsh from the University of Minnesota Law School for a presentation on efforts to prevent gun violence through lawsuits designed to address unlawful practices in selling, manufacturing, or advertising firearms.

The changing role of art museums

Ever wonder what goes on behind the shiny walls of the Weisman Art Museum on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus? What its mission is, and how the museum staff and its collections relate with our community? Join us for UMRA’s April 28 luncheon forum at Midland Hills and hear Weisman Art Director Alejandra Peña Gutiérrez explain it all.