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Augsburg College hockey teams, players shine in media coverage

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The Augsburg College women’s and men’s hockey teams are enjoying strong seasons, and several news organizations have covered their accomplishments.

Let's Play Hockey - logoNational hockey newspaper Let’s Play Hockey recently published an article by Don Stoner, Augsburg’s sports information director, on the teams’ successes. Stoner reports that despite a slow start, the men’s team went on to win their first regular-season Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title since the 1997 – 98 season. He also notes that the women’s team has been playing a winning season, attributed in part to goalie Erika Allen ’16.

uscho - logoU.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) also covered Augsburg’s teams in two recent articles. The first article focuses on men’s goalie Jordyn Kaufer ’18. Declaring that Kaufer is “clearly one of the best goaltenders in college hockey,” the article shares an unexpected detail of the sophomore’s career — he was cut from his high school’s hockey team as a junior.

“I played junior gold hockey my final two years of high school,” Kaufer said. “It gives guys a chance who don’t make their high school team to still play the game.”

USCHO also published an article about the Augsburg women’s team and the significance of their strong showing this season. Augsburg’s program was the first women’s hockey program in the Midwest, and the College recently marked the program’s 20th anniversary.

“Celebrating 20 years of Augsburg women’s hockey was incredibly special,” said coach Michelle McAteer.

Augsburg’s hockey teams will compete in the MIAC Semifinals on Saturday, February 27. Visit the Augsburg Athletics website to view the upcoming events calendar.

Jeanne Boeh offers her take on Minnesota economy in Star Tribune article

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Minneapolis Star Tribune - logoJeanne Boeh, professor of economics at Augsburg College, was one of several experts quoted in a recent Star Tribune article on the current state of Minnesota’s economy. She attributes Minnesota’s steady economy to its diversity, which makes it less dependent on agriculture than neighboring states.

“Because we’re a diversified economy, we will keep trudging along at a lukewarm pace and eventually the labor shortages will happen and employers will raise wage rates more in order to get good workers,” Boeh said. “I think we are OK.”

 

Teachers learn coding through Augsburg College program, KARE 11 reports

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kare 11 - logoKARE 11 news recently aired a segment covering “Makers: Small to Big,” a series of workshops sponsored by the Augsburg College physics department. The workshops are open to the public but are designed to help educators incorporate hands-on physics and computer programming projects into their classroom activities.

The segment featured a coding workshop led by Nora Helf, a Master of Arts in Education student, who saw teachers using software to coordinate blinking LED lights. Helf was assisted by 10-year-old programmer Jack Tavakley who demonstrated some of the projects he has made.

Watch and read Teachers learn new technology to inspire students on the KARE 11 website.

Spokesman-Recorder covers LeVar Burton’s presentation at
Scholarship Weekend

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Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder - logoThe Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder recently published an article covering LeVar Burton’s Scholarship Weekend presentation. Burton, known for his roles in “Roots,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” and as the host of “Reading Rainbow,” spoke about the importance of literacy and called for education that incorporates reading and art into technical fields.

“Education is the key to freedom,” said Burton. “No one can oppress you and no one can impose their point of view on you. I believe that literacy is the birthright of every single one of us on this planet, no exceptions.”

The Spokesman-Recorder article also notes that Burton cited his mother Erma Jean Christen, a dedicated reader, and Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry as inspirations. Burton stressed the importance of diverse representation in media, saying that Star Trek’s inclusion of Lt. Uhura, one of the first prominent African-descended characters in television, helped him see himself as part of the future.

Read LeVar Burton fires up Augsburg fans for literacy on the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder site.

Auggies are Teacher of the Year candidates

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Lillie News - logoLillie News recently reported that Koua Yang ’99, a human geography and Asian American studies teacher at Harding Senior High School in St. Paul, is one of 114 candidates for Education Minnesota’s 2016 Teacher of the Year Award. The award is one of the most prestigious given to educators in Minnesota and will be awarded May 15.

“I am very, very much humbled by the candidacy,” said Yang. “There are so many great teachers.”

The full list of nominees was published by the Star Tribune. Fellow Auggies Julie Swanson ’85 and Aaron Olson ’11 also have been nominated for the award.

Read Two East Side teachers are candidates for Teacher of the Year on the Lillie News site.

KARE 11 news airs segment on development project spearheaded by Devean George ’99

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Kare 11 - logoKARE 11 news staff recently interviewed former NBA player Devean George ’99 about The Commons at Penn Avenue, a mixed-use building development in north Minneapolis that George has been working on for four years. The building includes upscale low-income housing and will be the site of a co-op grocery store that will open this summer.

George compared the complexity of completing the project with the effort required to join the NBA.

“This has been really difficult. It was a little bit like pre-draft for me,” George said. “Coming from a small school I had to prove myself and play well all the time. It was similar to that.”

Watch and read Retired NBA players builds housing complex in north Minneapolis on the KARE 11 site.

Michael Lansing interviewed by Pioneer Public Television, publishes MinnPost article

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Pioneer Public Television - logoPioneer Public Television (PPT) recently included an interview with Michael Lansing, associate professor of history at Augsburg College and author of Insurgent Democracy: The Nonpartisan League in North American Politics, in an episode of Compass, a program that focuses on public policy and other issue of importance to PPT’s community.

Lansing’s book details the history of the Nonpartisan League, a political movement active in North Dakota, neighboring states, and some Canadian provinces in the early 1900s. The interview is available online on the PPT website.

Additionally, MinnPost - logoLansing wrote an article for MinnPost that examines the trend of comparing the current sociopolitical climate with the “Gilded Age” of the late 19th century. He argues that the results of recent presidential primaries in New Hampshire, which overwhelmingly rejected candidates viewed as having ties to the political establishment, reflect an important change in voter attitudes.

“American voters now believe they are living in a second Gilded Age,” he writes. “This shift has the potential to transform our nation’s politics.” He adds that regardless of the final outcomes of the nomination processes, this change is a noteworthy signifier of Americans’ rejection of the status quo.

Watch History Collaborative & Agrarian Revolt on the Pioneer Public Television site.

Read A second Gilded Age at last? on the MinnPost site.

Star Tribune highlights Augsburg College students’ participation in solidarity event

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Minneapolis Star Tribune - logoThe Minneapolis Star Tribune recently published an article covering World Hijab Day events at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minnesota.

The article featured photos of Augsburg College students who hosted the Hijab Fashion Show at Augsburg. Students at Normandale and Augsburg hosted events in support of Muslim students and were joined by non-Muslim students in a show of solidarity.

Photos of Augsburg College students featured in the paper included Aisha Barre, Anisa Ahmed, Nahili Abdulahi and Juweria Hassan, who participated in the fashion show. Similar events have been taking place across the country in reaction to divisive rhetoric and anti-Muslim sentiment, the article notes.

Read Non-Muslim Minnesotans are donning the hijab to show support on the Star Tribune site.

Star Tribune celebrates Koryne Horbal, mentions lecture series

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Minneapolis Star Tribune - logoThe Minneapolis Star Tribune recently published an article covering the life of Koryne Horbal, political activist and former United Nations ambassador for women. Horbal co-founded the Minnesota DFL’s feminist caucus and was an early champion of still-debated issues such as the Equal Rights Amendment, sexual slavery, reproductive choice, and workplace equity.

The article notes Augsburg’s Koryne Horbal Lecture Series in which the College welcomes prominent feminist speakers including Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda, Winona LaDuke, and The Guerilla Girls. Horbal has been a consultant for the Women’s Resource Center at Augsburg and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the College in 2008.

This year, the lecture will take place on March 9 and feature Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis chapter of the NAACP. More information on the event is available on the Convocation Series website.

Read “Minnesota political pioneer Koryne Horbal looks back” on the Star Tribune site.

Julian Kritz ’16 recounts international interfaith experience in article published by the Jerusalem Post

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Jerusalem Post - LogoThe Jerusalem Post website recently published an article by Julian Kritz ’16, Interfaith Scholar and vice president of Students Supporting Israel at Augsburg College. In the piece, Kritz discussed his experience traveling to Israel with a diverse delegation of Minnesota legislators and community leaders.

He remembered the diversity of the group — which was bipartisan, interfaith and intergenerational — as being particularly impactful as they toured sites of importance to Christians, Jews, and Muslims.

“As a Jew, seeing Israel through the eyes of the Christian members of our delegation was a moving experience which greatly added to my understanding of why so many people care about this small piece of land,” he explained.

Kritz was selected for the trip due to his work as an intern with the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas (JCRC) and his travel was sponsored by a grant from the Minneapolis Jewish Federation. The JCRC was asked to plan the trip, which included meetings with key figures in Israeli and Palestinian politics and tours of religious sites, centers of business, and locations of political importance.