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Current Projects, 2003-2004

Portrayal of "Rural" by Metropolitan Media
Neil Linscheid, a junior from St. Paul, Minnesota majoring in Political Science
Abby Von Arx, a junior from Caledonia, Minnesota majoring in English
Tara Schmidt, a junior from Brainerd, Minnesota majoring in Political Science
Ben Winchester, CST Staff

The student research consists of completing a content analysis of the print-base media such as the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press, television media (limited), as well as the radio media of Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) during the past year. The students will examine underlying themes, and historical understandings of "rural" will be applied to provide a framework for the rural portrayals. The results will be presented in a final written report and presented at the Minnesota Initiative Foundation Board of Trustees retreat on June 4th. The Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation secured our service to research the portrayal of rural areas by media organizations with statewide coverage.

Civic Engagement Workbook for Statistics
Dr. Engin Sungur, Professor of Statistics
Dr. Jon Anderson, Associate Professor of Statistics
Dr. Jong-Min Kim, Assistant Professor of Statistics
Larissa Davisson, a junior from Cold Spring, Minnesota majoring in German
Ben Winchester, CST Staff

Two courses, Statistics 1601: Introduction to Statistics and Statistics 2601: Statistical Methods, are now integrated with a civic engagement component that allows for the survey, analysis, research and reporting of rural statistical indicators. Students are involved in the compilation of variables, the analysis of rural indicators, and the creation of "media reports" that are distributed to communities and counties across Minnesota.
http://www.morris.umn.edu/services/cst/statbook/
This workbook is used as a supplement for The Introduction to the Practice of Statistics (4th ed) by Dr. David S. Moore and Dr. George P. McCabe. This workbook will follow the textbook and provide problem sets for each chapter. The primary data source for this workbook is the 2000 US Census. The Census Bureau and the Minnesota Department of Administration (formerly Minnesota Planning) data repository web sites, which contain a wealth of data about the area, will be used throughout these problem sets

West Central Minnesota Healthcare Purchasing Alliance
Dr. Greg Thorson, Associate Professor of Political Science
Tara Schmidt, a junior from Brainerd, Minnesota majoring in Political Science
Ben Winchester, CST Staff

The Healthcare Purchasing Alliance is a recent development to help businesses and individuals address the rising costs of health care. Since 2002, we have helped complete a survey of businesses and providers, provided community forums on health care, and developed a board representative of the health care industry in the west central Minnesota region.
http://www.morris.umn.edu/~wchpa/
Additionally, research on healthcare policy has provided guidance and assistance to the newly formed board. Tara's research has included the history of insurance and pooling, an economic model of health care expenditures, and a review of the healthcare purchasing alliances across the country. A primary partner on this project is the West Central Regional Sustainable Development Partnership.

Historical Minnesota Census Project
Leland Potter, a senior from Bemidji, Minnesota majoring Psychology
Ben Winchester, CST Staff

There is a lack of data on population in Minnesota cities and townships. This project Leland is dedicated to gathering historical census data from 1890-2000 and entering it in an electronic format that can be shared via the Center for Small Towns website.

Midwest Assistance Program
Josh Mattson, a senior from Lake Park, Minnesota with Mathematics and Statistics double major
Luke Vanasse, a senior from Delano, Minnesota with Management and Statistics double major
Ben Winchester, CST Staff

The Midwest Assistance Program (MAP) (www.map-inc.org) provides assistance to rural communities for water and wastewater infrastructure projects across 9 mid-western states: Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming. This project involved consolidating and standardizing data from 1996-2001, computing summary statistics, providing research about the impact of rural infrastructure, and reporting findings. This project was initially supported by the Community Assistantship Program of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs.

Senior Care Facility Project
Jeff Janca, a senior from Chicago, Illinois majoring in Biology
Chelsey Albrecht, a freshman majoring in Business Management (Sept. 4 - Oct. 8)
Amanda Jacobson, a freshman from Canby, Minnesota, majoring in Speech Communication (Oct. 20 - Dec. 12)
Sungmin Hong, a sophomore from New York, New York majoring in Chemistry (Feb. 9- March 7)
Ben Winchester, CST Staff

The City of Milan, like many rural small towns, has an aging population. These seniors are now forced to move to an adjacent city with senior care facilities. The city has a vacant building that they would like to see turned into an assisted living facility. The students are completing research on the development of an assisted living facility which includes a marketing study, code requirement, facility layout, staffing requirements, ownership and financing options, and services offered to the residents. A survey of area residents was completed to help inform the team. This project is supported by the Community Assistantship Program of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs.

Clean Energy Research Team Assistant
Dr. Arne Kildegaard, Professor of Management and Economics
Elizabeth Jensen, a sophomore/junior from Bloomington, Minnesota with Political Science and German double major
Jessica Beyer, CST Staff

The West Central Regional Sustainable Development Partnership student research assistant works with staff to perform an energy inventory of the region that looks at current energy usage, opportunities for conservation, current renewable energy activities underway in the region, and the availability of and potential for local renewable energy resources. This project is supported by the Community Assistantship Program of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs.

Civic Engagement Research
Kristen Strissel, a sophomore from Rapid City, South Dakota with a Political Science and English double major
Jessica Beyer, CST Staff
Ben Winchester, CST Staff

Kristen will conduct a literature review of the research associated with civic engagement and student involvement. Additionally, a recently developed collaborative model between the University of Minnesota Extension Service (UMES) and the University of Minnesota, Morris (UMM) will be implemented in the west central region. UMES staff will be matched up with UMM faculty to explore opportunities of collaboration.

Rural Indicators Research
Dan Conroy, a junior from Fergus Falls, Minnesota with a Statistics and Mathematics double major
Ben Winchester, CST Staff

This project involves the student to gather, analysis, and report rural indicators. This includes an examination of the differences between rural and metropolitan areas, as well as cities and townships.

Program Evaluation Research Assistant
Nick Petersen is a sophomore from Elk River, Minnesota with a Political Science and History double major
David Fluegel, CST Staff

Program evaluation is a process of gathering information about a program to measure and understand the program's results. Nick will review the literature to better understand the terms, tools and methods used in providing program evaluations services. A determination of need for the services, a review of models employed by current providers and the Center's own capacity to provide these services will be explored.

Data Analysis and Research
Adam Torkelson, a freshman from Litchfield, Minnesota majoring in Political Science
Jessica Beyer, CST Staff
Ben Winchester, CST Staff

This project is primarily involved in helping with the entry and consolidation of historical census data from Minnesota. Adam also helps at the front desk over the lunch hour, greeting visitors to the Center for Small Towns, answering phones, taking messages, and sending faxes.

Student Administrative Intern
Emily Elsner, a junior from Coon Rapids, Minnesota majoring in English
Jessica Beyer, CST Staff

This is an on-going position within the Center where a student works directly with the administrative functions of the Center for Small Towns. Responsibilities include assisting with all aspects of the Student Involvement component, including recruitment, placement and evaluation of student employees and volunteers. Other duties include participation and recording of weekly staff meetings, assisting with special projects like the Annual Symposium on Small Towns, and working on publicity and visibility efforts.

Service Learning Assistant
Elizabeth Griepentrog, a freshman from Milwaukee, Wisconsin with an undecided major
Char Zinda, Morris Area School District Service Learning Coordinator, site supervisor
Jessica Beyer, CST Staff

Elizabeth will work with the Morris Area School District to provide support and enhancement to service learning in the district by creating a new and improved 'Service Learning Newsletter' to inform the school and community of service learning projects happening at the elementary, high school, and university level. Two newsletters will be produced and with any remaining time, a service learning district brochure will be developed.

Youth Development Assistant
Megan Agust-Hau, a sophomore from St.Paul, Minnesota majoring in Sociology
Mary Gerness-Meyers, Healthy Communities/Healthy Youth, site supervisor
Jessica Beyer, CST Staff

Megan will work with the Healthy Communities/Healthy Youth program at the Morris Area School District to create a newsletter, help with the program publicity, and assist in the planning and organizing of youth, youth leadership and/or intergenerational activities. Continue the program publicity of John's Entertainment, update the web page design and hang flyers of up coming events with HCHY.

Preservation Plan Archive Assistant
Dr. Steve Gross, History Professor, site supervisor
Matt Ottinger, a junior from Crystal, Minnesota majoring in History
Jessica Beyer, CST Staff

This project involves working with the Getty Grant to help with the historical preservation of the UMM campus by the collection, scanning, and editing historic photographs of the West Central School of Agriculture. The student will create an inventory and a searchable database of the photographs and disseminate to campus offices.

Storefront Design Assistant
Heidi Rostberg, a freshman from St. Paul Minnesota majoring in Studio Art
Ruth Johnson, Coordinator Hoffman Economic Development Authority, site supervisor
Jessica Beyer, CST staff

This project involves assisting the Hoffman Economic Development Authority in planning and developing ideas to revitalize the appearance of the Main Street. The Assistant will design and create the layout of possible ways to create a fresh, new "look" particularly with the empty storefronts. In cooperation with the storefront owners, the assistant will gather ideas create concept drawings and discuss ways that youth, groups, and others in the community could be involved.

Barn Again! Activities Coordinator
Amy Kippley, a freshman from St.Paul, Minnesota with a Liberal Arts and Human Services and Women's Studies double major
Megan August-Hau, a sophomore from St. Paul, Minnesota majoring in Sociology
Randee Hokanson, site supervisor
Jessica Beyer, CST Staff

The students will work with the Stevens County Historical Museum and the Prairie Renaissance Cultural Alliance to help coordinate events and recruit volunteers to help with various events that are being showcased with the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit. Amy is also going to help with the publicity of events pertaining to this Smithsonian exhibit throughout Minnesota, as well as North and South Dakota. This exhibit is one of five sites in Minnesota and the Activities Coordinator will participate in many events that this exhibit will bring.

Directed Study
Dr. Steve Burks, Professor of Economics
Dana Madden, a senior with a Political Science, and Economics double major
Ben Winchester, CST Staff

Danna is examining the changing budgets of small towns (population under 5,000) across the state of Minnesota. These towns exist in varying environments, from locations in rural and metropolitan areas, as well as those with recreational amenities. These environments provide the basis for examining the changing revenue and expense streams, essential and non-essential service spending, as well as the impact of revenue cuts on spending choices. The Minnesota State Auditor provides data that is used to examine trends for the years 1995, 1999, and 2002.

21st Century Grant
Dr. Gwen Rudney, Elementary Education Professor, program evaluator
Marnie Walden, a senior majoring in Elementary Education
Anne Droske, a senior majoring in Elementary Education
David Fluegel, CST Staff

Anne and Marnie will assist in evaluation and coordination activities required in providing External Evaluations services to the participating schools (Wheaton area, Browns Valley and the Tiospa Zina Tribal schools) implementing the "connections: Technology-based Community Learning Centers" project. This may include collecting field data through various instruments (interviews, surveys, observation "field notes") by phone, e-mail and face-to-face methods. Anne and Marnie may also assist with the transcribing data from taped interviews, analyzing collected data, and drafting of reports.

Lands Stewardship Project
Alex Jarvis, a senior from St. Cloud, Minnesota majoring in Computer Science and a minor in Statistics
Rob Faux, Project Coordinator
Jessica Beyer, CST Staff

This project involves working with the Land Stewardship Project with the development of a database system converting a paper system to an electronic system accessed through the Internet. This includes creating a survey and a tracking system used to document information related to trainings and courses for surrounding area farmers. Alex will also work with the Land Stewardship staff to implement the updated database.

Second Annual Symposium on Small Towns
Vanessa Waltz, a junior from Plymouth, Minnesota majoring in English, with a Spanish minor
Heidi Rostberg, a sophomore from St. Paul, Minnesota majoring in Art
Tara Schmidt, a senior from Brainerd, Minnesota majoring in Political Science
Emily Elsner, a senior from Coon Rapids, Minnesota majoring in English
Kevin Logan, a senior from Madison, South Dakota majoring in Computer Science

This project involves working with the Center for Small Towns and the Minnesota Association of Small Cities to help with the 2nd Annual Symposium on Small Towns. The symposium is a celebration of rural life through a keynote speaker, community project showcases, legislative forum, and a musical concert. The students will help organize packet material, help with registration, and direct and answer questions from the Symposium participants.

Technology Team
Kevin Logan, a senior from Madison, South Dakota majoring in Computer Science
Ben Winchester, CST Staff

This project involves working with the Regional Fitness Center to update web pages and creating a more user friendly web environment. Training is also conducted to understand the web site and to learn how to update the information. Other projects continue to be explored.

Community Outreach Partnership Centers grant proposal
Kelsi Holland, a senior, from Thief River Falls, Minnesota majoring in Statistics
Tara Schmidt, a senior from Brainerd, Minnesota majoring in Political Science
David Fluegel, CST Staff

This project involves working with the Center for Small Towns in an application process of a grant proposal. Duties include research and data collection of different outreach activities, writing sections of the proposal, and help review the proposal.

The Meaning of Rural
Tara Schmidt, a senior from Brainerd, Minnesota majoring in Political Science
Ben Winchester, CST Staff

Tara researches and analyzes the history of the USDA-Rural Development to look for patterns of support and development of rural places in the United States. This research has contribued to a project that defines the meaning of "rural" historically and temporally in the United States.

4-H Summer Assistant
Jennifer Evenson, a junior majoring in Biology
Megan August-Hau, a sophomore from St. Paul, Minnesota majoring in Sociology
Melissa Gronfeild, a junior from Johnson, Minnesota majoring in Human Resources Management
Shelly Haggerty, a junior with a Elementary Education and Behavioral Science double major
Bonita Hanson, a senior from Evansville, Minnesota majoring in Animal Industries Management from Crookston
Rachel Wholwend, a junior from Wahpeton South Dakota majoring in Psychology
Jessica Beyer, CST Staff

This project involves working with the University of Minnesota Extension Service county offices in the surrounding areas. Responsibilities include assisting with all aspects of the 4-H programs, including day camps, trainings, working with different 4-H clubs, and other short-term activities to get youth involved in the community. Other duties include participation and recording of meetings, assisting with special projects like the county fairs, and working on publicity and visibility efforts of the county's 4-H programs.

Summer Horticulture Assistant
Troy Benson, a freshman from Murdock with a Biology and Chemistry double major
Jessica Beyer, CST Staff

Troy will work with the horticulture program in Douglas County's Extension office in Alexandria. Troy will conduct research many different types of dieses and plants that inhabit the area and answer questions pertaining different types of plants and dieses that they might carry. Other duties include participation and recording of meetings, assisting with special horticulture projects at the county fair, and work on publicity and visibility efforts of the county's horticulture program.