The Earth and Environmental Science Department at the University of Minnesota has launched a fundraiser in conjunction with Give to the Max Day (Thursday, November 14, 2019). 

All proceeds will offset the student fees for Professor Josh Feinberg’s Standards and Practices for Professional Geoscientists course. Students in this course take the Fundamentals of Geology exam, which has a $250 application fee, and complete the OSHA 40-hour HAZWOPER training, which has a $425 fee.  There are typically 15-20 students registered for the course. A course fee of $675 per student is difficult, so this year, the Department has initiated a fundraising drive. The Minnesota Section of the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG MN) has supported this course for the last 3 years.

If you are interested in donating, please visit the fundraising drive website by November 30, 2019 at http://c-fund.us/nw5. There is a $1,500 match for Give to the Max Day!

The Minnesota Section of the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG MN) donated $500 towards the cost of a mock dig site for the Rosemount High School!

Teacher Joe Christman at Rosemount High School created a new science elective class, which revolves around dinosaur paleontology!  In his request, he said, "An important part of paleontology is doing research in the field and I felt as though this was an important aspect of the science students should experience.  Understanding field research can give students skills in organization, attention to detail, spatial reasoning, and interpretation of data."  
    
In order to give students a dig experience, Joe built a mock dig site on campus.  This includes a 20x20 foot area filled in with sand and gravel.  Replicas of dinosaur fossils will be placed in a matrix of sand and wax.  Students will be using geologic rock hammers, chisels, and other field equipment to record, analyze, and excavate the fossils.  The cost of the project was about $3,000.
    
Joe stated, "Science is about curiosity, evaluation, and putting pieces of evidence together.  This is a unique experience for students; however, it is a necessary one.  It is an experience that will illuminate and inspire students to consider a career path in science." 

To view more pictures of the completed project taken in late August, please click here.

Many geoscientists interest in the geosciences began with dinosaurs as children, so what a great way to get young students interested in the geosciences!

Your donations to the AIPG MN Education Fund and participation in the annual Golf Scramble & Fundraiser make donations like this possible.  Thank you everyone!

AIPG Minnesota Section,

We are looking for ‘testimonials’ on how people have used the county geologic atlases. We occasionally get requests to give presentations on the topic – “Just what are the County Geologic Atlas good for?” We also routinely get asked by legislators to provide examples at the local level of how they are used, and even what the economic advantages to having a county atlas are.

We know the CGA is used by a wide variety of stakeholders for many different applications and their availability often results in time and money savings on projects (high capacity wells, groundwater modeling, landfill siting, DOT uses them in structure work, counties use them for many zoning applications, and many more).

We are particularly interested to know about specific projects, but also find value in understanding in a more general sense the types of projects you use them for. Here are a couple shortened examples we have received:

Jim de Lambert, Senior Hydrogeologist, Carlson McCain, Inc: “For most projects the initial information sources include the County Geologic Atlas. For Minnesota well siting projects, the County Atlas Series will be my first source of information to help define the project area and to give the area broad hydrogeologic context. This assists in identifying potential target aquifer(s). If the supplier is a Rural Water System, there is often considerable flexibility with well field location and this type of county and regional information can be invaluable.”

Heather Cunningham, Zoning and Environmental Services Administrator, Carlton County: “I would say that I use the atlas on a monthly basis. In the last 6 months, I have used it for the review of an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW), pollution sensitivity for a proposed mixed use development, groundwater contamination at our closed landfill, and in working with a lake association.”

Kristi Anderson, Hydrogeologist, Northwest AqwaTek Solutions: “The majority of what I do is working with the agricultural community for crop irrigation systems; I typically look to the County Geologic Atlas (CGA)….as the starting point for my work.”

Joe Hudak, Assistant Engineering Geologist, Minnesota Department of Transportation: “We typically use the county atlases for subsurface information prior to conducting any geophysical field work or drill rig borings/CPT soundings.”

Martin Larsen, Olmsted County Feedlot Technician, Landowner & Farmer, Olmsted County: “The County Geologic Atlas is an important tool for the Olmsted Soil and Water Conservation District. It is used for animal feedlot permitting and nutrient management planning to locate sinkholes, depth to bedrock and first encountered bedrock. The springshed maps included in some Part B atlases are utilized for local education and outreach.”

If you have specific application examples that you could share it would be especially useful. Or, if you have any leads of others who might use the CGAs, we would be interested in getting those contacts so that we could learn more.

We are also very interested to get your ideas about how we can improve the end-product. Maybe there is a way we can make the CGA more valuable to you.

Thank-you for your help.
Barb Lusardi, Associate Director, Minnesota Geological Survey, [email protected]
Paul Putzier, Supervisor DNR County Geologic Atlas Program, [email protected]

As a 2017 AIPG MN Section Sponsor, your personal AIPG MN member account has been credited with 2 Luncheon Vouchers.  You can use them for anyone you register using your member account during 2017.

When you get to the payment screen, you'll see a section where you can select to use a voucher: 

Please select how many vouchers you'd like to use and click on APPLY.  You'll proceed through the registration process with a $0 balance.  If you have questions or issues using the vouchers, please contact Shanna Schmitt at [email protected] or 651.757.2697.  Thank you for your sponsorship!

Students from the University of St. Thomas Geology Department recently formed an AIPG Student Chapter.  Thier bylaws were signed on 02/13/2015, and AIPG Headquarters recognized them on 03/30/2015. Congratulations!

Sara Nelson of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is the AIPG MN Section liason with the University of St. Thomas AIPG Student Chapter.