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For stadium guidance, Minneapolis should look to Vancouver, writes Prof. Bjelland. Read Dr. Mark Bjelland’s letter to the editor of the Minneapolis Star Tribune on the Vikings stadium. It was selected as January 9’s Letter of the Day!

China now has an operational satellite-based navigation system called Beidou (translation: Big Dipper) to rival the US government’s GPS (Global Positioning System). See http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/beidou-chinas-gps-equivalent-is-operational-20111230/ for more!

Just like water cycles from the atmosphere to soil to groundwater, living creatures, streams, and the ocean, we can follow the cycles of other nutrients like carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. Carbon, for instance, is found in all living things (carbohydrates, for example) as well as in methane and carbon dioxide gases in the atmosphere, in…

British neuroscientists have shown that the brains of taxi drivers grow when they study for their taxi license exam. To be licensed to drive the classic black London cabs, cabbies have to pass a test demonstrating knowledge of the complex network of 25,000 winding streets and 20,000 landmarks in central London. The recent study showed…

Have you moved recently? Check out this map showing net migration between all U.S. counties for recent years. According to the map, in 2009 Nicollet County gained more people than they lost via migration. Nicollet County gained 77 from Hennepin County in 2009, but lost 127 people to Hennepin County in the same year.

It’s Geography Awareness Week, so let me present the current faculty teaching in the Geography department at Gustavus. Below I give a brief description of our research specialties–a sampling of the types of questions that interest geographers. Prof. Ruth Baker studies snow: What are the historical patterns of snowfall in the Upper Midwest?  How is…

  Congratulations to Amy Hughes for winning the raffle-trivia contest on Tuesday! Trivia questions and answers: 1. Which US state has the biggest dairy industry? (California) 2. The Earth is closest to the Sun in what month? (January) 3. The peak global population growth ever reached occurred during which decade? (1960s) 4. Turfgrass can be…

It’s Geography Awareness Week! So what can you do with a degree in Geography? Geography provides a broad base that allows graduates to work in diverse fields in education, government, business, research, and NGOs (non-governmental organizations). Here are some examples of careers for geographers: natural hazards analyst urban planner geographic information scientist soil scientist community…

      Come out to Patrick’s tonight for Geography trivia! Patrick’s On Third is sponsoring several rounds of trivia in support of Geography Awareness Week. When? Tonight, 7-9:00 pm Where: Patrick’s On Third, 125 S Third St, Saint Peter See you there!

In honor of Geography Awareness Week, come hear Geography Prof. Bob Douglas play with his band, the Floodplain Four! Live in the Gustavus Campus Center starting at 12:30 pm today, Tuesday, November 15.