Geography Blog

Tag: Local issues

  • St. Peter bridge: Second bridge over the Minnesota River

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    averslui

    According to a 26 May 2013 Mankato Free Press article by Nicollet County Historical Society Collections Manager Bob Sandeen, the Saint Peter bridge on Broadway Avenue, built in 1871, was only the second bridge to cross the Minnesota River. (The other bridge was a railroad bridge near Fort Snelling.) Prior to bridges, people relied on…

  • Ice Out on Northern Minnesota Lakes

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    mbjellan

    The ice went out in early May on many northern Minnesota lakes. For some lakes it was the latest ice-out date on record. NASA’s Earth Observatory captured fantastic images of the change between May 12 and May 16 with their MODIS satellite instrument.  Read more here      

  • A record wet start to Minnesota’s spring

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    averslui

    from WeatherTalk, by Mark Seeley, Univ. of Minnesota, Dept of Soil, Water, and Climate: “The south-central and southeastern climate divisions of Minnesota are off to a record start in 2013 in terms of precipitation. For south-central Minnesota observers the average total precipitation received through the first 4 months of the year (Jan-Apr) is 11.17 inches,…

  • 15 Years Ago Today: The Saint Peter Tornado

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    mbjellan

    A F-3 tornado struck on March 29, 1998, killing a young boy and destroying over two hundred homes plus two historic schools, two historic churches, Gustavus’ oldest dormitory, and thousands of trees. Remarkably, the tornado spared the town’s three trailer parks, lessening the toll. Below is a map created in MapInfo by Gustavus geography students…

  • The 15th Anniversary of the 1998 Saint Peter Tornado

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    averslui

    Fifteen years ago, on 29 March 1998, a 67-mile-track F3-F4 tornado passed through Saint Peter. Two people were killed and over 200 houses in Saint Peter were destroyed. Fifty-nine buildings on the Gustavus campus were damaged, and the campus and rest of Saint Peter lost many of their trees. “Tens of thousands of trees were…

  • Minnesota State Geography receives major endowment

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    averslui

    The Department of Geography at Minnesota State University in Mankato, MN, is the recipient of a major endowment gifted by Dr. Mary T. Dooley, Professor Emerita of Geography. The endowment will provide student scholarships and research expenses as well as build the collection of the University Map Library. For more information and to learn more…

  • Students Visit Local Frac Sand Mine

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    mbjellan

    Human geography students donned safety goggles and hardhats to visit the Unimin mining operation in Kasota. The trip offered students a chance to witness mining in action and see the interplay of global forces, local geomorphology, and textbook economic geography locational considerations. Unimin is a Belgium-based company with mines on all seven continents. Their Kasota,…

  • Local mining for sand used in fracking

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    averslui

    The process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, uses pressurized fluids to fracture shale formations in order to extract natural gas or petroleum. Fossil fuel pumping using this technique has greatly accelerated since the early 2000’s. It allows fossil fuels that were formerly too difficult and expensive to extract to be mined, and has been an…