MN Stormwater Manual now available in Wiki format

St. Paul, Minn. -- Cities and developers that need to control urban stormwater to prevent pollution of lakes and streams have a new tool available as of today, when the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency launches a wiki version of the Minnesota Stormwater Manual.

The previous manual - at 850 pages and 25 megabytes online - offered a wealth of information, but was cumbersome to use. Thanks to Clean Water Legacy Act funding and a design team from public agencies and private firms, the manual is now available in a web-based format that can be rapidly updated with new developments.

The newly reformatted manual, which is built with the same software as Wikipedia, allows users to collaborate with each other and quickly locate the most recent stormwater information, offering a powerful tool for those who need to comply with stormwater regulations.

"There is a lot to like about the wiki platform, including powerful search capability and mobile phone accessibility," said Mike Trojan of the MPCA's municipal stormwater program. "But perhaps the most important feature is that we can update the manual on the fly. We anticipate the size of the manual will increase significantly as the state moves toward new performance goals for minimal impact designs in developing properties."

The updates are expected to double the size of the manual over the next year, so now was the right time to move to a wiki format.

"There is a great deal of stormwater research being conducted and it's critical to incorporate the latest information on topics such as BMP design, construction, maintenance, and pollutant removal," Trojan noted. "The wiki provides us with a mechanism to incorporate new information as it becomes available." Unlike typical wikis found on the Internet, the MPCA will control edits to the online Minnesota Stormwater Manual.

The new wiki manual can be accessed by visiting www.pca.state.mn.us and searching for "Minnesota Stormwater Manual."

APRIL IS NATIONAL FINANCIAL LITERACY MONTH

ST. PAUL - (April 2, 2013) – April is National Financial Literacy month and a great time to remind consumers of the importance of taking charge of their personal financial well-being. Among the important aspects Minnesota consumers should know is what to do if contacted by a debt collector about a delinquent or defaulted account.

“While no one really wants to get a call or letter telling them they owe money, consumers need to know they are not alone,” Minnesota Association of Collectors President Tom Gavinski said. “Each year, for many very legitimate and often unavoidable reasons, millions of consumers fall behind on payments and are contacted by a debt collector.”

The Minnesota Association of Collectors offers helpful tips for Minnesota consumers to help effectively manage contact from third-party debt collector should the need arise. A third-party debt collector is unique in that they are service provider hired by the owner of the debt (i.e., a creditor or debt buyer) to recover a rightfully owed debt on their behalf.

Know Your Rights. Consumers have important rights under federal and state law, and deserve to be treated respectfully. By law, consumers cannot be harassed, threatened or be subjected to profanity and vulgar language.

For more information about consumer rights in debt collection or to ask questions, visit http://www.askdoctordebt.org.

Communicate. If you hear from a debt collector, avoiding a letter or call won’t make the debt disappear. The reason for the contact cannot be resolved without the ability to communicate; whether it's to pay an owed debt, verify an alleged debt or confirm that the debt collector has reached the wrong person.

Ask for Identification. Debt collectors cannot call anonymously nor present themselves as being a representative of a government entity. When contacted, collectors must identify themselves and the name of the collection agency they represent.

Notify the Collection Agency if you Dispute the Validity of the Debt. By law, the collector must inform you of your right to dispute the debt and provide written verification if you dispute it in writing. All collection activity stops until this verification is provided.

Seek to Work Out Complaints with the Collection Agency. Third-party debt collectors sincerely want to work with consumers to resolve complaints. According to the Council of Better Business Bureaus, in 2012 collection agencies resolved 86 percent of the consumer complaints received.

Protect Your Identity. Do not confirm or provide sensitive personal information (e.g., Social Security number, credit card numbers, and bank accounts) until certain of the authenticity of the debt and the person seeking to collect. Check out whether the collector is a legitimate agency by using the Internet to search the company name or visit http://www.acainternational.org to see if they are a member. Monitor accounts and immediately report any suspicious or unauthorized purchases to your bank or credit card provider. Importantly, consumers should also monitor their credit report. If you believe your identity has been stolen, contact your local police department and visit http://www.ftc.gov/idtheft for information on what you should do.

The Minnesota Association of Collectors is a State Unit of ACA International (http://www.acainternational.org), the comprehensive, knowledge-based resource for the credit and collection industry. Founded in 1939, ACA brings together 5,000 members in the United States and abroad, and their more than 300,000 employees, representing third-party collection agencies, asset buyers, attorneys, creditors and vendor affiliates. ACA supports members through state and federal advocacy, training and resources.

UMC Fun Nite

CROOKSTON, Minn. – The annual University of Minnesota Crookston Teambackers Fun Nite promises to be the biggest one yet in the event's 18-year history. It all takes place on Friday, April 26, 2013, at the Crookston Eagles Club, and all proceeds are used to support athletic scholarships at the University of Minnesota Crookston. Tickets are $40 per person through Friday, April 5. Following that date, tickets will increase to $50 per person. To purchase tickets, contact Bill Tyrrell, director of athletic fundraising at 218-281-8436.

The evening begins with a social at 5:30 p.m. featuring hors d'oeuvres along with two drink tickets per person. Following the social at 7 p.m. are games, drawings for prizes, raffles, and both live and silent auctions with the final drawing for $1,000 taking place at 10:30 p.m. A framed Minnesota Wild jersey autographed by Zach Parise and donated by Invest Forward in Crookston will be one of the timed auction items. Dancing with Tommy Helgeson will follow the games.

To see learn more about Fun Nite activities, visit www.goldeneaglesports.com/funnite.

Feed My Starving Children Event

Grand Forks—Over two thousand Greater Grand Forks community members will be on duty at the Grand Forks Public Works Building from Friday through Sunday, April 5-7, working two-hour shifts to fill bags—but not with sand. For the third consecutive year, Grand Forks volunteers will be filling bags with life-saving food for starving children around the world.

The Greater Grand Forks Community volunteers lead by Twin Cities-based Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) staff will package more than 410,000 lifesaving meals. The event will take place over three days with the first shift beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, April 5 and the last one to be held from 4:30-6:30 p.m., on Sunday, April 7, at the Grand Forks Public Works Building, 724 N. 47th St.

“This year marks a three year goal to pack 1 million meals at the Grand Forks site,” said Jodie Storhaug, chair of the GGF FMSC MobilePack committee. “This is a great opportunity for our community to ‘pay it forward’ by coming together to fill food bags for starving children.  The response by Grand Forks and the surrounding communities has been tremendous.  We have raised over $70,000 but we still have some work to do to meet the $90,200 to pay for the food we will package which costs .22 per meal.

Packing sessions

Packing sessions, each beginning with a 15-minute overview of FMSC’s work around the world, will take place at the following times:

Friday, April 5: 10:00-noon; 12:30-2:30 p.m.; 3:00-5:00 p.m.; 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 6:  9-11 a.m.; 11:30-1:30 p.m.; 2:30-4:30 p.m.; 5-7 p.m.
Sunday, April 7:  9:00-11:00 a.m.; 11:30-1:30 p.m.; 2-4 p.m.; 4:30-6:30 p.m.

There are only a few volunteer slots open. If you go online and find them full, keep checking, as slots tend to open up, especially during the last week.  Go to www.fmsc.org, then to MobilePack Events, and North Dakota (GF event number is 1304-13). Click the “Get Involved” button and then select “volunteer to pack.”

In addition, community members can support this event through prayer and making a donation to cover food costs. To donate, go to www.fmsc.org, then to MobilePack Events and North Dakota (GF event number is 1304-13).

Volunteers are also asked to bring non-perishable food items to the MobilePack Event for distribution to local food shelves in Greater Grand Forks.

About the food

With the input of scientists from major food companies in the Twin Cities area, including Cargill and General Mills, FMSC developed MannaPack Rice, a nutritional formula of vitamins and minerals, dehydrated vegetables, soy protein and rice.  It’s easy and safe to transport, simple to make with boiling water, culturally acceptable worldwide, and designed to save the lives of severely malnourished and starving children. Each pack serves 6 meals.

Last year, the GGF FMSC group raised more than $87,000 and packaged 303,264 meals, enough to feed 830 starvation-impacted children for a year. Most of the meals were shipped to Mission of Hope in Haiti. 31,000 were sent to Food for the Poor in Nicaragua.

About Feed My Starving Children

Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) is a non-profit Christian organization committed to feeding God’s starving children hungry in body and spirit. The approach is simple: children and adults hand pack meals designed specifically for starving children, and FMSC ships the meals to mission partners in nearly 70 countries around the world. Each meal costs only .22 cents to produce. Nearly 6,200 children die each day from starvation or starvation-related causes.
For more information, visit www.fmsc.org or contact: Holly Donato, National Marketing Director
Direct phone: 763.267.6319, Cell phone: 612.805.0631

Swine Seminar Set for April 12

The North Dakota State University Extension Service and North Dakota Pork Council are sponsoring a swine education seminar Friday, April 12, at the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center.

The seminar is for pork producers, Extension personnel, NDSU faculty and staff and anyone else with an interest in the swine industry. The event runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Topics that will be covered and the presenters are:

* Update of the Pork Quality Assurance Plus program and an overview of niche pork production - David Newman, NDSU Extension swine specialist

* Crisis preparedness and animal identification - Susan Keller, state veterinarian

* Overview of swine health - Paul Yeske, Swine Vet Center, St. Peter, Minn.

* Colostrum management and piglet health and quality - Bart Bartling, Pillen Family Farms, Columbus, Neb.

* What is waste worth? - Mary Berg and Emily Kline, area Extension livestock environmental management specialists at the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center

Lunch will be provided.

This seminar is free of charge, but those planning to attend should contact Holly Erdmann in the NDSU Department of Animal Sciences at (701) 231-7513 or holly.erdmann@ndsu.edu by Tuesday, April 9.

Bear hunt applications available; deadline is Friday, May 3

Applications for Minnesota bear hunting licenses are available beginning Monday, April 1, and will be accepted through Friday, May 3, the Department of Natural of Resources (DNR) said.

A total of 3,750 licenses are available in 11 permit areas. The number of available licenses for 2013 is about 35 percent fewer than the 6,000 licenses available in 2012.

The 2012 bear harvest was 2,604. That was a 22 percent increase from 2011, despite 15 percent fewer bear quota licenses being available. The increase in harvest for 2012 was largely due to poorer fall food conditions, making bears more attracted to hunters’ baits.

The DNR’s goal with the lower license quotas is to allow for a gradual increase in the current bear population.

“Although the trends in the last few years indicate a stable bear population, DNR is reducing bear license numbers in the quota bear area to increase bear population numbers,” said Dan Stark, DNR large carnivore specialist. “After intensive efforts in the 1990s and early 2000s to reduce a growing bear population, we are now at or near population goals. These quotas will help assure that we continue to have a productive bear population.”

DNR monitors the bear population using a modeling technique based on ages of harvested bears, supplemented periodically by total population estimates based on mark-recapture data. Bear ages are determined from tooth samples that hunters are required to submit.

Notification to successful lottery winners will be made in mid- to late May. The deadline to purchase licenses awarded by lottery will be Thursday, Aug. 1. Any remaining unpurchased licenses will be available to any eligible persons starting at noon on Wednesday, Aug. 7.

Application for a bear license can be made at any DNR license agent, the DNR License Center in St. Paul, online at www.mndnr.gov/buyalicense or by phone at 888-665-4236. Bear licenses cost $44 for residents and $250 for nonresidents. There is a $4 application fee.

An unlimited number of bear licenses also will be available over the counter for the no quota area of east-central and far northwestern Minnesota. The bag limit in the no quota area is being reduced from two to one.

Complete information on the fall bear hunt is available on the DNR website at www.mndnr.gov/hunting/bear.

Fargo-Moorhead Sand Bags

The most recent flood forecast shows that another year of record flooding for the Fargo-Moorhead metro area is anticipated. The F-M/West Fargo Chamber of Commerce, the City of Fargo and the Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation are combining efforts to ensure protection up to 42.5 feet. To accomplish that level, the City of Fargo and Cass County will need one million additional sandbags.

It is imperative for this to happen so that business shut downs and mandatory evacuations can be avoided. The goal is to have the sandbags filled, stored and ready to go by April 13, 2013.

The FM-WF Chamber is urging its members and their employees to join forces and get involved, and asking that employers allow their employees to volunteer to sandbag during the hours of 2 to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday beginning on Wednesday, April 3, 2013. For more information about the City of Fargo's efforts, go to www.cityoffargo.com/CityInfo/Departments/Engineering/FloodInformation

At this time, the City of Moorhead does not need to fill additional sandbags. If this changes, The FM-WF Chamber plans to engage member participation for the City of Moorhead as well.

For more information, or to register to volunteer, please contact Julie at 218.233.1100 or jyourczek@fmwfchamber.com. The Chamber will begin scheduling on Monday, April 1, 2013.