Danny Briere to speak at the UMC on Sept. 19

CROOKSTON, Minn. – Global business professional and entrepreneur Danny Briere will be a featured guest speaker on Tuesday, September 19, at noon in the Peterson Classroom, Heritage Hall, at the University of Minnesota Crookston. The event is free and open to the public. Parking in Lot G near the Kiehle Building is encouraged and no parking permits are required.

Briere, a serial entrepreneur, started his own firms and has been involved in advising over 200 organizations in the telecommunications and Internet space. His focus is on leading edge technologies and trends, with a special interest in alternative energy, social networking, social enterprise, education, and kids.

He has also been involved in helping drive entrepreneurship across universities, towns, regions, and states. Briere is CEO of the STEMIE Coalition, a national umbrella organization over dozens of invention and entrepreneurship education programs, and chairman of the National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo Organizing Committee. These celebrate youth inventor and entrepreneurs across the U.S. and push invention and entrepreneurship programs into more K-12 schools in America.

Briere has lived and worked globally in more than three dozen countries, including long range stints in Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. he worked with Steve Case (Founder, AOL) and Scott Case (Founder, Priceline) under Obama’s Startup America Partnership to lead job growth and startup initiatives in Connecticut as the head of Startup Connecticut, and worked with the State of Connecticut and University of Connecticut on entrepreneurship and innovation programming, working with a number of non-profits, and helping advise and launch new companies in the mobile, social networking, and education spaces.

Visitors to Tettegouche S.P. advised to watch credit card accounts

State IT security specialists discovered malware (malicious software) on state computers at Tettegouche State Park in Silver Bay, Minnesota, Aug. 25.

Even though the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has no evidence that credit card numbers were accessed, out of an abundance of caution, it is advising those who visited the park and charged items from Aug. 22-25 to review their credit card accounts for suspicious activity.

About 400 credit card transactions took place at the park during this period. The DNR is unable to access credit card customer personal information, so is unable to contact those who made the transactions.

The DNR is advising that visitors who charged items at the park during this period monitor their credit card accounts for any unusual activity and report their concerns to their credit card issuer. Issuers have been alerted to the incident. Visitors should also be wary of any email communications from the DNR that request personal information.

The virus was isolated to computers at the park. No other DNR or state IT systems were affected, including the state park reservation system and the DNR website. Customers should not worry that their park reservation data was compromised.

IT experts noticed a spike of unusual activity on the computers around 4 p.m. on Aug. 25 and initiated actions to isolate the site, protect sensitive data, and replace equipment. The state is currently conducting a full forensic analysis to learn more about what happened.

DNR staff are working closely with Minnesota IT Services to aggressively investigate this incident and to discover if any sensitive information was accessed.

fall meetings on benefit for children with autism

The Minnesota Department of Human Services will host the next in a series of public meetings to provide information about a benefit available for children and youth under age 21 with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related conditions. The benefit is available through Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare.

Meetings for parents, providers, potential providers and staff of county, tribal or managed care organizations are set for:

• 1:30 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, at the Morrison County Government Center, 213 First Ave. SE, Little Falls
• 2 to 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 9, in the Beltrami County Administration Building, 701 Minnesota Ave. NW, Bemidji.

A meeting specifically for parents is set for: 

• 1:30 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, at Lakeville Heritage Library, 20085 Heritage Drive, Lakeville. Another meeting for providers in this area will be scheduled at a later date. 

“It’s important that families are aware of Minnesota’s new benefit, which is designed to improve social interaction, communication and behavioral regulation skills at a critical time in a child’s development,” said Human Services Commissioner Emily Piper. “The goal of the Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention services are to promote fuller participation by children in their family, schools and community life. Services are based on the family’s values and culture and include training and support for the family.”

The meetings are designed for participants to ask questions and get information about the benefit, tell DHS staff about challenges and successes related to the benefit and provide input on various topics related to the benefit.

Anyone who needs a reasonable accommodation to participate in these meetings should email ASD.DHS@state.mn.us by Sept. 18 and say what type of accommodation you need.