Monday, March 12, 2018

9:30 – 10:30  SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Transportation Futures: A Look Forward

Speaker: Kenneth R. Buckeye, AICP, Program Manager, Office of Financial Management, Minnesota Department of Transportation

Societal and technical trends are shaping future transportation options. Online shopping and working from home are impacting the need to travel. Autonomous vehicles will likely become the norm. The Minnesota Department of Transportation sponsored a research project which attempted to peer into the future so that it could respond with appropriate infrastructure. Buckeye will share the Transportation Future study’s findings with us.

10:45 – 11:45 ENVIRONMENT

Overpopulation Crisis

Speaker: Dr. Karen Shragg, Director, Wood Lake Nature Center

Shragg is alarmed by the lack of discourse surrounding the overpopulation crisis. By adding 9,000 people to the world population each hour, she feels that overpopulation is the cause of much of the environmental crisis. So, she feels overpopulation is a ticking time bomb. There are those who say, “but if we reduce the population, who will buy our products?” Shragg will elaborate further on this topic.

11:45 – 12:15 BUSINESS MEETING Reading of Bylaws changes

12:15 – 1:15 LUNCHEON


1:15 – 2:15   WRITERS AND READERS

Their Great Gift:
Courage, Sacrifice, and Hope in a New Land

Speakers: John Coy, Author
Wing Young Huie, Photographer

Coy and photographer Huie discuss the process behind their collaboration in the creation of this award-winning book about arriving in a new place. It focuses on the lives of immigrant children and families from many different parts of the world–celebrating diversity and hope for the future of our country.