Monday, April 3, 2017

9:30 – 10:30 THE ARTS

Beyond Good and Bad

Speaker: Graydon Royce, retired Theater Critic, Star Tribune

“Is a theater critic a consumer-affairs expert for people wondering whether a show is any good? Well, you should have some clearly stated opinion, but the job requires something more of a writer and observer in putting theater into context and understanding.” Thoughts from Graydon Royce.

10:45 – 11:45 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The Cannabis Conundrum: Science and Politics of America’s Most Controversial Plant

Speaker: George D. Weiblen, PhD, Curator and Interim Scientific Director, Bell Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota

Hemp is a plant with strong fibers, nutritious oil, and potential in energy and industrial use. Unfortunately, because it is in the same plant family as marijuana, it was illegal to harvest hemp in Minnesota until mid-2015. Our speaker will talk about the politics and potential of a plant that grows wild all over Minnesota.

11:45 – 12:00 ANNOUNCEMENTS

12:00 – 1:15  LUNCHEON

1:15 – 2:15 WRITERS AND READERS

The Real World of War

Speakers: Ruth Welsh, BS, Author
Laurel Means, PHD, Author, Editor, Publisher

From an idyllic boyhood in Minnesota, Dick Weissner, Welsh’s late husband, found himself at the outbreak of WWII, plunged into the unexpected career of becoming a P47 fighter pilot on the Western Front. In 2013, AAUW member Welsh compiled her husband’s candid words into a book, The Real World of War. It offers a graphically illustrated account of what war is really like, and how it changes lives. Her editor, Laurel Means, will join her, and together they will discuss the process of writing, editing, and publishing this compelling story.