February 4, 2014 
Landscape by Sarina Otaibi, CURE
 
As the negotiations for the 2014 Farm Bill came to a close, we heard plenty about crop subsidies and food stamps, but the bill that passed in the House last Wednesday also included funding for renewable energy and conservation programs.  Granted, this is only about 7% of the budget, but it still has significant implications for our landscape. 
 
 
Blog post by Ariel Herrod, CURE Watershed Sustainability Program Coordinator. 
 
As someone who has always been interested in politics and policy, and as someone who holds the late Senator Paul Wellstone in high regard, I had been waiting for years to have the opportunity to attend Camp Wellstone.  So, when CURE offered the students of MPIRG (Minnesota Public Interest Research Group) at the University of Minnesota, Morris and me a chance to attend the training, I could barely contain my excitement. 
 
 
Blog post by Erik Hatlestad, MPIRG Morris Campus Organizer.
 
Hot soup, warm buns from Carl's Bakery and simple informational handouts welcomed 30 people to the K.K. Berge building on a Thursday evening in January. After everyone grabbed a plate of food, CURE introduced Adam Flett from Friends of the Mississippi River to workshop attendees and gave him the floor to present his workshop presentation, "Gardening for a Rainy Day," during our...
 
 
Blog post by Sarina Otaibi, CURE Director of Communications & Engagement.
MPR photo by Anne Arbor Miller.
Photo by Anne Arbor Miller for MPR News.

Article by Dan Gunderson, MPR Reporter based in Moorhead, MN.

 
CURE's partnership with nearly 1000 grassroots supporters in Stand for Food was created to address the suspension of the Sustainable Food Production Program at MN State Fergus Falls.  Today's story on MPR featuring Sue Wika and Tom Prieve tells just one small piece of a very inspiring story. 
 
You can help Stand for Food by offering a resolution to support sustainable food production programs in higher education.
 
Photo by Mankato Free Press
Photo by Mankato Free Press.
 
"By as early as this fall, a nearly five-acre plot of land atop Thompson Ravine and visible from Highway 14 will be home to a large solar farm being constructed by the School Sisters of Notre Dame." Click here to read more... Article by Tim Krohn, Mankato Free Press.
 
In November of 2013, Duane Ninneman, CURE's Senior Director, was invited to speak at School Sisters of Notre Dame's 8th Annual Earth Conference. You can read about that event by looking back at our blog post from November 2013, "Center for Earth Spirituality Faces Down Climate Change: Ninneman Keynote Speaker.
2014 Events & Adventures Series is off to a great start! 
New this year is CURE's Book Club. The book club's first book is Mni Sota Makoce, The 

Land of the Dakota quickly reached capacity only a couple of days after its announcement. Book club participants will be meeting this Saturday with the book's author, Gwen Westerman, in an intimate gathering. Stay tuned for details on CURE's next featured book.

 
Our first adventure for this year is a snowshoeing event on Saturday, February 8th at 1 PM with Don Robertson at the Gneiss Outcrops Scientific Natural Area (SNA), which also filled to capacity as of today. There is a waiting list in case someone cancels. Please email Peg at [email protected] or call 
Dixie at 1-877-269-2873 to get on the waiting list.

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Snowshoeing the Gneiss SNA with Don Robertson. Gneiss Outcrop SNA, Granite Falls. Saturday, Feb. 8, 
1 PM to 3 PM.
This is a friendly reminder that CURE's Annual Meeting event has moved to May 1st through the 4th, to coincide with CURE's River History Weekend. The weekend will kick off CURE's month of engagement during May. 
Save the date and stay tuned for details! 


In the News...

 
"Warning sounded over monarch migration levels," by Dan Browning, Star Tribune
 
"House passes compromise farm bill," by the Associated Press, MPR.
 
 
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 CURE
117 South 1st Street
Montevideo, Minnesota 56265
(320) 269-2984
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