By: Blair Emerson

About a week after University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler returned from a trip to Norway, he sat down with the Minnesota Daily for its monthly Kickin’ It with Kaler interview.

On Friday, Kaler discussed topics such as the student housing market, the University’s strategic plan and the first day of the semester, when he handed out snacks to students.

With students back on campus and the Green Line light rail now in operation, are you frustrated with how safety-conscious students are around the tracks?

read more

Dr. Date,

I think one of my really good friends is starting to have a crush on me. It’s weird. I’ve never thought of her as more than a friend — she’s like a sister to me.

I mean, all of the factors that would make us great together are there: We make each other laugh, we know everything about each other and we spend a lot of time together.

read more

By: John Thomas

The opening of the Green Line light rail has environmental advocates and others evaluating the University of Minnesota’s amount of green space.

A report released last week says the University and surrounding neighborhoods should make way for more public spaces, as an influx of residents is expected in the area along the light rail in the next decade.

read more

By: Kaylee Kruschke

Gov. Mark Dayton applied to the University of Minnesota Medical School when it was a top leader in medical research decades ago, and now he has set the goal of returning it to its former glory.

After years of concern surrounding the school’s reported declining status, members of the Blue Ribbon Committee — which Dayton created last month — have begun forming plans to improve its reputation and further its

research.

read more

By: Parker Lemke

Billions of passenger pigeons once darkened the skies above North America. Then, in only a few decades, they became extinct.

Now, a recent collaboration between researchers from Taiwan and the University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum of Natural History marking the 100th anniversary of the species’ extinction can better explain how humans hunted the birds out of existence.

The study highlights why passenger pigeons are still relevant a century after the last of their kind died in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo on Sept. 1, 1914.

read more

By: Ben Gotz

Last year, head soccer coach Stefanie Golan told then-freshman Simone Kolander she had one mission for her sophomore season: score more goals.

Four games into the season, Golan seems pleased with the sophomore’s progress.

“She has a lot more confidence,” Golan said, “and she is starting to embrace the fact that we want her to be a forward and we want her to be a goal scorer.”

read more

By: Betsy Helfand

When Jon Trasamar graduated, the Gophers didn’t just lose one of their best golfers — they also lost their captain.

Minnesota will open up its fall slate at the Gopher Invitational with just two upperclassmen on its roster, allowing the opportunity for new leaders to step up.

Tyler Lowenstein is the team’s only senior, and Jon DuToit is the lone junior.

“I think over the course of the year, we’re going to see [Lowenstein] move into a leadership role and hopefully take Jon DuToit with him in that role,” head coach John Carlson said.

read more

By: Keelia Moeller

It’s been more than a year since Gov. Mark Dayton passed the Minnesota’s DREAM Act, which allows undocumented students residing in the state to apply for financial aid. By filing an application, undocumented students who aspire to attend college can now become eligible for a Minnesota State Grant if they meet certain requirements.

read more

By: Taylor Nachtigal

The Minnesota Legislature finished its 2014 session May 16, passing a variety of bills ranging from a minimum wage increase to allocations for a $1.23 billion budget surplus.

The Minnesota Daily has compiled a roundup of passed legislation affecting the state and the University of Minnesota community.

Medical marijuana

Lawmakers legalized medical marijuana after a lengthy and emotionally charged debate between the House and Senate over the bill’s exact parameters.

read more

By: Nicholas Studenski

Mobile grocery stores could soon provide an oasis for food deserts in parts of Minneapolis.

The City Council voted last Friday to expand an ordinance allowing mobile grocery stores in Minneapolis to sell a wider variety of foods, including fresh produce, in more areas than previously allowed.

While it takes time and money to construct brick-and-mortar stores in developing neighborhoods or areas lacking access to full grocery stores, the mobile markets could offer a cheaper, quicker and more versatile alternative, said Gayle Prest, the city’s sustainability director.

read more