By: Haley Hansen

When University of Minnesota student leaders complained about a change from the athletics department regarding ticket bundling practices earlier this semester, administrators quickly reversed course and reformed the policy.

But only after Gov. Mark Dayton sent a harsh letter to the school’s president.

“It took a letter and a condemnation from the governor to get something done,” said Kyle Kroll, the student senator who brought the issue forward.

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Dr. Date,

I’ve recently started hanging out with this guy, and I’d consider us an official “thing,” if you know what I mean. We have great conversations, and he seems like one of the most caring people I’ve ever met. We spend almost every night together. But there’s one thing I’ve kept from him: I’m a virgin.

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By: Jack Satzinger

Minnesota trailed North Dakota 10-5 early Monday night, but those watching could tell the deficit wouldn’t last.

Mo Walker was the reason for that.

The redshirt senior center powered past North Dakota’s Chad Calcaterra on Minnesota’s first possession of the game for an and-one basket. Walker didn’t look back, scoring a career-high 22 points to lead Minnesota to a 92-56 victory.

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By: Jack Satzinger

Richard Pitino can’t afford to look ahead.

Not when his team is second-worst at rebounding in its conference. Not when he has to implement a matchup zone defense if Carlos Morris isn’t on the floor in order to avoid mismatches. Not when it takes a heated halftime speech from the second-year head coach for Minnesota to get past Western Carolina.

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By: Danny Chen

Minnesota got a close look at nearby competition this weekend, racing against 15 other schools from the Midwest.

The Gophers cruised, taking home the team title at the Jean Freeman Invite.

Sophomore Daryl Turner contributed four individual titles, while adding first-place finishes in the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 200-yard medley relay.

Head coach Kelly Kremer said Turner did what he has done since arriving on campus his freshman year — swim like a competitor.

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By: Matt Greenstein

In early stages of their season, the Gophers have had trouble getting off to quick starts, forcing them to rely on the second half to catch up.

Sunday night’s 88-86 overtime victory against the Butler Bulldogs was no exception.

“Butler is a very talented team. They gave us all we could handle tonight. I’m very proud of the resiliency of our team,” head coach Marlene Stollings said.

With 4.9 seconds left in the game, senior guard Rachel Banham drained a 3-pointer, which tied the game and sent it to overtime.

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By: David Nelson

In just four seasons, head coach Jerry Kill has turned the football program in a new direction. Last week, he won Big Ten Coach of the Year for his efforts.

Though the Gophers probably should have played in Saturday’s Big Ten championship game rather than act as spectators, Kill more than earned the honor as the conference’s best coach.

Still, many pundits said Ohio State’s Urban Meyer was more deserving.

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By: Grant Donald

In its final series of 2014, Minnesota didn’t seem challenged, as nearly all of the skaters who played over the weekend recorded at least a point.

The Gophers got out to 3-0 first-period leads in both games against St. Cloud State at Ridder Arena and never looked back, following up a 12-0 victory Friday with a 7-0 victory Saturday.

“I wish we could do this every weekend,” head coach Brad Frost said. “[We] had a lot of shots over the last few weekends and not a ton of goals, but this weekend they happened to go in, so it was good to see.”

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By: Nick Wicker

Minnesota will have about a $1 billion surplus for the 2016-17 biennial budget, according to a forecast released Thursday by the Minnesota Management and Budget office. The report also predicted a $373 million surplus for the upcoming 2014-15 biennium.

The surplus, which doesn’t account for inflation, is the result of an increase in tax revenues and a drop in spending, said MMB Legislative and Communications Director John Pollard.

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By: Anne Millerbernd

After years of frustration rooted in a lack of parking, Dinkytown is starting to recover.

Dinkytown Business Alliance members met with city officials Thursday to weigh in on a plan that would displace 17 parking spots that run directly through the district to insert a bike lane on Fourth Street Southeast.

Currently, that street’s bike lane drops off between 15th Avenue Southeast and 13th Avenues Southeast. Displacing 17 parking spots would allow bikers to bridge that gap safely, said Varsity Bike and Transit owner Rob DeHoff.

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