News briefs

Professor wins veterinarian award

An animal and food science professor at UW-River Falls was recently presented with the Veterinarian of the Year Award from the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association (WVMA).

This award is given to a veterinarian who has made significant contributions in the state to veterinarians and the profession, as well as veterinary medicine. Larry Baumann, D.V.M., was nominated by a group of his colleagues within the Northwestern Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association (NWVMA). Baumann had to choose between two important events in October, as the award ceremony was scheduled the same time as the University’s groundbreaking of the new Dairy Learning Center. “It was ironic,” he said, as he originally planned to be at the groundbreaking, but found out only two weeks before he won the award. Baumann attended WVMA’s annual convention held in Madison to accept the award. In addition, he received an engraved plaque. “It was very meaningful and a humbling honor,” he said. Baumann received his veterinary degree in 1978 from Purdue University. He has been active in the NWVMA for almost 20 years, taking on various tasks and leadership roles. The NWVMA has one of the highest memberships and is also one of the most active veterinary districts in the state.

ROTC member speaks at Veterans ceremony

Hudson High School graduate and UW-River Falls student Andrew Redd spoke at the University’s Veterans Day Ceremony on Nov. 10.

Redd is a specialist with the Army National Guard Alpha 1/128 Company in Menomonie, and recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq.

He has returned to UWRF to study and is majoring in chemistry. In addition, he is in UWRF’s Army Reserves Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program.

Students, staff receive homeless experience

The UW-River Falls Campus and Community Cleanup Coalition organized a sleep-out Nov. 13 through Nov. 17 to bring awareness to National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Students and staff slept each night on the Student Center lawn to reach its fundraising goal of $2,000 for the Pierce County Hunger Prevention Council, Minnesota Coalition For The Homeless and the Simpson House in Minneapolis. A food drive and presentation, “Faces of Homelessness” were also scheduled. The Campus and Community Fighting Hunger and Homelessness organization and local businesses including Curves, the Colony Home and Ben Franklin sponsored the program. Each business pledged to donate $1 for every individual who slept outside.

Educators learn new technologies for teaching

Nearly 140 K-12 teachers from nine local school districts spent a recent Saturday at UW-River Falls learning new and innovative technologies to use in the classroom. The 2006 Technology Integration Workshop was held from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Nov. 4 in the Wyman Education Building and Davee Library. The purpose of the workshop was not only to teach educators how to use software, but also explore how to integrate technology into their classrooms and students’ lives. Mary Manke, assistant dean of the College of Education and Professional Studies, said positive learning and teaching opportunities result from well-equipped classrooms, however problems can arise if teachers aren’t taught how to use the technology.

“Historically, it’s been easier to get funding to put technology in schools than it has been to help teachers see how to use it effectively,” Manke said.

Students in today’s K-12 classrooms are a technology-oriented generation of kids, Manke said, and proper training is essential to keep up with the constantly evolving technology. Not only has interest in technology education grown because of teacher motivation, but also because school administrators are encouraging teachers to become familiar with the latest teaching strategies.

Most of the 90-minute sessions were held in the Wyman Education Building’s high-tech classrooms and Technology Education Center.

Young RF woman dies after car accident

A River Falls woman was killed over the weekend in a one-car crash in the Twin Cities’ suburb of Oakdale. Breanna Remer, 19, veered off Interstate 694 in Oakdale. Her car then overturned and hit a tree, according to the Minnesota State Patrol. She was taken to a hospital in St. Paul where she died. The State Patrol also reported that Remer was not wearing a seatbelt. Nobody else was in the vehicle.

Record deer herd, rule changes greet hunters

A record deer herd and a number of rule changes are what Wisconsin deer hunters will meet when the annual gun-deer season begins Saturday. The season will run through Nov. 26. Despite the record harvests in the last couple of years, DNR officials said this year’s deer herd remains above population goals. Wisconsin holds the record among states for a single-year harvest at 618,000 in 2000, and has also been the top deer harvest producing state over the past decade.

The Dec. 7-10 antlerless hunt will be open in all deer management units statewide, but hunters need an antlerless deer carcass tag that is valid for the unit in which they plan to hunt, according to DNR officials. The free Herd Control and EAB antlerless deer carcass tag hunters receive with their licenses is only valid on units with those designations.

Hunters who plan to hunt in regular deer management units need an antlerless deer carcass tag valid for the specific regular unit in which they would hunt. Unit-specific antlerless carcass tags are already sold out in most regular units.