Public Review Period Coming Soon for UMore Park Development

The city, working with Empire Township and the University of Minnesota, is evaluating ecological resources, potential infrastructure needs and possible pollutants at the 5,000-acre property.

For 10 months, the city, Empire Township and the University of Minnesota have evaluated development-related issues at the 5,000-acre UMore Park property in Rosemount And this summer, Rosemount residents will likely get their first crack at the city's findings as part of an extensive public review period. The study, called an Alternative Urban Areawide Review, looked at ecological resources, potential infrastructure needs and possible pollutants—among other issues—at UMore Park, which is owned by the University of Minnesota. University officials are interested in developing UMore Park for residential, commercial and industrial use in a phased, decades-long plan. Property concepts developed by the University project that as many as 25,000 to…

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Feeding the World, Saving the Planet: A Contradiction in Terms?

Minnesota Zoo lecture series will feature Dr. Jonathan Foley, director of the Univeristy of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment.

  Like us on Facebook | Get our newsletter | Follow us on Twitter | Start a blog  Can we feed everyone on the planet without destroying the planet in the process? That's the question being addressed March 5 by Dr. Jonathan Foley, director of the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment, as part of the Minnesota Zoo's Our World Speaker Series. Increasing human consumption is placing unprecedented demands on agriculture and our natural resources. To meet the world’s future food security, food production must grow substantially while, at the same time, agriculture’s environmental footprint must shrink dramatically. Foley, McKnight Presidential Chair in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, will talk about innovative…

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REPLAY: Bill Clinton at the University of Minnesota

The former president spoke at a rally on behalf of Barack Obama's re-election on Tuesday.

Hurricane Sandy has curtailed campaigning by President Obama and Mitt Romney, but former President Bill Clinton will speak at a campaign event for the Democratic ticket at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis Tuesday morning—and you can watch it here. It's brought to you by The UpTake, via an internet connection that's not 100 percent reliable (due to the last-minute nature of the event), so the webcast may not be free of trouble. If you were at the event, or watched it here, please leave a comment below or add a photo to this post. We'd like to know what you think of it. The Republican vice presidential candidate, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, was in Hudson, WI on Tuesday as well. Visit Hudson Patch for news of that event.

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Eastview Youth Footballers Get Visit From Alumnus, Now Gophers Player

Eastview graduate Matt Garin and other members of the University of Minnesota football team talked to youth football campers about how the principles behind football have made them better people.

Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Get our newsletter | Blog for us Eastview High School alumnus Matt Garin, now a junior defensive end on the University of Minnesota football team, stopped by Eastview's youth football camp on Thursday with some of his teammates to talk with the participants about their football experiences. They spoke about how the discipline, committment and teamwork they learned playing football has influenced them academically and as people, said Coach Eric Vande Berg.    The other Gophers players who came out were Moses Alipate (Bloomington), Cameron Botticelli (Milwaukee), Ben Perry (Southlake, TX) and Cameron Wilson (Rockwall, TX).

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Rosemount Residents Revolt at UMore Park Meeting

A planned open house-format presentation on UMore Park contamination quickly turned into an open forum as Rosemount residents insisted on open dialogue with the University of Minnesota and other presenters.

Dozens of Rosemount residents gathered Thursday night for a public meeting regarding the results of a recent Remedial Investigation (RI) on contamination issues at the University of Minnesota’s UMore Park property in Rosemount. The university has big development plans for the site that include a future eco-friendly, sustainable community of 25,000-30,000 within the City of Rosemount. The meeting was supposed to be an informal open-house format where residents could view a series of poster boards, then hear a formal presentation on the RI results from representatives of the university, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and Barr Engineering, the company that was hired by the university to conduct the analytical testing of groundwater and …

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Anonamous

2:44 pm on Friday, June 29, 2012

So sorry to hear about all the cancer from your old neighbors. Where is the neighborhood in relation to UMore Park? I'm the type of person who doesn't believe in coincidences & this is certainly very troubling to our family. We are calling to get a home water filtration system today & special shower heads. Will let you know once we receive the hair testings back. It checks for arsenic, lead, …   more ›

MPCA Hosting Public Meeting on UMore Park in Rosemount

The event will discuss the results from a recent Remedial Investigation conducted by the University of Minnesota on the former Gopher Ordnance Works property in Rosemount.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will host a public information meeting on Thursday, June 28 in Rosemount to discuss the University of Minnesota's UMore Park property. The University recently conlcuded a Remedial Investigation on a large portion of the property to assess possible contamination issues from chemicals and other hazardous substances related to historical use of the land. The land was used to by the U.S. Government during WWII to produce smokeless gunpowder at the former Gopher Ordnance Works. The University of Minnesota acquired the property in 1947 and 1948 for research use in a variety of areas including agriculture, aeronautical engineering and medical projects. The University has also leased out portions of the land …

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Airplane Group Displaced at UMore Park Gets $142,000

Group to receive $142,000 for relocation after their lease was terminated, a state appeals court ruled.

PHOTOS: Students, Robots Participate in Regional Competition

FIRST Robotics held two metro-wide tournaments during the weekend.

Aspiring engineers from across the Twin Cities metro area — including a contingent from Apple Valley and Eastview — came together to compete in two regional high school FIRST Robotics tournaments from March 29-31. Both the 10,000 Lakes Regional Competition and the North Star Regional Competition were held on the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus. The robotics season begins in January, when FIRST Robotics sends out information about the task the robots must complete in the competitive meets and a kit of parts and electronics for each robot. The challenge this year is called a “Rebound Rumble.” Each team must design a robot capable of picking up and shooting a basketball. In a tournament setting, the robots play against one …

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Sen. Al Franken, DOE Official to Visit U of M's Wind Turbine in Rosemount

Several officials will tour the U of M's Eolos Wind Energy Research Station in Rosemount Friday.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman will join Sen. Al Franken at the University of Minnesota for events highlighting the Obama Administration’s investments in renewable energy and energy efficient technology Friday.  Franken will be accompanied by Poneman as well as Robert Jones, Senior Vice President, University of Minnesota, and Tim Mulcahy, Vice President for Research, University of Minnesota for a tour of the wind energy research station in Rosemount.  The University of Minnesota was one of three university-led research consortia awarded with the Energy Department's wind research grants in 2009. The Department’s grant supports research improving wind turbines and wind farm designs. According to Jeffrey Marr, associate …

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Early Morning Fire Destroys Barn on UMore Park Property

The Rosemount Fire Department was busy tending to a fire early this morning, and requested help from nearby fire stations.

An early morning fire that took place Thursday on the University of Minnesota's UMore Park property is currently being investigated by Dakota County Sheriff's Department. A call came in around 2 a.m. Thursday with information on a pole barn burning off of Lone Rock Trail. "The pole barn was used primarily for storage of hay bales and a few older pieces of machinery. The hay inside caused the fire to burn long and hot for several hours," Rosemount fire chief Scott Aker told the Rosemount Town Pages.  "Rosemount Fire was first at the scene, but the rural location necessitated the assistance of Farmington, Hastings and Randolph’s fire departments,"  Aker told the Farmington Independent. "The three assisting departments brought water tenders …

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