The Department of Health says in the first five months of 2012, 670 cases of pertussis were confirmed. That’s more than the total number of cases for all of 2011. In the Twin Cities metro, the most populous county, Hennepin, leads the way with 219 cases.

Mayo Clinic pediatric infectious disease specialist Dr. Thomas Boyce tells KARE-TV (http://kare11.tv/JiJfv4 ) the hospital usually does about a dozen pertussis tests per week. In the past three weeks, that number has ranged from 41 to 63 tests a week.

For infants, whooping cough is potentially fatal, because they aren’t fully immunized yet. The ailment spreads through sneezing and coughing.

Graphic by: Wesley Beskar

Returning to St. Cloud this summer is Zach Hirsch a starting lefty from the University of Nebraska. The 6-foot-4 Illinois native has had 12 starts this season so far for the Huskers, going 56 2/3 innings pitched, with 31 strikeouts and only allowing 13 walks.

Also joining the pitching staff this summer is Minneapolis native, and 2011 Academy of Holy Angels graduate Lucas Long. Long is in his freshman season at the University of Arizona. Out of the bullpen for the Wildcats he has had nine appearances including three starts. Long so far has picked up 18 strikeouts in 25 innings of work.

Another strong arm coming to St. Cloud this summer is right-hander Andrew Urban from Creighton University. The Lawrence Kansas native currently has a 3.28ERA for the Blue Jays in 10 appearances including six starts. Urban has only given up nine walks so far this season.

Mark Rhine a solid infielder from Wake Forest University will also be making his way to St. Cloud this summer. The 6-foot-1 185 pound Pennsylvania native has collected 35 hits including eight doubles and 16 runs batted in for the Demon Deacon’s this season. Defensively Rhine has a .978 fielding percentage with 33 putouts and 88 assists.

Lastly a dynamic duo on the corners from Washington State University will also join the Rox this summer. Nick Tanielu a third baseman and Ty Jackson a first basement who can also pitch are both from the state of Washington and will continue being teammates for the summer. Tanielu didn’t see a lot of the field this past season for the cougars, but set his high school home run and RBI records as a sophomore. Jackson, in his freshman season has made 18 appearances at first base so far this season including toeing the rubber in nine games.

The Rox season opener is on the road at Midway Stadium in Duluth, Minnesota against the Huskies at 7:35pm.

The Rox will be back for their inaugural home opener at Joe Faber Field June 2nd with the Mankato MoonDogs, with post game fireworks.

Graphic created by: Wesley Beskar

The event will be Monday, May 14th at 5:30p.m. and is open to the public. Rox merchandise will be available for fans including the new Rox home and away jerseys. Home opener tickets will also be available at this event.

The Rox Inaugural Home opener is Saturday, June 2nd at 7:05p.m. at Joe Faber Field versus the Mankato MoonDogs. There will be a post-game fireworks show presented by Coborn’s. Single game tickets are available for the home opener and the entire regular season starting at 9a.m. May 12th. Fans can purchase single game tickets online at stcloudrox.com, the Rox ticket office Monday through Friday 10a.m. to 5p.m. located at the Municipal Athletic Complex or by calling 320-240-9798. Rox general admission tickets also can be purchased at all Case Wise Foods locations in St. Cloud.

Graduate student Alex Ames will call for a renewed sense of civic engagement during his Spring Semester Commencement address May 5 in the Halenbeck Hall Gymnasium.

The Pine City native is among more than 1,800 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students earning degrees this spring.

Graduates participate in a 10:30 a.m. or 3 p.m. ceremony based on the school or college with which they’re affiliated.

• View streaming video during the ceremonies
• Visit the Commencement website

The Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Daniel O’Bryant, assistant professor music, will perform.

Speaking at the 10:30 a.m. ceremony will be Kathryn Denn, Prior Lake, who is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice studies. View the text of her remarks (PDF).

Denn earned a $1,000 scholarship from the Duluth-based Olga B. Hart Education Foundation. She is a gang crime specialist, certified by the National Gang Crime Research Center in Chicago and a volunteer at the Central Minnesota Sexual Assualt Center in St. Cloud. Denn is pursuing a career in law enforcement. Viewher resume (PDF).

Ames, who is speaking at the 3 p.m. ceremony, will argue in his address that America’s shift from front porches to backyard decks is symbolic of a decline in civic engagement. View the text of his speech (PDF).

According to a early draft of Ames’ remarks, he’ll argue that 21st century Americans have less “social capital” than previous generations.

“Because Americans are spending less time meeting new kinds of people through civic engagement, we possess less social capital than our ancestors,” Ames writes. “The most significant social capital we can possess is that which connects us to people different from ourselves. That’s what gives us the resources we need to solve problems we can’t handle on our own. The challenge is to cultivate relationships with those with whom, at least on the surface, we share little in common.”

Ames is admitted to the prestigious Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, sponsored by the University of Delaware and the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library. The Winterthur complex, formerly the country home of a duPont chemical company heir, is in Winterthur, Del., an hour southwest of Philadelphia.

Ames’ master’s degree in public history is capped by a thesis titled “Mansions of Memories: Preservation, Destruction and the Construction of Place in Central Minnesota.” His work experiences and internships include stints at the Museum of America and the Sea, Mystic, Ct., the Stearns County History Museum, St. Cloud, and the Linden Hill Historic Events Center, Little Falls. View Ames’ resume (PDF).

Prelude music selections will be “March to the Scaffold” by Hector Belioz, “Agnes Dei”
by Gabriel Faure and “Russian Easter Festival Overture” (Abridged) by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

The processional and recessional will by Edward Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance.”

Program selections will include “America, The Beautiful” by Katherine Lee Bates and Samuel Ward, arranged by Carmen Dragon and “University Hymn” by Harvey Waugh and Amy Dale.

Parking is free on streets adjacent to campus and a dollar per hour in the 4th Avenue Parking Ramp.

ST. CLOUD, Minn.- Mientras estudiantes contaban los días para el fin del año escolar, la organización del Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (M.E.Ch.A) estuvo celebrando el mes de Chicano y Chicana durante el mes de Abril en St. Cloud State University.

El mes de celebración comenzó el 2 de Abril con una ceremonia, y luego se conllevaron diferentes tipos de eventos como presentaciones acerca de los temas relacionados al movimiento chicano, y cerro con un espectáculo de variedad de talentos latinos de la comunidad.

UTVS News en Español asistió a la presentación acerca de las Glorias de Pachucas el 23 de Abril en el Glacier Room en Atwood. Allí la vicepresidenta de la organización María Flores, estudiante  de SCSU,  estuvo ofreciendo una presentación educativa sobre como las mujeres latinas defendieron sus derechos en los Estados Unidos durante el movimiento.

La organización de M. E. Ch. A. de SCSU es la única en el estado de Minnesota y les ofrece un centro de recursos a estudiantes de minoría en Atwood Memorial Mall en donde tiene acceso a tecnología y áreas de estudio. Estudiante puertorriqueño de SCSU Mathew Garret, dijo que el utiliza el complejo para hacer sus tareas y socializar con otros de su raza.

“Es muy importante para nosotros, especialmente por la historia que tiene aquí en SCSU,” dijo Flores. “En el ano 1995 los machistas tuvieron una manifestación ante la administración para que se les brindara recursos y ayudas a los latinos para poder alcanzar una carrera académica y profesional como los demás.”

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – On Wednesday the Senate passed a plan to save the struggling U.S. Postal Service. This could save thousands of jobs and numerous mail processing plants. The mail processing plants were scheduled to close or be consolidated next month. Congress faces a deadline on May, 15, that is when a moratorium on postal closure expires.

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Cold Spring plans on adding two new rain gardens on the northeast side of town.  This will be a continuation of 2011 rain garden project done in conjunction with Sauk Rapids Watershed District. A rain garden is a garden in a shallow depression to catch rain water runoff from surfaces like roofs. The cost to fund this project is currently unknown, but the money comes from the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources.

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Minnesota Human Service Commissioner Lucinda jesson testifies Wednesday before the house committee on oversight and Government Reform.  The congressional panel had questions for Governor Mark Daytons administration about the Minnesota Medicaid program.

The Minneapolis-based health plan that manages care for Medicaid patients it is funded by both state and federal government. Dennis Kucinich who is a skeptic of this wanted to know how the state could justify saying that Minnesota did not need to split with the federal government a $30 million payment last year from Ucare. Jesson says the state could keep the money because Ucare called it a donation.

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Minnesota Human Service Commissioner, Lucinda Jesson, testifies Wednesday before the house committee on oversight and Government Reform.  The congressional panel had questions for Governor Mark Dayton’s administration about the Minnesota Medicaid program.

The Minneapolis-based health plan that manages care for Medicaid patients is funded by both state and federal government. Dennis Kucinich who is a skeptic of this wanted to know how the state could justify saying that Minnesota did not need to split with the federal government a $30 million payment last year from Ucare. Jesson says the state could keep the money because Ucare called it a donation.