UTVS News

Equipo de Noticias

Emilio Ramos DeJesus — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:54:46 +0000

Standdown Event Assists Local Veterans

Anna Morris — Sat, 11 May 2013 02:05:00 +0000

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – For over 13 years, the St. Cloud Standdown organization has been serving homeless and at-risk veterans. This spring marked the 20th Standdown event which aims to bring a wide range of supportive veterans services to one location.

“100% of the money we raise goes directly to veterans. We have everything from the VA Hospital to the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, people that help with veterans’ benefits, social security, haircuts and clothing distribution,” explains Jim Bestick, President of the St. Cloud Standdown.

This semi-annual event (held every April and October) serves hundreds of folks, but the organization strives to serve on a consistent basis as well.

“We have an outreach warehouse that’s open twice a week – Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm – we have a clothing distribution, bedding distribution for needy/homeless/at-risk veterans. We also have contacts for community and homelessness resources,” said Scott Peterson, Vice Chair of the St. Cloud Standdown.

St. Cloud Standdown is a private, non-profit corporation that was established in 1998. They are not affiliated with any veterans groups or government agencies and they are staffed entirely by volunteers. They served over 3,000 veterans in 2011.

Standdown’s goal is to not only provide short-term aid, but ultimately better the lives of those they serve.

“Instead of having handouts…handouts…handouts for the veterans, we’re trying to give them educational opportunities in order to explain the veterans benefits they have and hopefully some of the guys will take advantage of it,” hopes Bestick.

The organization also utilizes their volunteer opportunities to teach lessons outside the classroom to the younger generation.

“Our goal with the Standdown is to bring in our soldiers who haven’t gone to basic training or AIT yet – most of them are still in high school – but it’s a good opportunity for them to help the veterans but then learn about the older veterans and get stories and stuff like that,” said Adam Gunderson, Staff Sergeant with the National Guard.

“It’s a lot of support from us to them – but from them to us – it’s a lot more support,” said Private First Class Matt Doubek.

Through their service and dedication to the cause, these young men have learned a great deal through the eyes of a veteran – and at the end of the day, the brave men and women who serve our country have a common goal: to support each other not only overseas, but at home as well.

“The whole National Guard, Reserve, Active Army, Marines, Navy, Airforce, Coast Guard – we’re all one giant team and some people may see different some times, but in the end we’re one team,” said Private First Class Luke Pennington.

Much of the funding for the St. Cloud Standdown comes from donations and fundraisers. For more information or to make a donation contact:

St. Cloud Standdown, Inc.

P.O. Box 24 St. Cloud, MN 56302-0024

A Simulation that Seems so Real

Nissan Brown — Sun, 05 May 2013 22:30:31 +0000

High end homes, at not so high end prices

Sainabou Gaye — Fri, 03 May 2013 20:04:19 +0000

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Sartell, Minn.- With the housing market slightly recovering you would expect that the market for high-end homes is not doing so well. Except you would be surprise by the fact that in the St Cloud area it is the opposite.
Reker construction is working on a development that is filled with high-end homes.

Reker shares that the reason that these homes are different from other ones in this area is the architecture. A lot of these houses are made with front porches, so that you can talk with your neighbors. Something else that is used for the design of the house is the garages facing t he back. There is an alley where all of the garages are which give the neighborhood a close feeling. The inspiration for the designs of these homes came from old fashion core neighborhoods which Reker said that when he saw them in Florida he wanted to being them up here.

In the Twin Cities the average price for a high end home is about $3.4 million, but in central Minnesota the average price is between 400,000-500,000. So they are being sold at great prices. The number of high-end homes that can be sold on that development is very limited since there is a limited number of A-lots, which are the highest rated lots to build homes on. They have 127 lots to build homes on. They have 9 lots that still need to be completed hopefully by the end of the summer.

DFL swing bote on gay marriage

jcattledge — Fri, 03 May 2013 19:18:38 +0000

St. Paul, Minnesota— A freshman Democratic state representative who is one of the House’s key swing votes on gay marriage says he will vote for the bill.

Rep. Joe Radinovich of Crosby had been undecided. He says Friday that he’s personally supported gay marriage for a decade, but was unsure how to vote because he represents a socially conservative district in the Brainerd area.

Radinovich says it was not an easy decision but that he’d rather protect his integrity than his political career. The 27-year-old lawmaker won his election by only 323 votes last fall.

Lawmakers could vote as early as next week on bills to make same-sex marriage legal in Minnesota, but votes have not yet been scheduled in the House or Senate.

Sleepy death at the daycare

jcattledge — Fri, 03 May 2013 19:15:22 +0000

ST. PAUL, Minnesota — A state report sheds new light on the death of a baby at a home day care in Hastings.

The report by the state Department of Human Services says the infant was placed face down on a blanket on a carpeted floor. The day care provider, Ann Quigley, had her child care license revoked because the incident last January deviated from safe-sleep policies in Minnesota and because the child was left unsupervised in that position for 10 to 15 minutes.

The Star Tribune says Quigley attempted CPR after finding the baby was unresponsive and called 911.

Coffee sales on the rise during finals week

Jackie Bordes — Fri, 03 May 2013 19:11:15 +0000

ST. CLOUD, Minn.- St. Cloud State University students are preparing for the upcoming finals week, and they are drinking more coffee than usual to stay awake and focused. Coffee businesses have noticed an increase in their sales and the amount of people coming in for drinks, especially those that are high in the amount of caffeine.

“During finals week it does tend to get a bit more busy, and people are going for drinks with more caffeine rather than drinks like the smoothie or the snowdrifts,” explains Caribou Coffee Employee Amanda Ward.

Even when business is typically slower, they feel like they have still been kept busy.

“Typically Fridays are really calm and business is slow but today we have been extremely busy and people have been coming in at a constant pace.”

Students have found themselves coming in to grab coffee more frequently than they normally do.

“I am more of a casual drinker, so I don’t really rely on it. However, when I have to get things done it helps me out because I am not really a morning person,” expresses St. Cloud State University Student Erik Chester.

For many students on the St. Cloud State University campus, the key to a successful finals week is to stay caffeinated.

New fitness programs for students in Minnesota

jcattledge — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:45:49 +0000

ST. PAUL, Minnesota — Some Minnesota schools are embracing a new student fitness program designed to be a better gauge of overall health than the decades-old Presidential Physical Fitness Test.

Instead of measuring athletic feats, the new Presidential Physical Fitness Program shifts the focus to personal fitness gains for students.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (http://bit.ly/165D9rM) the new test will still feature sprints, push-ups and pull-ups, but it also will take body fat and body mass measurements into account.

The program strives to put a more upbeat spin on fitness: Certificates and other awards recognize personal gains, instead of focusing on competition.

Jack Olwell is president of the Minnesota Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. He says the new test is a friendly way to motivate students who are less fit.

Invasion in the water: zebra mussels are coming

jcattledge — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:42:18 +0000

Deephaven, Minnesota— As the fishing opener approaches, officials are stepping up efforts to prevent the spread of invasive species in some of the Twin Cities area’s most popular lakes and streams.

The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District is stressing early detection of potential new infestations this season, particularly for zebra mussels, which were discovered in Lake Minnetonka in 2010. One way they spread is by hitchhiking on boats and other equipment.

The watershed district includes Minnehaha Creek, Lake Minnetonka and the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes, plus over 100 other lakes and thousands of wetlands.

Plans for this season include installing zebra mussel monitoring devices in many lakes, conducting shoreline searches and inspections of deeper areas of some lakes. The district is also working with other local government units to help fund watercraft inspectors.

Minnesota to change immunization recommendations for K-12

Lindsey Branwall — Thu, 02 May 2013 22:00:13 +0000

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – It has been 10 years since the last revision to Minnesota’s immunization recommendations, but now the Center for Disease Control is proposing changes to vaccination requirements for Kindergarten through 12th graders to ensure that Minnesota kids are staying healthy.

“Seventh graders will be required to have a Meningitis vaccine in 2014, and then also a DTaP vaccine which is Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis added to that,” District 742 Nurse Kati Bauerly said.

The department plans to adopt these changes without a public hearing unless 25 people or more submit a written request by 4:30 p.m. Friday, May 3, 2013. If the changes go into effect , schools will alert parents on the new recommendations before school begins. Parents will still have the option to decline any or all vaccines for their children.