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Star Tribune profiles Augsburg history professor Phil Adamo

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The Minneapolis Star Tribune recently published an article about the life and career of Phil Adamo, professor of history at Augsburg College and 2015 Minnesota Professor of the Year.

The article focuses on Adamo’s engaging approach to teaching history and his personal history with academia. As a young man, he decided to forgo a college education in favor of a career as a clown with the Ringling Bros. Circus. Eventually, the constant demands of performance wore him down. “I was exhausted by performing so much, and I started to think that I wasn’t funny,” he said. “That’s a bad thing for a clown.”

Returning from the circus, he enrolled as a medieval studies major at Ohio State University, where a senior project involving a summer in a monastery led to an award-winning dissertation and propelled him toward a career in academia.

The article also depicts Adamo as an ardent supporter of having a liberal arts education, which he says “gives the benefit of having a better life, a more interesting life, a better understanding of who you are as a human.”

Read Augsburg professor left circus to bring history to life on the Star Tribune site.

Michael Lansing interview appears on Minnesota Public Radio

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mprNEWS - logoMichael Lansing, associate professor of history at Augsburg College, was interviewed by Minnesota Public Radio for a segment that compared political movements from the early 1900s with the contemporary political landscape. Lansing is the author of “Insurgent Democracy: The Nonpartisan League in North American Politics,” which presents the history of The Nonpartisan League and describes its continued influence in the upper Midwest.

Lansing describes the League as a grassroots organization started by farmers who were discontent with large grain milling and transportation corporations in the region. He told MPR News host Tom Weber that The Nonpartisan League is the reason for the large number of co-operatives in North Dakota today, and the party was comprised of farmers who sought candidates that supported their platforms, regardless of party.

Listen to: ‘Insurgent Democracy’ the demise of The Nonpartisan League (14 minutes) on the MPR site.

Star Tribune story shares Hagfors Center specs

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Minneapolis Star Tribune - logoThe Star Tribune recently published an overview of the forthcoming Norman and Evangeline Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion. Augsburg College will break ground on this new academic building featuring classrooms, offices, and laboratories in April.

The article said, “The inclusion of scientific and religious disciplines within the same building is meant to express ‘a firm belief in the intersections and fluidity of boundaries’ on Augsburg’s campus.”

Learn more about Augsburg’s campus improvements in Hot Property: Hagfors Center for Science, Business and Religion in Minneapolis on the Star Tribune site.

Gabby Giffords, Mark Kelly, and Minnesota leaders announce “Minnesota Coalition for Common Sense” at Augsburg-hosted press conference

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On February 25, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and retired astronaut Captain Mark Kelly, co-founders of Americans for Responsible Solutions, joined Minnesota leaders at Augsburg College to announce a new bipartisan organization, the “Minnesota Coalition for Common Sense.” The coalition’s members – which include leaders from across sectors and parties – will urge their elected officials to advance policies that help keep guns out of the wrong hands.

Giffords was wounded severely during a 2011 shooting that resulted in six deaths. She and husband, Kelly, have announced similar coalitions in New Hampshire and Oregon during the past several months.

Augsburg College President Paul Pribbenow welcomed the event’s guests to campus and offered opening remarks at the press conference.

Media coverage of the event includes:

Jeanne Boeh offers her take on Minnesota economy in Star Tribune article

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Minneapolis Star Tribune - logoJeanne Boeh, professor of economics at Augsburg College, was one of several experts quoted in a recent Star Tribune article on the current state of Minnesota’s economy. She attributes Minnesota’s steady economy to its diversity, which makes it less dependent on agriculture than neighboring states.

“Because we’re a diversified economy, we will keep trudging along at a lukewarm pace and eventually the labor shortages will happen and employers will raise wage rates more in order to get good workers,” Boeh said. “I think we are OK.”

 

Michael Lansing interviewed by Pioneer Public Television, publishes MinnPost article

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Pioneer Public Television - logoPioneer Public Television (PPT) recently included an interview with Michael Lansing, associate professor of history at Augsburg College and author of Insurgent Democracy: The Nonpartisan League in North American Politics, in an episode of Compass, a program that focuses on public policy and other issue of importance to PPT’s community.

Lansing’s book details the history of the Nonpartisan League, a political movement active in North Dakota, neighboring states, and some Canadian provinces in the early 1900s. The interview is available online on the PPT website.

Additionally, MinnPost - logoLansing wrote an article for MinnPost that examines the trend of comparing the current sociopolitical climate with the “Gilded Age” of the late 19th century. He argues that the results of recent presidential primaries in New Hampshire, which overwhelmingly rejected candidates viewed as having ties to the political establishment, reflect an important change in voter attitudes.

“American voters now believe they are living in a second Gilded Age,” he writes. “This shift has the potential to transform our nation’s politics.” He adds that regardless of the final outcomes of the nomination processes, this change is a noteworthy signifier of Americans’ rejection of the status quo.

Watch History Collaborative & Agrarian Revolt on the Pioneer Public Television site.

Read A second Gilded Age at last? on the MinnPost site.

Michael Lansing interviewed on history of North Dakota, Minnesota caucuses

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TheForumOfFargoMoorhead - logoThe Forum of Fargo-Moorhead recently published an article on North Dakota’s short-lived presidential primary and its return to the current caucus system. Included in the article were statements by Michael Lansing, author and associate professor of history at Augsburg College.

Lansing said that since North Dakota returned to the caucus system in 1935, the state “has even less of a role in primary races than ever.”

He added, “The same is true of many Upper Midwest states.”

Read: Robin Huebner reports: ND’s place in presidential primary history on the Forum website.

 

Andy Aoki helps answer WCCO’s “Good Question”

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WCCO - logoWCCO recently sought counsel from Andy Aoki, professor and department chair of political science at Augsburg College, to answer a viewer’s question about the timing of the New Hampshire Primary and the Iowa Caucus.

“Why do Iowa and New Hampshire vote first?” was the focus of the recent Good Question segment.

Aoki provided a straightforward answer.

“Today, they’re first because they want to be,” he said before explaining the history of the events in more detail. The segment goes on to explain how the advent of television turned the previously ignored New Hampshire primary into a nation-wide media spectacle. This prompted the state to pass a law requiring that they remain the first to select a candidate.

How did Iowa end up voting earlier? “Technically, New Hampshire is the first primary and Iowa is the first caucus, so they’ve worked out a little agreement,” Aoki explained.

Read and watch: Good Question: Why Do Iowa & New Hampshire Vote First? on the WCCO site.

Michael Lansing interview appears on South Dakota Public Broadcasting

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SDPBRadio - logoMichael Lansing, associate professor of history at Augsburg College, was interviewed by South Dakota Public Broadcasting for the Dakota Midday radio program. Lansing is the author of “Insurgent Democracy: The Nonpartisan League in North American Politics,” which presents the history of the Nonpartisan League as a model for future political movements.

Lansing describes the League as a grassroots organization started by Midwestern farmers in 1915 who were getting “ripped-off” by the large grain milling and transportation corporations in the region.

“I know that’s pretty strong language,” he said. “But if you look at the evidence in retrospect, it’s rather true.”

Listen to: Dakota Midday: Insurgent Democracy (13 minutes) on the SDPB Radio site.