Wednesday, February 20, 2008

State Highways and Bridges

Because the Minnesota Legislative Auditor's Report on State Highways and Bridges grabbed all of the headlines today you probably know that it was little critical of MnDOT's decisions and forthright communication with the public. Che

Come to hear more from Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles at the premier "COGI-tations" program sponsored by MnCOGI and Common Cause Minnesota - Tuesday, April 8, 5:00 p.m. at the TIES administrative office, Snelling and Larpenteur in St. Paul.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

A Plan to Offer 50 Sites on Politics in 50 States

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/18/technology/18observer.html
The New York Observer prepares for the election by launching a spate of state-specific publications.

Monday, February 18, 2008

COGI Quote - Feb 18

Are you not ashamed of caring so much for the making of money and for fame and prestige, when you neither think nor care about wisdom and truth and the improvement of your soul? Socrates

New Media, New Journalism – Ethics in Online Journalism

New Media, New Journalism – Ethics in Online Journalism
A Minnesota SPJ Public Forum
Monday, February 25, 2008 7:00 p.m.
UBS Forum, Minnesota Public Radio
480 Cedar Street, St. Paul

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Thoughts While Thinking

As I write, I’m listening to Garrison Keillor and a delightful rendition of “It Ain’t Necessarily So.” It reminds me of a dear friend, Ruth Myers, who used to speak of “perceptive paranoia” as the sine qua non of a good education.

Inspiration enough for me to remind you, dear surfer, to be sure you’re signed up for the March 1 “Afloat in the wireless pond” conference. This ambiguous title reflects not just society’s present state of being but conference planners’ invocation of the thought-provoking “Thoreau in Minnesota” conference organized by Dale Schwie. The Waldenesque image inspired the planning process.

Title notwithstanding, March 1 promises to be an “out of the box” day with a roster of speakers that includes a journalist, an historian, a city planner, a philosopher, a geographer, a poet, high school participants in History Day research, and David Wiggins, who defies categorization. Each speaker has a perspective on living in digital days informed by experience and by time devoted to thinking about life afloat on the wireless pond.

There will be time to connect with other “floaters” and to consider the oft-cited pernicious characteristics of technology. Above all, participants will explore the many ways in which people and organizations of good are capitalizing on the potential of information age tools to enhance access to information and thus expand the circle of informed participation.

Agenda and details abound. Reserve with just an email. Pay at the door.
($20 for lunch and materials)

By Mary Treacy

Fort Snelling: Should its history be told?

Fort Snelling: Should its history be told?
Painful, even shameful, stories that reflect the broad scope of the fort's past should not be erased, but learned from.
NINA ARCHABAL, Director of the Minnesota Historical Society, faces head on the question at the very core of information access – do we really want/need to know the truth?

Information Searches That Solve Problems

Interesting study from Pew on the information-for-problem-solving habits of the population in general and specific populations, e.g. Gen Y, in particular. The questions are interesting as the responses.

Visit the Pew site for details