Latest news with #MinnesotaStateUniversityMankato
Boston Globe
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
ICE says a University of Minnesota student's visa was revoked for drunken driving, not protests
Advertisement Meanwhile, officials at Minnesota State University Mankato said Monday that one of their students had been detained by ICE as well. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up President Edward Inch said in a letter to the campus community that the student was detained Friday at an off-campus residence. 'No reason was given. The University has received no information from ICE, and they have not requested any information from us,' Inch wrote. 'I have contacted our elected officials to share my concerns and ask for their help in stopping this activity within our community of learners.' The Mankato school did not name the student, nor give the student's nationality or field of study. ICE did not immediately respond to a request for details on that case. 'This is becoming a deeply concerning pattern, where ICE detains students with little to no explanation ... and ignores their rights to due process,' U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in a statement. 'I will keep pressing the administration for answers about these arrests and work to get answers from federal immigration authorities about this case.' Advertisement The University of Minnesota has not named its student either. That student, who was detained at an off-campus residence on Thursday, was enrolled in the business school on the Minneapolis campus. University spokesperson Andria Waclawski said the school had no further updates Monday. She said earlier that they were following the lead of the student and respecting their request for privacy, while providing the student with legal aid and other supports. The governor said Monday that, 'A deep concern is, here, that no matter what the situation was, in this country, everyone has due process rights and our concern is whether those due process rights are being followed.' President Donald Trump's administration has cited a seldom-invoked statute authorizing the secretary of state to revoke visas of noncitizens who could be considered a threat to foreign policy interests. More than half a dozen people with ties to universities are known to have been taken into custody or deported in recent weeks. Most of those detainees have shown support for Palestinian causes during campus protests over Israel's war in Gaza.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Drone footage reveals unexpected changes in major river after dam failure: 'It looks like we're on the moon or something'
After the Rapidan Dam failed last summer and the Blue Earth River carved a new course through Minnesota Valley, researchers are using drones to survey the area and monitor changes that affect the entire waterway and landscape downstream, MPR News reported. The project is being led by Phil Larson, earth sciences director at Minnesota State University Mankato, and Zach Hilgendorf from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, who will monitor the area until the summer of next year. They're looking at how the flooding river has cut new channels and cliffs through the area, what's happening to all the sediment being washed away, and the stretches of exposed soil left behind. "It looks like we're on the moon or something," said Larson, per MPR News. The Rapidan Dam was an old but still sturdy structure. It underwent "avulsive failure," meaning the water didn't go through it; it went around. During a flood, when water levels were high, the river dug a new channel through the softer earth beside the dam and released the built-up pressure behind the barrier. "The river just evolved and went over here and said, 'We don't want to, I don't want to deal with the dam,'" Larson said, per MPR News. "'I'm going to cut down over here through this landscape, because it's weaker, softer materials.' So, the river now has been locked into this new course here, and we have this dam just sitting here doing nothing." That sort of thing is getting more common for two reasons. First of all, America's infrastructure is aging, dams included. The older it all gets without being repaired or replaced, the more likely it is to fail. Meanwhile, heat-trapping air pollution is making the world hotter, which makes the weather less stable overall. Cycles of drought and flooding, plus heavy storms, are all part of the package. And when those storms and floods hit, they can change the landscape. In the Blue Earth River's case, that means six Olympic swimming pools' worth of sediment is being pushed downriver. As a result, the river is shallower — between 1.5 and 4 feet when the water is low — and will eventually flow into the Minnesota River and then the Mississippi. The chemical composition, which includes a lot of phosphorus, could damage the environment. The news isn't all bad. Dam removal creates opportunities for fish that were previously blocked from traveling upstream and now may be able to return again. That could be great for struggling fish populations. Do you think fracking should be illegal in America? Yes — everywhere Yes — in most areas In some areas No Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
