ABOUT US
Reilly Albert
Major: Environmental Geography
Hometown: Duluth, Minnesota
Favorite Field Trip Stop: My Favorite stop was the small town of Two Harbors. Being from northern Minnesota I have been through Two Harbors countless amounts of time but this time was different. I had the opportunity to research tourism about this town and the efforts residents are making to grow Two Harbors as well as preserve their rich history.
Favorite Field Trip Experience:
My favorite experience from our trip was the opportunity to learn about the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Ely. We were able to sit down and hear about the campaign to save the Boundary Waters from Levi Lexvold. Lexvold showed us a multitude of maps to explain what is going on in this area. We learned about the legal side of this project as well as the marketing side of advertising the issue.
Lasting Impressions of Minnesota:
Minnesota has a diverse landscape from prairie lands to cliffs. This beautiful state has been home to numerous conflicts in the past but with the help of the historical society Minnesota is making efforts to preserve their history and protect sacred lands.
Andrew Cotter
Major: Environmental Geography
Hometown: Verona, Wisconsin
Favorite Field Trip Stop: My favorite stop was Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge. I enjoyed this stop because it was still pretty early on in our trip and really liked being able to explore the landscape we had previously read about for class.
Favorite Field Trip Experience: My favorite experience was the Bois Forte Heritage Center. Overall I found this stop to be really interesting and informational. Getting a tour of the center helped to expand on my knowledge I already had from class as well as previous experiences. I really enjoyed learning more about the heritage of the Bois Forte from a member of their community who was so knowledgeable. While some of the history we talked about wasn't very happy or light heart, it was still very important to learn more about their history.
Lasting Impressions of Minnesota: Before this course I didn't know much specifically about the geography of Minnesota. I never really knew how many diverse landscapes made up Minnesota. I really appreciated being able to see first hand what we had spent several weeks learning about it class. I now have a better understanding of how cool and beautiful the state of Minnesota is.
Kenz Hendrickson
Major: Environmental Geography
Hometown: Stillwater, Minnesota
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Alex Huddock
Major
Hometown: Webster, Minnesota
Favorite Field Trip Stop: Tettegouche state park due to the awe of the superior waves crashing against the north shore cliffs.
Favorite Field Trip Experience: Getting to adventure through the vastly different environments that are dispersed through Minnesota, and seeing how big of a difference a few miles can have on how the landscape looks.
Lasting Impressions of Minnesota: Growing up in Minnesota I thought that almost all of the state was farm land with some small forests interspersed between them. Learning more about how the landscape was formed and getting to see different parts of the state has helped me learn that Minnesota has much more to it than the farming and suburbia that we are known for.
Emily Huerta
Major: Environmental Geography
Hometown: Fort Atkinson, WI / Wauwatosa, WI
Favorite Field Trip Stop: Sustainable Ely and Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters was my favorite stop. We got to see past and present work being done, as well as experience another real-world application of geography and GIS in our Midwest backyard.
Favorite Field Trip Experience: My favorite field experience was visiting the MSU-Moorhead Regional Science Center where indoor geographers like myself, got to explore what it's like to be an outdoor geographer!
Lasting Impressions of Minnesota: Taking this class as a Wisconsinite with a majority of Minnesotans, I thought the rivalry would only grow stronger. However, I have to say that I came to appreciate Minnesota much more than I ever have and will admit, I'll take Minnesota over Wisconsin any day. The beautiful landscapes, kind and genuine people, and development that this state has to offer is somewhere I hope to reside one day.
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Makayla Jones-Klausing
Environmental Geography
Hometown: Saint Louis Park, Minnesota
Favorite Field Trip Stop: My favorite stop was in Ely, Minnesota because we got to meet with the Sustainable Ely and Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters and hear about their efforts in protecting this natural preserve.
Favorite Field Trip Experience: My favorite experience was getting to collect data along the Le Sueur River and in the neighborhoods around the Allianz Field.
Lasting Impressions of Minnesota: How beautiful Minnesota is and how much the landscape can change depending on what part of the state you are in.
Megan Kangas
Comprehensive Environmental Geography
Hometown: Marinette, Wisconsin
Favorite Field Trip Stop: Tettegouche and Gooseberry Falls State Parks.
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Zachary Kosel
Geography Liberal Arts
Hometown: Cambridge, MN
Favorite Field Trip Stop: Washburn Park Water Tower in Tangletown, Minneapolis. It's an exceptionally underrated and uniquely designed water tower that has fortunately stayed around despite no longer supplying water.
Favorite Field Trip Experience: Seeing a live moose for the first time. They are one of my favorite aspects of Minnesota wildlife and this one was much bigger than I expected.
Lasting Impressions of Minnesota: A beautiful state that always has new experiences to offer, even to livelong residents.
Sam Kuhlmann
Major
Hometown:
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Tristan McGlauchlen
Geography, Psychology minor
Hometown: Farmington, MN
Favorite Field Trip Stop: My favorite stop was the MSU-Moorhead Regional Science Center. We got to go to an archaeological dig site in the woods there, and my love for Indiana Jones was made very well known that day. The trek through the woods was a fun little adventure but seeing active archaeology in the process was an incredible experience, getting me all excited for a future of doing field research.
Favorite Field Trip Experience: My favorite experience, aside from the archaeology at MSU, was the Duluth Harbor boat tour. Childhood me had an incredible love for Pirates of the Caribbean, and I just loved ships and boats and the like. Going out onto the choppy water was just plain fun. It was also incredible to see the sheer scale of the ships, docks, and general operations going on in the harbor, it’s all so massive! As cold as it was, it was a great time, and we learned a lot of interesting facts for if we ever find ourselves in a Duluth Harbor trivia game.
Lasting impressions of Minnesota: My greatest lasting impression from the trip is the fact that so much of Minnesota exists as a massive system, relying on all parts to function. The agriculture in the west wouldn’t be as abundant if it wasn’t for the legacy of Lake Agassiz and Glacial River Warren. The products from those farms go to packing facilities like the one we saw in Waseca and/or the Duluth harbor to be shipped around the world. The tourism and industry in the north is still connected economically to The Cities. The pollution in watersheds like the Le Sueur and water systems at the boundary waters have impacts in regions on the other side of the state, and even the country. Everything exists in systems, and what a way to discover that.
Cole Perkins
Major
Hometown: Berkeley, California
Favorite Field Trip Stop: Tettegouche State Park
Favorite Field Trip Experience: My favorite experience on the trip was taking a boat tour on Lake Superior in Duluth
Lasting Impressions of Minnesota: Minnesota has a beautiful landscape with a vibrant culture.
Zach Reed
Transnational Geography
Hometown: Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Favorite Field Trip Stop: I really enjoyed Tettegouche State Park because of the natural beauty of the shoreline and Lake Superior, as well as the opportunity to take a hike. Being outside often was one of the best aspects of the trip for me.
Favorite Field Trip Experience: Spending time in an immersive high impact learning environment was great for me in addition to getting to know my fellow classmates and professors on a personal level.
Lasting Impressions of Minnesota: Minnesota is a state with a beautiful natural landscape, awesome state parks and museums. I would now consider living there long-term after spending so much time getting acquainted with the state, and truly appreciating it.
Dr. Garry Running
Professor
Hometown: Bloomington, MN
Favorite Field Trip Stop: A challenging question for many reasons. Many to choose from. Winona, a cool river town. 4 Daughters for the impromptu backroom tour and great meal. Bird’s Eye to smell the sweet corn. Watching students eyeballs bug out in the LeSeuer Valley (tiling, erosion, big ag land use). Lower Sioux Agency for the spatial context to an important story (video OK, presentation, meh), but the place and its significance was compelling. Haunted Brown’s Valley for the zombie experience. Bemidji to see huge changes in my old stomping grounds (and the bartender at the hotel was a geography major). I don’t know where the money came from. The drive up 2 and 169 to Ely (seeing old stomping grounds with new eyes, again), the Ely Grand Hotel for the hang out at the bar with the food and beverage manager, and the moose sighting on the way to the big lake. Duluth for the harbor tour and a brief stop at Valhalla, I mean the Vickre distillery. Mill City museum because it was way cooler than I imagined a milling museum could be, seeing what hipsters have done to the area around Fulton, and my introduction to 3rd spaces. The visit to the old homestead in Bloomington to reconnect and reimagine in real life the racialized spaces I grew up in.
Favorite Field Trip Experience: In addition to the above, going from lake plain prairie to mixed forest-covered moraines to pine-covered Laurentian Shield. That whole transect from the sugar beet outfit by Wahpeton to Bemidji and from there to Ely. Great bioclimatic and geomorphic transect.
Lasting Impressions of Minnesota: Incredible diversity of landscapes, both cultural and physical (and the two are connected!). Beauty even in the SW part of the state I ignored as a kid in favor of the Up North experience. Small towns may be dying in the hinterlands but small cities are working their butts off to remain relevant and prosperous. Not being able to swing a dead cat without hitting some local effort to diversify economies from extractive industry or monocrop agriculture to include other things from beer and booze to tourism, art, and culture. My state, outstate and in the city, has done some growing up since last I lived there.
Dr. Ezra Zeitler
Associate Professor
Hometown: Rosiere, WI
Favorite Field Trip Stop: Bois Forte Heritage Center
Favorite Field Trip Experience: bonding over picnic lunches
Lasting Impressions of Minnesota: beautiful state at the nexus of three major ecosystems, friendly folks, great roads