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Next up for the dynamic duo

Mollee Francisco — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:44:06 -0500

Next up for the dynamic duo - an appearance on Animal Planet airing sometime this fall. You can read more about it here: http://ramseyandpablo.blogspot.com/

(Mollee Francisco is a staff writer for the Chaska Herald. She can be reached at mfrancisco@swpub.com.)

Quincy & Roxxi But wouldn't

Ruth Anne Maddox — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:44:44 -0500

Quincy & Roxxi

But wouldn't you want to see this goofballs in action?

Great -- now my dogs are

Ruth Anne Maddox — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:18:44 -0500

Great -- now my dogs are going to want to be on video and not just pose for still shots. I'm not letting them use the computer for a while...

MinnPost has published a

Mark Olson — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:51:49 -0500

MinnPost has published a story on Chaska's Backstage Gallery at: www.minnpost.com/minnov8/2008/06/24/2341/backstage_gallery_your_ticket_t...

If you've visited nearly as

Mollee Francisco — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:27:23 -0500

If you've visited nearly as many countries as Florence Johnson, you might consider signing up at www.mosttraveledpeople.com and entering the global race to be the first person to see all of the world's 673 places. The current leader (and Web site owner) Charles Veley has 43 places left to visit before being able to claim that he has been "everywhere."

I was feeling good about my world travels until I saw where some of these people have gone. Time to pad the bank account and make a run at the title when I'm a bazillionaire.

(Mollee Francisco is a staff writer for the Chaska Herald. She can be reached at mfrancisco@swpub.com.)

Grandma Carol reports that

Mollee Francisco — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:47:54 -0500

Grandma Carol reports that Emma's benefit was a huge success:
"There were about 700 people there and they served 650 dinners. On Thursday and Friday, they had lots and lots of silent auction items brought in. Many sets of sporting event tickets, theater tickets, etc. Some of them worth $200 to $400 each. It was bigger than anyone of us imagined. We did run out of spaghetti just before it was time to quit. We cooked 70 pounds of spaghetti noodles and served 60 pounds of salad! They deposited several thousand dollars into an account for Emma. Money for the silent auction items and other donations have been coming in also."

(Mollee Francisco is a staff writer for the Chaska Herald. She can be reached at mfrancisco@swpub.com.)

More from the U of M on the

Mollee Francisco — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:36:30 -0500

More from the U of M on the newly named apple "frostbite." Here's their release:

The wait is over. The University of Minnesota has announced the winning name of its newest apple, Frostbite.

Formerly known as "MN447," Frostbite dates back to 1921 when the cross-pollinating of two apple blossoms was made at the university's Horticultural Research Center (HRC), now in its 100th year. The apple is actually a grandparent of the most famous U of M apple, Honeycrisp, and joins a long line of successes including Haralson, Zestar and Snowsweet apples. The center is also responsible for several new grape varieties, including the LaCrescent and Frontenac, and plants such as the northern-hardy "Lights" azaleas.

The naming of the apple was chosen following a contest at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum that saw more than 7,000 entries worldwide. Ten Minnesotans who independently submitted the winning name are Lisa Rolf of Eden Prairie, Ted and Caroline Larson of Chaska, Ann Stout of Woodbury, Bonnie Winzenburg of Brainerd, Matt Zitzow of Roseville, Dianne Brackett of Wayzata, Kelly Olinger of White Bear Lake, Cindi Cardinal of Coon Rapids and Linda Davis of Coon Rapids. They will each receive a certificate of congratulations and a basket of Frostbites.

"We're excited to finally have a name," said Jim Luby, a professor in the university's department of horticultural science. "The public interest in this naming was tremendous."

Luby and David Bedford, an apple scientist at HRC, coordinated the judging process. The committee selected two runners-up: "Munchkin" and "Small Wonder."

"It was an exhausting process, but we're very happy with the results," said Bedford.

Frostbite is a specialty apple with striking characteristics -- it is small in size; it has an unusual, almost tropical, flavor; and it is the most winter hardy apple ever released by the university. It is suited for home gardeners and orchards that market directly to consumers.

While the Frostbite name is here, consumers will have to wait to eat the apples. Commercial nurseries will soon start propagating the trees, which will be ready for gardeners and orchards to plant in one to two years. The first trees will then bear fruit to sell around 2014.

(Mollee Francisco is a staff writer for the Chaska Herald. She can be reached at mfrancisco@swpub.com.)

The American Institute of

Mark Olson — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:32:30 -0500

The American Institute of Architects Minnesota sent in this release on Rapson:

Ralph E. Rapson, FAIA, born September 13, 1914, died March 29, 2008 in his home, from heart failure. Rapson will be remembered as one of the foremost architectural draftsmen of the 20th century. His integrated approach to architecture recognized and bridged the gap between education and practice as a role model for architects.

Tom DeAngelo, FAIA, AIA Minnesota President said, “Ralph defined the character of the architectural community here in Minnesota for generations. He influenced us not only through his design leadership, but by cultivating a design community of architects within the profession at the University of Minnesota.”

Rapson’s career began with his completion of studies at University of Michigan’s College of Architecture in 1938, when he was invited by Frank Lloyd Wright to apprentice with him at Taliesin.

He studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, then under Eliel Saarinen before joining the Saarinen architectural office, immersing himself in Cranbrook’s interdisciplinary approach to metalworking, sculpture, photography, graphic design, architecture, city planning, and textile design. It was at Cranbrook that Ralph rendered his first design for the “Rapson Rapid Rocker,” a masterpiece of modern furniture design that debuted formally as part of the Knoll Furniture line in a 1945 exhibit at Bloomingdale’s.

Rapson moved to Chicago in 1941, where he worked with such architects as Fred Keck, won a series of significant national design competitions for post-War housing, and experimented with new technologies and materials. He subsequently headed the design curriculum at the New Bauhaus in Chicago under Lazlo Moholy-Nagy. He was also chosen to design one of the first “Case Study” houses, a seminal project in American post-WWII housing design. After being recruited in 1951 to design the first modern American embassies in Europe, he worked on ten embassy, consulate, and staff housing projects, including the Stockholm and Copenhagen embassies.

Rapson was recruited in 1954 to become Dean of the University of Minnesota’s School of Architecture (now the College of Design, School of Architecture – CDes). He was the first dean of a school of architecture to combine educational administration with an architectural practice. Over the thirty years of his tenure, he molded the leadership of two generations of architectural practice, cultivated a student body possessing peerless drawing skills, brought in visiting professors such as Buckminster Fuller and Siegfried Gideon, and elevated Minnesota into the top half-dozen architectural programs in the nation.

Over the next fifty years, the architectural office of Ralph Rapson and Associates designed projects that helped establish and define the modern architecture movement in Minnesota. From a dozen homes in the University Grove neighborhood to such widely heralded private residences such as the Pillsbury and Brooks houses. From the Hope Lutheran, St. Peters, and St. Thomas churches to a credit union later converted to the Minneapolis Southeast Branch Library.

From performing arts centers and his own glass house in Wisconsin to the multicolored towers of Cedar Riverside. The building for which he is probably best know, the Guthrie Theatre, was heralded as one of the most innovative and important theater designs of the post-War era, a civic icon that gave physical manifestation to Tyrone Guthrie’s vision for the nation’s first regional repertory theater.

Rapson, the first AIA Minnesota Gold Medal Award recipient in 1979, was passionate in all he did, and gave back to the profession in numerous ways. He was integral in the Minnesota Architectural Foundation (MAF), a group established in 1970 to serve charitable, scientific and educational purposes relating to the encouragement & improvement of the architectural environment. Su Blumentals, FAIA, Blumentals Architecture, a long-time foundation member and student of Ralph’s reflected, “I have often wondered what my career path would have been had not Ralph, upon becoming the head of the School of Architecture, changed policy to allow women to enroll. I would have been out of luck.”

He influenced so many generations as a mentor in this and similar ways. He leaves behind a wealth of inspiration among the architectural profession and students. The Ralph Rapson Traveling Fellowship, first awarded in 1989, gives young Minnesota architectural graduates or practitioners $10,000 to $12,000 to advance their education in architecture through foreign or domestic travel-study, is one such example.

“Ralph always approached architectural practice and career with enthusiasm paired with style, grace and optimism,” said DeAngelo. “We will continue his legacy to inspire great design and connect architectural students and the profession. He will truly be missed.”

Emma made her television

Mollee Francisco — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:01:18 -0500

Emma made her television debut on Ch. 5 Tuesday night. She'll appear next on Ch. 9 tomorrow (Friday) at 5 p.m.

(Mollee Francisco is a staff writer for the Chaska Herald. She can be reached at mfrancisco@swpub.com.)

Judging by descriptions of

Mark Olson — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 11:38:59 -0500

Judging by descriptions of its harsh taste, "Freezer Burn" might be a more appropriate name. Although, I look forward to trying some of it in cider.

And "Frostbite" it is!

Mollee Francisco — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:18:22 -0500

And "Frostbite" it is! Minnesota 447 has finally been named. What do you think of the choice?

(Mollee Francisco is a staff writer for the Chaska Herald. She can be reached at mfrancisco@swpub.com.)

UPDATE: Gans crossed the

Mollee Francisco — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 09:43:26 -0500

UPDATE: Gans crossed the finish line late Friday night after 12 days, 8 hours, 26 minutes and 15 seconds on the trail. He came in 57th place, averaging 3.75 mph.
(Mollee Francisco is a staff writer for the Chaska Herald. She can be reached at mfrancisco@swpub.com.)

UPDATE: Day 12 and Joe Gans

Mollee Francisco — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 13:34:43 -0500

UPDATE: Day 12 and Joe Gans has 77 miles to go until he reaches the finish line. Gans is averaging 7.46 mph with 13 dogs and is in 57th place.
(Mollee Francisco is a staff writer for the Chaska Herald. She can be reached at mfrancisco@swpub.com.)

UPDATE: Seven have crossed

Mollee Francisco — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:00:53 -0500

UPDATE: Seven have crossed the finish line at Nome, Alaska so far. Joe Gans last checkpoint was at Unalakleet, leaving him 261 miles yet to go. He is in 59th place with 14 of his dogs still racing. His pace has slowed to 5.26 mph.
(Mollee Francisco is a staff writer for the Chaska Herald. She can be reached at mfrancisco@swpub.com.)

UPDATE: Gans has traveled

Mollee Francisco — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:51:20 -0500

UPDATE: Gans has traveled 615 miles as of Day 8. He has dropped one of his 16 dogs and is currently in 61st place, averaging 8.02 mph. The leader, Lance Mackay has traveled 841 miles and is 171 miles from the finish line.

(Mollee Francisco is a staff writer for the Chaska Herald. She can be reached at mfrancisco@swpub.com.)