We are ready to start Minnesota Infrastructure Report Card for 2022. After our inaugural report card (www.infrastructurereportcard.org/minnesota) in 2018, we are expecting to see familiar faces and new ones. First meeting is Nov. 10 at 8am CST Email reportcard@ascemn.org to get involved!
University of St. Thomas ASCE Student Chapter Fall Updates
On October 15, we hosted a virtual Lunch & Learn for students from 12-1pm, with Mohsen Tahmasebi Nasab, who is a new member of the civil engineering faculty at UST. Professor Nasab shared about his research and water resource engineering.
As of recent weeks we have assembled a team to compete in this year’s AISC Steel Bridge Competition. Our team has begun the planning stages of the elaborate process.
November 19th we are hosting a virtual Lunch & Learn for students from 12-1pm, with guest speaker Shane Ortlepp from TKDA. He will be discussing his career, the private sector, and giving industry advice.
Outstanding Engineer of the Year : Jason Staebell
ASCE-MN Section has named Jason Staebell, PE the ASCE-MN Outstanding Engineer of The Year 2020.
The Minnesota Section of ASCE has established the ASCE-MN Outstanding Engineer of the Year Award to recognize the outstanding contribution of local engineers to the civil engineering profession. The selection criteria for this award includes:
• Outstanding technical contributions to the civil engineering profession.
• Outstanding professional and leadership contributions to the civil engineering profession
• Significant contributions to the local community representing the civil engineering profession.
• Outstanding contributions in the area of civil engineering education.
• The recipient must be both a member of ASCE and the Minnesota Section.
Jason has nearly 20 years of engineering experience. After graduating from North Dakota State University, Jason spent 12 years at HNTB. Jason is currently a Principal Project Manager in the design division at Hennepin County, where he has worked for nearly 7 years. Jason has held positions in ASCE with the Younger Member Group as well as the Transportation Committee. He is currently the first-past president of the Minnesota Section, which caps off nearly a decade of service on the ASCE MN Board of Directors. In 2016, Jason accepted the challenge on leading a team to create Minnesota’s first state infrastructure report card. The report card was released in October 2018 and has been a crucial piece in educating the legislators and the public of the need to improve the states infrastructure. Jason has also served in leadership positions with MSES, where he just completed a term as president of the group. ASCE MN thanks Jason and recognize him for his outstanding commitment to the civil engineering profession.
ASCE YMG Fall Update
We would like to apologize for the lack of engagement from the YMG over the past six months. When the pandemic hit in March and everything went virtual, we frankly lacked ideas to maintain momentum and transition our events to virtual. The core of this group has long been in-person, large group social events that allow younger engineers the opportunity to meet people from outside their place of work. While we have failed to provide these opportunities and can't recover the last several months, the YMG will strive to provide some opportunities for networking over the fall and winter months to allow you to grow your personal and professional network in the Twin Cities engineering community.
The 2020-21 ASCE YMG Board is:
President: Matt Hardegger
Vice President: vacant seat
Past President: Cody Preisler
Secretary/Media Chair: Meredith Lis
Treasurer: Jacob Bray
Networking Chair: Felipe Ortega
Education and Outreach Chair: Chloe Weber
Awards Chair: Maren Mosley
The board is a great opportunity to expand your network, get involved in the Twin Cities engineering community, and open up a world of opportunities available to you through the national ASCE Committee on Younger Members (Younger Member Leadership Symposium, Central Region Younger Member Council, Legislative Fly-In, etc). If you have ideas for events you would like to see over the winter months and into 2021, we would love for you to join our monthly planning meetings. Please email Matt at ymg.president@ascemn.org if you are interested.
Sign up for our fall networking scramble now! Registrants will be grouped by activity comfort level and location, groups will then pick an activity the entire group is comfortable with to network! Sign up by 10/21, groups will be notified on 10/22 for activities to occur over the following two weeks.
Planning and Immigration
By Haila Maze, AICP, Bolton & Menk, Inc.
With the important exception of indigenous people, most United States residents today can trace their origins back to other nations. Despite this, immigration remains a controversial topic in many communities. This article will provide a brief history of immigration in the US, an assessment of its impacts, and suggestions on how planners can address current concerns.
History of Immigration
Immigration typically is motivated by both push (reasons to leave) and pull (reasons to come) factors. Since the original European settlement of the land that was to become the United States, there have been several major waves of immigration. The actual number of immigrants by year has ebbed and flowed during this time, in response to policies and restrictions governing immigration into the country, as well as events and conditions elsewhere in the world that precipitated immigration. Currently, over 8 percent of Minnesota, 5 percent of North Dakota, and 4 percent South Dakota residents are foreign born. Nationally, around 13 percent of residents are foreign born.
The relationship between planning and immigration began early. As industrialization and the inflow of immigrant workers and their families fueled rapid growth of cities, planners responded to public health and safety needs regarding access to improved living and working conditions. This has continued, with some changes in response to the unique needs of each time.
Source: US Census Bureau
Impact
The impact of immigration on the United States has been immeasurable. In today’s perspective, there are many ways in which it contributes to society. Populating and repopulating areas. Like many developed nations, the native born birth rate in the United States has declined. Immigrants replenish the population with younger people.
• Filling job vacancies. Likewise, immigrant workers have come to play an important role in the workforce, as the native born one ages.
• Revitalizing retail and services. Immigrants are on average more entrepreneurial as well. This fuels growth of business and industry, especially small scale and startup enterprises.
• Making unique places. Immigrants from other cultural backgrounds can bring unique food, art, music, and other cultural distinctives that make places interesting and distinct.
• Diversity of insights and perspectives. In an era of rapid change, diversity is a strength. New approaches and ideas help to fuel creative solutions.
Source: New American Economy, 2018 data
What Can Planners Do to Help?
Despite the benefits associated with immigrant populations, many communities have expressed concerns about the nation’s ability to accept and assimilate immigrants. The following covers some of the issues facing communities related to immigration, and how planners can help with a proactive and constructive response.
Issue #1: Learning Curve
With people moving to the country, there is often a basic unfamiliarity with how things are done here. The ways of government, culture, society, and work may be significantly different where they come from. Information overload, balancing multiple priorities, and language barriers can add to the challenge.
Planners can assist with education and outreach to connect, inform, and include people in public processes. It may also be a reason to simplify rules and regulations, increase transparency of public processes, and work with liaisons and partners to make connections. These improvements can benefit not only new immigrant populations, but also many others who may be less familiar with these topics.
Issue #2: Cultural Distinctives
Another area of concern with immigrants may be cultural distinctives. Each culture brings its own practices with regards to food and drink, recreation, religion, business practices, dress, living arrangements, and social interactions.
Planners can assist by educating themselves and others on cultural differences of which they may be unaware. This can provide insight as to how regulations and practices might have unforeseen consequences and need to be adjusted to better accommodate newcomers – or on the other hand, how immigrants may need to be educated about these issues. Planners can also encourage recognition and even celebration of positive differences that bring value, interest, and variety to the community.
Issue #3: Assistance Needed
Probably the most challenging issue is that immigrants arrive in this country somewhat under duress. They may be refugees from conflict, or just seeking a better life than is available in their place of origin. As a result, they may need at least some initial assistance from the government or nonprofits to meet their basic needs before they are able to be fully self-sufficient.
Planners can provide referrals for needed programs and services, support affordable housing options, promote workforce development strategies, and even help to hire diverse workers and partners. It is important to acknowledge that solutions here can span the full political spectrum – both helping people in need through assistance and empowering those who have a desire to work to succeed here.
This article was provided by Bolton & Menk, Inc., one of ASCE-MN’s sponsors. To see other benefits of becoming a sponsor, visit https://ascemn.org/sponsors or email treasurer@ascemn.org.
UMN ASCE Student Chapter Fall Updates
Greetings from the UMN ASCE Student Chapter! We are looking forward to making the most of the semester despite not being able to meet in person. All of our events have transitioned to virtual platforms, including the ASCE Fall career fair, but we have continued to welcome new members even in these virtual times.
Our September general meeting was held via zoom and was sponsored by Black & Veatch. The speakers gave an overview of their company and offered their perspectives on the path to licensure which is always an interesting topic for students. For our first virtual event, the meeting was a success and we are looking forward to our November general meeting with a speaker from the City of St. Louis Park.
The ASCE fall career fair is also being held virtually via the Career Fair Plus platform which we are able to use thanks to the College of Science and Engineering. This platform allows students to meet one on one over video with recruiters from the comfort of their respective homes or offices. At this point, employer registration has closed, and students are beginning to sign up for video meetings with recruiters. We are glad to be able to continue this important event which is one of our chapter’s largest fundraisers and most well attended events of the semester.
The 2019-20 concrete canoe named Babe as part of a Paul Bunyan theme
The Concrete Canoe team is excited to begin work on this season’s design, despite the lack of a construction element this year. Limitations due to Covid-19 will largely keep the team out of the lab and they will not have to build a canoe for competition. The team was disappointed to miss out on last season’s competition especially after attending Nationals in 2019. We are hoping to make the most of the situation this year to build up our design knowledge and set the team up for success next season.
Student members participating in intramural volleyball last Spring
If you have any questions or would like to support our ASCE Student Chapter in any way, please feel free to connect with the President, Renee Sailor (sailo011@umn.edu)
Meet the Engineers - Oct 21-22-23 St. Thomas University School of Engineering
The University of St. Thomas School of Engineering invites you to register for our Meet the Engineers - A Reverse Career Fair event.
This event will be held virtually. Employers will be able to book live online 15-minute interviews with individual students from 3 - 5 PM daily on Wednesday, October 21, Thursday, October 22, and Friday, October 23.
Over 200 undergraduate engineering students majoring in Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, and Computer Engineering will attend seeking either internships or permanent employment.
President's Message
Greetings ASCE Minnesota! I am very excited to take the helm of the Section this year. I would like to start by welcoming our new board members: Ariel Christenson (Secretary), Tumer Akakin (Director of Communication), and Riley Dvorak (Director of Awards). We appreciate their willingness to serve our profession through membership on the board. I can speak for the new and current board members as well and the committee chairs, we are all excited to serve the Section this year.
A little about me. I am a senior transportation engineer with Bolton & Menk, Inc. working in the transportation group managing and leading all types of highway projects. I graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2004 and have been involved with ASCE since 2002. I was treasurer for the student chapter (2003-2004) and co-captain of the concrete canoe team (2003-2004). After graduation I joined the Younger Member Group and was president of the group for a number of years (2009-2012). In 2012 I was elected to the board of directors and have held various leadership positions including Director of Committees (2012-2014), ASCE Leadership Conference Chair (2016-2017), Director of Events (2014-2017), and Treasurer (2017-2019).
When I started on this journey in 2012, I never would have imagined a year of only being able to connect virtually. COVID-19 has affected all of us in so many different ways and it is my hope that ASCE can offer a small piece of normalcy over the next few months. On July 14, we held our annual summer planning meeting. The incoming and outgoing board of directors, committee chairs, younger member leadership, and student chapters spent the day planning for the upcoming year. We all agreed that our main goal this year was to keep ASCE relevant and to provide opportunities for our membership to connect even if its only in a virtual setting. Keep an eye out for upcoming webinars and virtual meetings throughout the year. Thank you to our membership who put their trust is us to lead the Section. We welcome input and feedback anytime. Please feel free to reach out to me at president@ascemn.org.
Tim Lamkin
2020-2021 Board Election Results
Congratulations to all of our new officers for 2020-2021 and thank you to everyone that voted! A special thanks to Hannah Albertus-Benham & Jason Staebell for the services over the past years.
Tim Lamkin President
Andrew Nordseth President Elect
Ariel Christenson Secretary
Jeremy Walgrave Treasurer
Tumer Akakin Director of Communications
Riley Dvorak Director of Awards
Alysa Johnson Director of Outreach
Lauren Linderman Director of Events
Member Get a Member
Did you know that you get a $50 Amazon.com Gift Card* for each newly joining professional member you refer?
ASCE’s Section Member Drive is ending soon. Don’t wait! #ascemademe
Log in to your ASCE account and then go here:
https://info.asce.org/mgam?elqTrackId=F5CEB317F0310DDFD6CCCEF59F14BC8A&elq=6fc7471e326045ff85c5db4cc8cfc358&elqaid=1193&elqat=2&elqCampaignId=&GUID=d4765c00-7fc7-49fb-ba8f-6275974264a5