GLIN==> News Release: Communities and Waterways Speaker Series

["Marie E. Zhuikov" <mzhuikov@d.umn.edu>]

                                MN SEA GRANT
                                NEWS RELEASE

12/18/06
Contact: Tari Rayala, AIA, (218) 591-6892, tari_rayala@charter.net

  Speaker Series to Focus on Connections Between Communities and 
Waterways

The Northern Minnesota component of the American Institute of 
Architects (AIA) invites the public to join an interactive speaker 
series starting at 7 p.m. on January 16 in Fitger's Northern Lights 
Theater. The three-part series, "Re-establishing Connections to Our 
Waterways," will engage architects, city planners, water resource 
specialists, and community members in dialogs culminating in a 
charrette (an intense period of collaborative design activity). The 
presentations are free and,  after January's, will be held the second 
Tuesday of each month through March. Refreshments will be served.

"We're excited to bring this initiative to Northern Minnesota," said 
Tari Rayala, associate director for AIA Northern Minnesota and an 
architect with Architectural Resources in Duluth.  "It's a way to 
connect with the history of the Laurentian watershed, and to consider 
how waterways contribute to our lifestyles. As a result of this series, 
we intend to develop policies outlining the responsibilities of 
communities and individuals towards maintaining the region's 
outstanding water quality.?

To stimulate discussions, representatives from the City of Duluth, the 
University of Minnesota Sea Grant Program, development corporations, 
and residents of Northern Minnesota will present information on the 
relationships between water and development. "Re-establishing 
Connections to Our Waterways" is supported by a $10,000 grant from the 
national AIA office through the organization's new community service 
program, Blueprint for America. As a cornerstone of AIA's 150th 
anniversary celebrations, Blueprint for America allows architects to 
addresses a community challenge in collaboration with fellow citizens, 
professionals, and local government officials.

?We applaud AIA Northern Minnesota for seizing this opportunity to 
demonstrate how good design makes a difference,? said national AIA 
President Kate Schwennsen.

For more information on discussion series, please visit the AIA 
Minnesota Web site: www.aia-mn.org.
                                 ###

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