Friday Digest: July 22

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Friday Digest: July 22, 2016

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This Week:


MN DAV Rainy Lake House Boat Trip, Application Deadline July 29

On this trip you will be able to relax and enjoy some great fishing. This trip is on Rainy Lake, by International Falls MN, where Veterans can get to know other Veterans and clear their mind of all the craziness in the world today. Sponsored by the MN DAV Outdoors Programs, this is open to all Veterans of all ages.

More Information >>


Gold Star Family Day at Valley Fair, July 30

Each Gold Star Family member (spouse, child, parent, sibling only) is entitled to free parking and admission, as well as a catered picnic lunch that day! All tickets registered for will be mailed to the registrant prior to the event.

Extended family members (those beyond spouse, children, parents, and siblings) or other friends/guests will be able to purchase discounted admission tickets, which include parking, for $24 instead of the regular price of $36 and $15 for parking! Please contact Tracy at Valleyfair to purchase any additional tickets needed at (952) 496-5332.  All additional tickets purchased will be mailed to you directly by Valleyfair.

  • Admission and picnic lunch for Gold Star Families covered by MDVA, parking included
  • Discounted admission and parking available for guests of Gold Star Families
  • Programming will be offered during lunch hour

More Information >>


MACV - Upcoming Event

The Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans will be hosting the following event:


VA Announces Community Care Call Center to Help Veterans with Choice Program Billing Issues

Veterans can now work directly with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to resolve debt collection issues resulting from inappropriate or delayed Choice Program billing.  A Community Care Call Center has been set up for Veterans experiencing adverse credit reporting or debt collection resulting from inappropriately billed Choice Program claims. Veterans experiencing these problems can call 1-877-881-7618 for assistance and press 1 at the prompt.


Monthly Native American Veterans Coffee &Treats Get Together, Aug 5

There is a monthly meeting for Native American Veterans from 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. at the Minneapolis American Indian Center.

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Minnesota Humanities Center Announces Discussion Leaders for “Echoes of War” Community Conversations

June 30, 2016—ST. PAUL, Minn.— Twelve Minnesota leaders have been identified by the Minnesota Humanities Center’s Veterans’ Voices program to lead community discussions in the fall of 2016 for its Echoes of War project. Echoes of War asks Veterans and members of the general public to consider how Americans memorialize war and military service in public, and how that relates to the way war gets remembered through the personal stories and life experiences of Veterans.

As part of this project, the Humanities Center will train community discussion leaders who will host a public discussion series on war and memory that will run simultaneously in St. Paul and Northfield this fall. The Echoes of War Discussion Leaders are Veterans, civilians, and current military service members, including:

Joseph Buhain, Prior Lake                   Todd Kuikka, St. Cloud

Vance Gellert, Minneapolis                    John Lally, South St. Paul

Scott Glew, Elk River                            Daniel Reiva, Brooklyn Park                             

Kim Heikklia, St. Paul                            Bruce Richardson, St. Louis Park

Kathy Henderson, St. Paul                    Rachel Robinson, Minneapolis

Matthew Idzik, St. Paul                          Blake Rondeau, St. Paul

Echoes of War features a five-day, immersive, residential training program for these selected discussion leaders that will be co-led by Dr. Susannah Ottaway, Echoes of War co-project director and professor of history at Carleton College, and Trista Matascastillo, the Humanities Center’s Veterans’ Voices Program Officer and herself a Veteran. “We are honored to have such a dynamic group of Veterans, civilians, and current military members included as part of our discussion series, Echoes of War,” notes Trista Matascastillo. “The collective knowledge of each of these discussion leaders will add to the richness of the content and be able to draw personal connections to war literature and experience connected to memorials as we engage communities during Veterans’ Voices Month in October.”     

As a part of their training, these 12 discussion leaders will engage with both war literature and war memorials at the Minnesota State Capitol mall. Leading scholars and voices from Minnesota’s Veteran communities will work with the Humanities Center’s Echoes of War project to train them and use “Standing Down: From Warrior to Civilian,” an anthology published by Great Books Foundation, as the core literary resource.

After their training, discussion leaders will lead a series of four public conversations about history, collective memory and war memorials, and explore how these themes relate to Veterans’ experiences of war. These Echoes of War public discussions will be held simultaneously in St. Paul at the Humanities Center and in Northfield at Carleton College on Tuesday evenings this fall—October 11, 18, 25, and November 1—to coincide with Veterans’ Voices Month in October.

The Echoes of War project is part of a grant from a new National Endowment for the Humanities grant “Dialogues on the Experience of War,” which brings a humanities perspective to the war experience through conversation-based Veterans programming. 


MN DAV Canadian Fly-in Trip, Aug. 27 - Sept. 1

Join the DAV of MN Outdoors as they explore the Tang of the North Resort in a beautiful secluded section in the Canadian Wilderness. Participants will be flying into the resort by float plane and staying for a few days. Veterans will be able to fish, relax, meet new friends, and just have an overall great time.

More Information >>


MN DAV State Commander Mick Aguirre selected to throw the 1st pitch for MN Twins on 9/11

The Minnesota Twins have announced that DAV State Commander, Michael (Mick) Aguirre has been selected to throw out the 1st pitch at the Twins game against Cleveland on Sunday September 11. Commander Aguirre was elected DAV State Commander in May 2016 and serves as the leader of the more than 18,000 member organization here in Minnesota. Aguirre, a member of St. Paul Chapter 2 of the DAV, is a former Marine who served in Vietnam. Mr. Aguirre's family has been honored in St. Paul for a long history of service in the Armed Forces. He will be joined on the field with his immediate family.


Statewide Veterans Conference, Oct. 7

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities will be hosting a Statewide Veterans Conference.  Individuals and organizations who work with Veterans are encouraged to share best-practices, network with other professionals, and either attend or present at one of the break-out sessions.

If your organization would like to present at the conference, proposals are being accepted through July 29.

More Information >>


Learn, Work, Earn: A Minnesota Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Project

Minnesota Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (MnAMP) colleges can offer Veterans:

Training for jobs in Machining, Mechatronics, and Welding

Start with a manufacturing core curriculum, which leads to career pathways and industry recognized credentials

Credit for Prior Learning

Earn college credits for military experience. Use the MnSCU VETS system to instantly identify credits.

Dual-Training & Apprenticeship Opportunities

  • Build on prior military service and work experience
  • Gain year-round employment while going to college
  • Master skills and earn wages with a company during training

Find your MnAMP college here

MnAMP Flyer