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Current and future events (2009-2010):

AWIS plant and book sale and potluck, May 24, 5:30 pm at the home of Anett Trebitz. Bring a dish to share (not desserts or drinks) and any plants (seedlings, divisions, or even garden implements) or books you would like to sell. This is one of our main fundraisers for our scholarship and teacher's grant fund, so please come and be prepared to be as generous as you can (our scholarship/grant fund is a bit on the low side right now). If you have an extra lawn chair you can easily bring, this might also be useful.

AWIS bookgroup May 25, 5:30 pm at The Scenic Cafe on the Scenic Highway just past the French River. We are reading "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot. Please join us; it is not necessary to have read the book.

Past events:
Sept. 2009-Aug. 2010

September 23, 5:30 pm: AWIS fall kick-off meeting and Chinese take-out dinner at the home of Jean Regal. Join us to kick off the 2009-2010 year, plan our events and outings, meet new members and grad students, and catch up with old friends. Remember, students eat FREE!

October 14, 5 pm: AWIS Book Group will meet at the Zen House restaurant on the corner of Maple Grove Rd and Haines Rd. (in the same building as the gas station). We will be discussing the book, Three Weeks with My Brother, by Nicholas and Micah Sparks. You don't have to have read the book to join us. Click on the book group link on the left for more information and future book choices.

October 22, 6 pm: Tour of Fitgers Brewhouse. Dave Hoops, brewmaster for Fitgers Brewhouse, will guide the tour and explain the science behind brewing. Please RSVP to Krysta Maas or the AWIS list for planning purposes.

November 20, 5 pm: AWIS Book Group will meet at the Sala Thai restaurant located at the top of Woodland across from the Piggly Wiggly. We will be discussing the author John McPhee, so read anything he has written and we will share our notes and thoughts.

December 14: Holiday get-together at Green Mill, Canal Park, 5:00 pm. Join us for holiday cheer, great snacks, and bring a small donation for Safe Haven, the local women's shelter.

December 21: Teacher grant applications due. See Scholarships page for more information

January 7th, 5:30 pm: AWIS book group will meet at the Black Bear Casino's seafood buffet to discuss "People of the Book" by Geraldine Brooks. Link up on email to share a ride.

January 26, 6 pm: AWIS member share and potluck at the Large Lakes Observatory, 2205 E. 5th St., Duluth. We need members to volunterr to talk about their work or something else science-related (contact Krysta Maas). Plan to bring a dish to share.

March 31: 7 pm at MPCA large conference room, 4th floor, 525 Lake Avenue S., Duluth. An important discussion about the future of our AWIS chapter. Please join us. Background information includes National AWIS strategic plan.

AWIS bookgroup April 6, 5:15 pm at Valentini's on London Rd. The discussion will be on influenza. See the bookgroup page for reading choices.

Past events:
Sept. 2008-Aug. 2009

September 23, 6 pm: AWIS fall kick-off meeting and Chinese take-out dinner. You are cordially invited to the home of Jane Wattrus for the AWIS Fall 2008-2009 Kickoff Meeting. Food and refreshments will be provided (with a small donation asked of non-students; students eat FREE!).

Oct. 7, 5:30 pm: AWIS Book Group will meet at the new Thai Restaurant - Bangkok Royale, near the Miller Hill Mall. Click on the Book group link for more information.

October 14, 6 pm: Potluck with Russian environmental educators. Please bring a dish to share and meet in the MPCA large conference room (4th floor of the Palucci Building in Canal Park across from the original Grandma's Restaurant). We will meet with a small group of Russian environemental educators who are visiting Duluth. We did this last year with great success, so please join us.

November 12, 5:30 pm: AWIS Book Group will meet at the China Inn in Superior to discuss the book, The Great Lakes Water Wars by Peter Annin. Please join us even if you haven't read the book.

December 3, 5:30 pm: AWIS holiday party at Green Mill, Canal Park. Please join us for the annual AWIS holiday party. AWIS will provide starting appetizers for the group. Everyone is asked to bring an extra non-perishable food item or two for the Second Harvest Food Bank. We will also be collecting monitary donations for the Safe Haven women's shelter.

December 15: AWIS teachers grant applications due. See Scholarship page for more information.

December 16, 5:15 pm: AWIS Book Group will meet at Valentini's, the new Italian restaurant at 1400 London Rd., to discuss the book, The Curve of Time: The Classic Memoir of a Woman and Her Children Who Explored the Coastal Waters of the Pacific Northwest by M. Wylie Blanchet and Timothy Egan.

January 22, 5:15 pm: AWIS Book Group will meet at Hell's Kitchen in Canal Park to discuss the book, The Zookeeper's Wife: A war story, by Diane Ackerman.

January 29, 5:30 pm: AWIS member share and potluck: Presentations include, "The Lake Superior Barrels" by Sue Anderson and the women from the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and Travels in Malawi" by Melissa Burke. AT 7 pm we will be joined by a journalist and photographer from the Woman Today magazine, which is interested in doing an article on AWIS. Please join us and bring a dish to pass. AWIS will provide beverages. Location: Gitchee Gummee Conference Room, Duluth Technology Village, 11 E. Superior St., 3rd floor.

February 7, 7:30 am - 12:30 pm: Northeast Regional Science Fair judging. Please volunteer to help judge for AWIS or for some other category or group. The science fair is a great way to encourage young women and men in the sciences and math. Contact Krysta Riel Maas to volunteer and for more information. Also see the Science Fair page.

February 14, 6 pm: AWIS outing: Book Across the Bay. Join AWIS members to participate in the cross-country ski or snowshoe race across Chequamegon Bay. See the Outings page or contact Deserae Hendrickson for more details.

March 5, 5:30 pm: AWIS Book Group will meet at The Mayan restaurant (across from Miller Hill Mall) to discuss the books Thinking in Pictures or Animals in Translation, both by Temple Grandin, a high-functioning autistic woman who has made her name designing humane holding and processing pens for cattle in the feed industry. Please join us even if you haven't read the books.

March 24, 5:30 pm: Meet at the Green Mill restaurant to discuss the challenges of and solutions for life/work issues faced by women in science. To see the survey results, click above on the Members Only page (you'll need your username and password for access).

April 15, 5:30 pm: AWIS Book Group will meet at Red Lobster to discuss books about seafood and fish. See the Book Group page for book suggestions.

May 12, 5:45 pm: Book Group at the Vietnamese Lotus Inn, 1314 Commonwealth Ave, Gary/New Duluth. The topic under discussion is "brains" and the suggested books are: Still Alice (novel) by Lisa Genova (about alzheimer's disease); Mother in the Middle: a biologist's story of caring for parent and child (memoir) by Sybil Lockhart; and My Stroke of Insight: A brain scientist's personal journey (memoir) by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor.

June 2, 5:30 pm: Book and plant sale and potluck dinner to raise money for our awards. Please bring a dish to pass (a grill will be available) and any books or plants you would like to pass along to others. At the home of AWIS-LSC president Jen Thiemann, 677 Scenic Dr., Larsmont (about 2 miles south of Two Harbors on the Scenic Hwy). Help make this an environmentally-friendly event by bringing your own reusable dinnerware.

Sept. 2007-Aug. 2008

November 1: AWIS potluck dinner meeting with the visiting Russian scientists, 6:00 pm, Peace United Church of Christ. Our theme for the period they are with us involves environmental sustainability and much of the focus is on clean water issues. They would like to meet with us to discuss issues of women scientists in the workplace.

November 14: Tour and Discussion at Whole Foods Co-Op (610 E 4th St), 5:30pm. A presentation and tour by Co-op employees will be focused around the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification process and features in the building.

December 6: Annual AWIS Holiday Social: 5 - 8 pm, Green Mill Canal Park. We will also be collecting our final donations for the Safe Haven women's shelter.

January 15: AWIS potluck and member information share, 6 pm at the College of St. Scholastica's Tower Hall Room 1115. Please bring a dish to pass; dinner will begin around 6:30. Program: Sue Mulholland: local archeology and the Bay View Forest project; other speakers wanted.

January 31: Book group at 5:15 pm or so at the Dubh Linn Pub, 109 W. Superior St. in downtown Duluth. We are reading about economics this month, with suggested titles: The WalMart Effect by Charles Fischeman, A Year Without Made in China by Sara Bongiorni, and/or Africa Unchained by George B.N. Ayittey (or others along these lines).

February 9: Volunteers GREATLY needed for the Science Fair at UMD. AWIS judges and hands out awards to young women. Please consider volunteering to judge.

March 12: General discussion of "The World without Us" book for all AWIS members. The meeting will be led by members of the AWIS book group.

April 17: The book group will meet at Thai Krathong, 114 W. 1st St, on Thursday April 17 around 5:30 to discuss Afganistan. The book suggestions are: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad, or Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriquez.

April 20: Celebrate Earth Day by coming out to Jen and Ken Thiemann's strawbale home under construction near Two Harbors. Bring a snack for potluck and learn about green construction methods. Open to all women interested in green construction. Location: Scenic Hwy, Larsmont, MN. If you'd like to pitch in and help with construction, contact Jen (Jen.thiemann at yahoo dot com).

May 15: Book and plant sale and potluck dinner to raise money for our awards. Please bring a dish to pass and any books or plants you would like to pass along to others.

May 18: The bookgroup will hold a potluck meeting at the home of Deserae Hendrickson. We will be discussing the fantasy book, The Golden Compass, and then watching the recent movie adaptation.

Sept. 2006-Aug. 2007

Sept.: Fall kick-off Chinese dinner

February 18: NE Regional Science Fair, 7:30 am - 1:30 pm at UMD. AWIS judges needed. See Science Fair page for details.

March 4: Book group, reading about New Orleans and hurricanes. We will gather at 5:30 pm at Marsha Patelke's house for our own mini Mardi Gras and cajun potluck. See book group page for details.

March 16: Cindi Kahrmann presentation. A former Peace Corps volunteer in Western Samoa, she taught soil science, agricultural biochemistry and parts of ecology of tropical systems at the University of the South Pacific. Her presentation will focus on the cultural experience of living in the Pacific as much as her professional experience there. The meeting will be Thurs March 16 at 6 pm at the MPCA conference room, 4th floor of the Palucci Building in Canal Park (next to the lift bridge across from the original Grandma's Restaurant). AWIS will provide cookies and tea.

April 11: Tour of energy and water efficient home, 6:00 pm. AWIS member Stacey Stark's home incomporates passive solar, solar hot water, a woodstove, composting for blackwater, graywater recycling, and domestic water provided by rainwater. We will have pizza and drinks with members chipping in for pizza. 5101 Lester River road.

May 12-14: Spring retreat at St. Croix State Park. Join us for a weekend of hiking, pizza, dominoes and companionship. See Retreat page for details. Must sign up by April 15.

Sept. 2005-Aug. 2006

September 21: This year's Chinese food dinner will begin at 5:30. Our hostess will be Jean Regal.

October 24: The October meeting will be a tour of the StoraEnso paper plant at 5:30 pm. Please join us to see how paper is made on an industrial scale.

October 30: AWIS movie outing. 1 pm at Duluth 10 (near the DECC). Viewing "North Country", the new movie about the discrimination and harrassment faced by Iron Range women miners. We'll go for coffee and discussion in Canal Park afterwards.

November 16: Book group, 5:30 pm, at Huies Chop Stick Inn, 505 E. 4th St., Duluth. See the book group page for details.

December 8: Holiday gathering at the Green Mill in Canal Park at 5:30 pm.
This year we are also sponsoring gift baskets for each of the 27 women in the Duluth Women's Shelter. Baskets will cost $15-$20 each and we are asking members to each sponsor one basket. Baskets will contain bath products, fuzzy socks, chocolate, ornaments, hair care items, and inspirational note cards. If you have items (27 of each) that are appropriate, or have baskets to donate, please contact Laura Solem (724-4157) or Barb Sheedy (728-3298). Please bring donations to the holiday gathering or mail them to Laura Solem, 4737 McComber Rd, Duluth, MN, 55803.

December 13: Book group, reading Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich. Bulldog Pizza, 5:30 pm. See Book Group page for details.

January 11: Book group, reading about lobsters (see book group page). We will meet at Red Lobster in Canal Park at 5:30 pm.

January 18: Member-share potluck, at MPCA, 4th floor of the Paulucci Building in Canal Park. Join us at 5:30 pm with a dish to pass to hear about what our members are doing.

Feb.: Science Fair

Sept. 2004-Aug. 2005

July 7: Summer bike outing. Start at the Munger Trailhead behind the Willard Munger Inn on Grand Ave. (across from the zoo) at 5:30 pm. Will be cancelled if there is rain. Organized by Deserae Hendrickson.

October 23: MN Power Thomson Hydro Station in Jay Cooke State Park, led by park naturalist Kris Hiller. When it was first built, the Thomson Hydro Station was second only to Niagara Falls in power output. It has been providing power to surrounding communities for over 95 years, and is still Minnesota's largest hydroelectric power plant.

December 4: Help the local PBS TV station, WDSE, with their pledge drive Dec. 4 from 5 - 10 pm during Victory Garden. Six to eight AWIS members are needed to man the phones. We had a great time doing this 2 years ago, with lots of food and good conversation. Contact to volunteer.

December 8: 5-7 pm at Green Mill Restaurant in Canal Park. Holiday social with appetizers provided by AWIS. Join us for good food, company, and catching up with each other

January 17: 6 pm at MPCA office in Canal Park. Member-share potluck, bring a dish to pass. Presenters: AWIS history by Ginny Snarski; creation of the Duluth Streams website by Marnie Lonsdale; Fisheries management at French River by Deserae Hendrickson.

February 6-13: Judge papers written for the Science Fair. See Science Fair page for details and to volunteer.

February 26: Science Fair judging at St. Scholastica. Contact Marsha Meinders-Patelke to volunteer. See the Science Fair page for more information.

March 11-13: Winter retreat, near Ely on Fenske Lake. Join us for 1 or 2 nights (11th and/or 12th), cost $20-30/night depending on attendance. Great places to ski, snowshoe, and shop. Attendance limited to 13, reserve your space now! See Retreat page for more info.

March 14: Book group, 5:30 pm at the Buena Vista Restaurant. We are reading The Good Earth by Pearl S Buck.

April 21: Presentation on Women in Ojibway Culture by Jenifer Niemi of Lake Superior College. Jenifer will highlight the roles of Anishinaabeg women past and present. The meeting will be at US EPA, 6201 Congdon Blvd (London Rd), 1 block past Lester River, at 7 pm in the main meeting room. Organized by Zandy Zwiebel.

April 26: Book group, 5:30 pm at Nam Lee's restaurant in Woodland. Reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou.

May 25: End-of-year potluck and fundraiser for the AWIS scholarship fund. Bring your used books and extra plants to sell and your favorite dish to pass. At the home of Deserae Hendrickson in Esko at 6 pm.