NSS Weekly: Science Funding Cuts and the Future of STEM Careers

Transcript

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INTRO: You are listening to North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live, a weekly newscast about what it means to live in Minnesota, produced by AMPERS, Minnesota's community radio stations.

BRITT AAMODT: I'm Britt Aamodt.

VICTOR PALOMINO: And I'm Victor Palomino. This week, we explore how cuts in research and science funding may affect the career paths Minnesotans choose.

BRITT AAMODT: Then we look at efforts to encourage science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in schools.

VICTOR PALOMINO: And what an apprenticeship looks like today.

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VICTOR PALOMINO: But first, here are some of the stories that made headlines this week.

XAN HOLSTON: A Minnesota marine is declared dead after days of search missions off the coast of southern California. US Marine officials identify the missing marine as 21-year-old Lance Corporal Armando Ortiz Canseco. He disappeared on June 25 from the USS Anchorage during training exercises. Officials say the search spanned about 2,400 square miles over two days with ship and aircraft support from the Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and Air Force. Officials are still investigating. Lance Corporal Canseco was declared dead on June 27. Thirteenth Marine Expeditionary Unit Commanding Officer Richard Alvarez extended his deepest condolences to the family and loved ones.

Minnesota's hotels, resorts, restaurants, and tourism businesses are heading into summer with a grim financial outlook. A new survey by the Minneapolis Federal Reserve finds more than half of hospitality businesses reported lower revenue and profits compared with last spring. Many say customers are getting more price sensitive, while food supply and operating costs keep climbing. The Fed says most businesses are still hiring for summer, but their six-month outlook is more pessimistic than optimistic.

Some new laws to watch out for take effect on July 1. Minnesota school districts have to start developing anonymous threat reporting systems with policies that will give students, families, and staff guidelines and tools to report dangerous or threatening activity. Meanwhile, law enforcement will have to alert teacher licensing boards when a teacher is charged with certain serious crimes. Social media platforms will now have to show users a mental health warning each time they log on and link to resources, including the 988 National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Minnesota is also putting nearly $48 million into public safety, including capital and courthouse security, and monitoring threats against judges and court staff.

When a Native American child enters foster care, the question isn't only where the child will sleep, it's whether family and cultural identity will remain part of the child's life. Minnesota just opened its sixth specialized court for child welfare cases involving Native American children and families. Dakota County, just south of the metro, is the latest to open an Indian Child Welfare Act court. The specialized court brings judges, county social workers, and tribal representatives together earlier, so relatives and tribal connections are primary considerations for the child's placement. According to Dakota County Children and Family Services Director Nikki Conway—

NIKKI CONWAY: It helps ensure that tribal voices, culture, and community connections are not simply an afterthought but a central part of the conversation from the beginning.

XAN HOLSTON: The Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA, is the federal law designed to keep Native children connected to their families and tribes during foster care and adoption cases. The US Supreme Court upheld the act in 2023. Dakota County's ICWA court is the sixth in Minnesota and one of 25 such courts across the US.

A deadly crash near Grand Rapids is adding new urgency to calls for safety changes on Highway 169 Two drivers died in a head-on crash outside of Grand Rapids, about 80 miles northwest of Duluth. Now, a change.org petition is urging MnDOT to add a dedicated turn lane on Highway 169 between Walmart and Harristown Road. The person who started the petition says drivers trying to turn there can be forced to slow or stop in a high-speed traffic lane. The petition gained hundreds of signatures in less than a day.

Minnesota is seeing a sharp jump in deadly motorcycle crashes this year. Thirty-two motorcyclists have died in fatal accidents as of June 18, compared with 14 at the same time last year. Carver County Sheriff's Lieutenant Tyler Stahn says his county experienced its first motorcycle fatality this month, and he says riders and drivers both need to pay attention.

TYLER STAHN: Especially with motorcycles being allowed to do what's called lane splitting now, where at low speeds at stop lights they're allowed to move between other cars. It just can increase the risk to them.

XAN HOLSTON: The lane splitting law went into effect last year. It allows lane splitting up to 25 miles an hour, and no more than 15, over surrounding traffic. State public safety officials have not linked the new law to the spike, but officials say both riders and drivers need to look twice.

A flesh-eating parasite is prompting Minnesota to tighten its pet import rules. State animal health officials are now restricting dogs and cats coming from parts of Texas and New Mexico after cases of New World screw worm showed up in the Southwest. State health officials warn New World screw worm can infect livestock, pets, wildlife, and even people. The New World screw worm is a fly larva that burrows into small skin lesions on animals and eats the skin tissue. Dogs and cats from affected areas outside of Minnesota are subject to stricter import requirements, including five days in quarantine, along with a veterinary inspection and vaccination records. For North Star Stories, I'm Xan Holston.

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VICTOR PALOMINO: Earlier this spring, the U.S. Forest Service announced plans to close dozens of research facilities nationwide to cut costs and bring professionals closer to the lands and communities they manage.

BRITT AAMODT: For some educators, scientists, and researchers, those facilities serve not only as research sites but also as inspiration for the next generation of scientists. Reporter Maija Hecht has the story.

MAIJA HECHT: The Grand Rapids Station is situated strategically near the ecosystem it manages, where it also serves as a community resource. Each year, dozens of elementary and college students, educators, and early career professionals visit the site.

MEADOW CAUFELD: I come from, you know, an area that you would consider socio-economically disadvantaged, if you want to use a buzzword. Honestly, I didn't really grow up around many people that were professionals, and so I didn't really have a solid role model for my career path growing up.

MAIJA HECHT: Meadow Caufeld was formerly a college educator at Minnesota North Itasca in Grand Rapids. According to a report by AMPERS member station KAXE, the research station slated for closure rents an office space at the college at no cost.

MEADOW CAUFELD: When I look back at my education, there are a few key instructors or teachers that really made a difference in the trajectory of my life

MAIJA HECHT: While teaching at Minnesota North Itasca, formerly Itasca Community College, Meadow took her students to the Marcell Experimental Forest at the beginning of each semester. You may hear the forest referred to as SPRUCE in this story because of a popular experiment for visitors, North Star Stories covered the SPRUCE Climate Experiment in detail in April.

MEADOW CAUFELD: The Marcell Experimental Forest was one of those areas that gave students a chance to see actual research on the ground. Really helps build connection.

MAIJA HECHT: For students in rural Minnesota, opportunities to interact with working scientists can be rare.

MEADOW CAUFELD: So, there's always these little moments of opportunity or awakening that students have. You never know where that's going to come from. So, that inspiration can come from people like Randy Kolka or the other scientists that work at SPRUCE or other experimental forests.

MAIJA HECHT: A few years ago, that moment of inspiration struck then undergraduate student Bella Garrioch in an Earth Sciences class at Macalester College in St. Paul.

BELLA GARRIOCH: I remember my professor mentioned that there was this huge climate experiment right in our backyard in the Twin Cities. It was in northern Minnesota, called the SPRUCE Project.

MAIJA HECHT: After the class, Garrioch approached her professor and asked whether she thought she may be able to participate in the research as a student.

BELLA GARRIOCH: And she said it hadn't been done before, but I might as well ask, because the worst they can say is no. I got connected with Dr. Randy Kolka, and he was looking for a student to look at mercury emissions from soils.

MAIJA HECHT: Now a Fulbright alumni and graduate of Yale School of the Environment, Garrioch credits her trajectory to that turning point years ago, coming across emerging science housed at the Grand Rapids Research Station. When she heard the news that it was up for closure, Garrioch said—

BELLA GARRIOCH: I think when people get bad news like that, your mind has these little visual flashbacks to what reminds you of that news. So I was just imagining when I went up to Grand Rapids to visit the sites for the first time. It's a very charismatic project. It's beautiful. It's in the woods. It's sort of far away from everything.

MAIJA HECHT: The Grand Rapids office supports projects related to timber products, wildfire, and, among others, climate modeling, including one of the longest running peatland research programs in the world.

BELLA GARRIOCH: I think all of that just came back to me, remembering all those things.

MAIJA HECHT: During a budget hearing earlier this year, Congressman Josh Harder pressed USFS Chief Tom Schultz on what would happen if Congress moves forward with funding cuts.

TOM SCHULTZ: If enacted, if the budget were enacted, it would be a reduction, yes.

REP JOSH HARDER: Of 800 scientists?

TOM SCHULTZ: I don't know what the number is exactly, but R&D is zeroed out in the budget, that's correct.

REP JOSH HARDER: Tell me, what would happen to those research and prevention functions?

TOM SCHULTZ: Right, so what that would do is that would shift either, like I mentioned, the private sector to the universities. Those researchers most likely would go work in the private sector or work with this.

REP JOSH HARDER: Where's the money to pay them?

TOM SCHULTZ: Well, it would, the states would step up, like we talked before about some of those programs, whether it would be university…

MAIJA HECHT: US Forest Service fact sheet says it is a myth that research activities will stop if some facilities close. However, some researchers disagree, saying closing nearby laboratories could terminate some long-term studies and make others more difficult to maintain, according to multiple media outlets.

BELLA GARRIOCH: And if you put a pause in that data as it's being collected, analyzed, published, you now have a gap that people are going to be able to ask questions about later, and questions are a really important part of science, and this just imposes a huge blank space, especially when our environment is changing so much in this particular period of time.

MAIJA HECHT: Grand Rapids-based researchers are still waiting for details about staffing and relocation. In the meantime, former students like Garrioch are speaking up with the next generation of scientists in mind.

BELLA GARRIOCH: I'm not going to stop publishing. I'm not going to stop doing my research. I think young scientists are incredibly motivated, and I'm not the only person who's not going to stop.

MAIJA HECHT: This is Maija Hecht reporting for North Star Stories.

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VICTOR PALOMINO: After the break, how investment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is helping students to prepare for future jobs and real-world problem-solving.

BRITT AAMODT: This is North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live, produced by AMPERS with support from the State of Minnesota.

VICTOR PALOMINO: We'll be right back.

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[NSS Promo: "North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, Diverse Radio for Minnesota's Communities. Check out our other programs at AMPERS dot ORG: Minnesota Native News brings you weekly coverage of the state's Native American communities. MN90 - Minnesota History in 90 Seconds - transports you to historical moments in our state through short, engaging stories. Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine is a weekly podcast featuring conversations between Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe members and siblings, Leah Lemm and Cole Premo, and Native community members. Hear more at AMPERS dot ORG."]

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BRITT AAMODT: You are listening to North Star Stories. I'm Britt Aamodt.

VICTOR PALOMINO: And I'm Victor Palomino.

BRITT AAMODT: For many students in the state, one way into science careers is through STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This interdisciplinary approach to learning focuses on real-world problem-solving, critical thinking, and innovation.

VICTOR PALOMINO: To learn more about STEM education, we're joined now by Emily Saed, director of the Minnesota STEM Ecosystem, a statewide cross-sector network that works to close STEM opportunity gaps by connecting classroom learning with out-of-school activities and regional workforce needs. Emily, thank you for joining us.

EMILY SAED: Thank you for having me.

VICTOR PALOMINO: First of all, can you tell us, what are the examples of STEM activities for people in Minnesota?

EMILY SAED: There are so many. When we think about STEM career pathways, I think we need to think broadly and include career and technical education, and talk about how do we integrate those career and technical student organizations into the classroom. They drive hands-on learning and link it to industry and leadership development. It's also key to think about robotics and our robust after-school activities. Minnesota's largest robotics provider, and one of our great learning partners, is High Tech Kids. We've got two computer science and AI conferences coming up in August. We're working with the Engineering and Applied Manufacturing Center of Excellence. They got themselves into a pilot program where only New York and Minnesota are part of it. It is new curriculum developed by Micron to introduce micro electronics and semiconductors into the classroom. Those are just a few examples. I got more.

VICTOR PALOMINO: Those are really exciting examples, and I was going to ask you about the microprocessors, but before that, this is kind of like a question that we are introducing pretty much in all our interviews, is like how artificial intelligence is being applied into these sectors for students and also for the teachers?

EMILY SAED: Well, I think there's a couple things we need to think about. It's first when we look at particularly the high school level and obviously the college level, we have to recognize that students are using it. We have to encourage educators to embrace AI and figure out how to integrate it in as part of a lesson, so that students learn how to use it appropriately. And we want to make sure that it's integrated in a way that doesn't diminish critical thinking skills, that instead enhances those skills. And then we're actually working with the Science Museum to look at what does AI look at in that K through five and pre-K space. How does explaining it to them look? And if they are using it at that, you know, fourth or fifth grade level, what does it look like to introduce it to them in an age-appropriate way?

VICTOR PALOMINO: One thing that you mentioned, you're making all these collaborations with our entities, and in our piece we were talking about, like, how the funding are changing how these young students are thinking about getting into, like, science into all these careers. How is mentorship applying to your programs?

EMILY SAED: Mentorship is key, and when we think about mentorship, that's actually one of the more challenging pieces to tackle. We have a unique internship program that's running right now with Marvin Manufacturing. They've got a mentorship program weaved right in, along with certifications that actually align with the workforce. One of the challenges again with mentors, especially when you get into greater Minnesota transportation, when we think about those after-school robotics activities and things like that, we have the expectation that parents or industry folks will go ahead and volunteer to be a coach, and in the metro area they're all in. But when you get out to Greater Minnesota, you're talking about for both the young person and the coach that added transportation time. As far as funding goes, we are very fortunate to live in Minnesota, the state we do. The Minnesota STEM Ecosystem is funded by bipartisan legislation, and I am so proud of that in today's political climate that we have support from both parties to execute our programs and support STEM learning across the state.

VICTOR PALOMINO: When you're talking about the STEM education and the groups that you have outside of the metro area and in Greater Minnesota, when you're thinking about those programs, you think about the industries there are out there to make sure that the students and the communities can benefit from that.

EMILY SAED: Absolutely, for example, when I talked about that Marvin Manufacturing example, the goal is to keep people in the region. The goal is always to create that, not just learning alignment with what industry needs, but that regional alignment. So, what are the industries in that location? The STEM Ecosystem is actually a program that is housed at the Southeast Service Cooperative, and we work with the service cooperatives, Minnesota Service Cooperatives, across the state. So, there are 10 regions, and we're very fortunate to have them. They have the connections in those regions with both industry and education, and they're a trusted voice, and they have a lot of historical context on how best to serve their region.

VICTOR PALOMINO: Now, going back to the microprocessors and the partnership that you're doing in this program, that just you say it is like unique for Minnesota, but start with what is a microprocessor.

EMILY SAED: A microprocessor is basically a semiconductor, you know. In passing, you might hear people talk about AMD or Micron or Nvidia. Those are all video cards. What makes those video cards and the boards that they're on work are semiconductors, and Minnesota is very lucky. We have a lot of very active industry partners that have stepped up to the plate time and time again, whether it's to conduct Learn and Earn curriculum or to help us build out this program, or to actually be on our industry partnership advisory council. Seagate is actually on our advisory council. Polar and Skywater both stepped up to support the STEM Ecosystem and sign on to our legislation and work with our partners at Minnesota State Colleges and Universities to execute this curriculum. We have a robust economy of semiconductor producers right here.

VICTOR PALOMINO: How is the curriculum works, like how long it takes, how it's going to be adapted into the classrooms?

EMILY SAED: The master teacher for Minnesota is the executive director for the Engineering and Applied Manufacturing Center of Excellence. We have about seven or eight teachers that will go through the training this summer in August. When they complete that training, they'll actually also do an externship, a micro teacher externship, for a couple of days. So they'll be able to actually get the hands on and see how those skills will be applied in industry, which is so important. That's a key piece of our mission, is aligning those learning outcomes with industry needs here in Minnesota. So they'll learn that. They'll take that back to the classroom, and then one of the grant programs that the Minnesota STEM Ecosystem has set up through our partnership grant program is outfitting all of those classrooms with the equipment they need for those students to be successful and really understand and get a feel for what is a semiconductor, what is a micro electronic, what is a computer board.

VICTOR PALOMINO: That's really exciting. So, just one final question, how do you see the future for education in our state with all these implementations and with all these activities like STEM?

EMILY SAED: Bright, really bright. Again, we're so fortunate to live in a state that, at a bipartisan level, really values education, they value regional job development and growth, and they value industry and education partnerships, and they have a vision to see that. And so I think as long as we have folks like High Tech Kids and the Minnesota Service Cooperatives and the state colleges and universities that also want to play a role in Minnesota's innovation economy. There's nothing that we can't do as a state.

VICTOR PALOMINO: Emily, thank you so much for your time.

EMILY SAED: Thank you so much again for having me.

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VICTOR PALOMINO: Historically, apprenticeships have given students and learners a way to build professional skills in the workplace. Today, many careers use internships as a similar path for turning classroom knowledge into real-world experience.

BRITT AAMODT: To learn more about internships, we are joined now by Peter Hilger, an architect and educator who serves as the University of Minnesota Faculty Director and Senior Lecturer for the Construction Management Program. It's good to have you back, Peter.

PETER HILGER: Thank you.

BRITT AAMODT: So, what role do mentorships and apprenticeships play in your field?

PETER HILGER: Huge role, you know. If you think about from a historical perspective, people learned construction at the side of a master. You would have the older carpenters teaching the young carpenters how to use the tools, how to cut, measure, you know, twice cut once, those sorts of things. It's always been about that, yet you know programs that don't include some sort of a mentorship or internship opportunity are missing out on where the real learning takes place, in my opinion.

BRITT AAMODT: Are those opportunities changing with the times?

PETER HILGER: What we're seeing is that it's been consistently structured and applied over all of these years. In other words, companies will bring in students to help with certain areas that they need help on, certain projects, certain disciplines within the firm, that sort of a thing, and as long as the employer has the patience, this is critical to work with their interns, it will be successful. A good internship has a great relationship between the senior person and the intern that they develop a bond, so to speak, on the project, or whatever, or within the firm, or whatever they need to in order to be successful. Absolutely critical. The most important question that I tell my students to ask when they're on an internship is, help me understand why this is happening, or that is happening, or why do I have to do this? That is probably the best way to get engagement with the senior people that they're dealing with. Help me.

BRITT AAMODT: Help me to understand. You know, that's actually a hard question for I think a lot of us to use, because we feel like if we ask that, it means I don't know what I'm doing. But maybe that's a great place to ask that question, is in the internship?

PETER HILGER: Absolutely, it is, and to say I'm the intern, help me understand why is that doing that over there, you know. And when you ask it that way, you're much more likely to get an answer from somebody that will take a moment to explain it.

BRITT AAMODT: Well, something you said, Peter, actually makes me wonder about these internships, which you know hundreds of years ago, or for hundreds of years, they've been called apprenticeships, right? Do you need to go through an academic program to find these opportunities? Like, how do you seek them out?

PETER HILGER: For us at the university, we have a system in place that connects students with industry, actually. Since 2008-2009, the last big recession, we've had great success with our students being placed virtually 100%. So it does help to be within an academic program, because then at least a firm knows that you have some foundational basis. But if you don't, I mean, I certainly would encourage somebody to knock on doors. Now, sometimes it's hard to get past the website wall, okay, which is looking for certain language on your resume or something like that, but sometimes, and this may sound really old-fashioned, sometimes it just helps to go to the company and say, I'm really interested in learning more about this. Do you have internship opportunities for students? That's what it's all about. Just get out there and be willing to do anything to get on a job site.

BRITT AAMODT: I imagine there are still people today that don't go through a trade school, don't go through like a university program, and maybe they're just a kid out of high school or somebody who wants a career change, and they learn on the job. I mean, that's still a definite possibility in your field?

PETER HILGER: Yes, networking is still an essential skill. A lot of the construction associations, like, for example, the Minnesota Construction Association, the Minnesota Subcontractors Association, a lot of those associations have events. They're on the website, research them, ask if you can attend one of their events. I'm pretty much going to guarantee you that if you say, hey, I'm a high school student, I'm a young college student, I'm really interested in this career, I see that you have this event coming up, can I please join you? There will be a yes answer to that. Because the industry is, all of the industries are facing serious labor shortages, and they need people that are interested to want to come into the industry. You have to be brave enough to say, are you hiring interns? Are you hiring interns that don't have a lot of experience but a lot of interest? Alright, you know, you have to be willing to put yourself out there, but even a blind squirrel finds an acorn.

BRITT AAMODT: That's great. This is some really great information. Thank you so much, Peter, for coming on our show again.

PETER HILGER: Hey, no problem, happy to do it.

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VICTOR PALOMINO: And finally, a Saint Cloud student is taking her story from Minnesota to the national stage.

BRITT AAMODT: A member of St. Cloud's Southside Boys and Girls Club of Central Minnesota has been named the 2026 Midwest 'Youth of the Year.' She's one of five regional finalists now competing for the national title this fall in New York.

VICTOR PALOMINO: The teenager has participated in club programming for 12 years; she says she's an advocate for those without a voice and is going to college to become a prosecutor and family attorney.

BRITT AAMODT: The award gives her more than $42,000 in scholarships.

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VICTOR PALOMINO: This is it for today's program. If you missed any part of today's newscast, you can find this and past episodes at AMPERS.org, or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

BRITT AAMODT: You can also get North Star Stories Daily on our website or check your favorite station's schedule.

VICTOR PALOMINO: Thanks for listening, and we'll be back next week with more stories and voices from the North Star State.

OUTRO: North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, Minnesota's community radio stations with support from the state of Minnesota. Online at ampers.org.