Communication about the potential government shutdown, sent by the commissioner via GroupWise e-mail, is archived on Mn/DOT's internal Web site.

As the threat of a government shutdown July 1 grows stronger, employees are wondering where they can find information about what’s happening. 

Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg has been sending and will continue to send updates to Mn/DOT employees on GroupWise to keep the department apprised of what’s happening, according to Lucy Kender, director, Internal Communications. These updates relating to a potential government shutdown are posted on Mn/DOT’s internal Web site. This Web site, and other computer network services, will not be available in the event that there is a shutdown.

Kender reminded employees to seek additional information from the Department of Employee Relations Web site, which will be kept current with all the latest information about employee benefits and the shutdown. 

The legislative working group (conference committee) working on the omnibus bill for transportation and public safety spending is scheduled to meet again Thursday, June 28, said Betsy Parker, associate director, Government Relations.

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On the brink of the Fourth of July holiday, travelers on Minnesota roads may encounter closed rest areas across the state as early as Thursday evening, June 28, when Mn/DOT begins preparations for the potential shutdown of state government.

Smaller rest areas located on state highways will begin closing on Thursday.  The larger rest areas on the state’s interstate highways will begin to close on Friday. The six travel information centers located on the interstate highway system at Albert Lea (I-35), Beaver Creek (I-90), Dresbach (I-90) Moorhead (I-94), St. Croix (I-94) and Thompson Hill (I-35) will be the last to close at 6 p.m. on Saturday evening, June 30.

Rest area parking lots will remain open for travelers to make safety rest stops during long trips even though the buildings and restroom facilities will be locked and there will be no staff on duty. Motorists are encouraged to seek alternate facilities for other services.

If an agreement is reached by the Legislature before the end of normal business hours on Friday, June 29, rest areas will be reopened as soon as possible on Friday and Saturday. reopen on SaturdayIf a decision is reached late Friday or this weekend, rest areas will reopen on Monday morning.

An updated list of the rest areas closures is available by calling the Mn/DOT Information Center at 651/296-3000. For more information, contact Jeanne Aamodt, 651/297-3597.

By Craig Wilkins

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Emeric Pratt, Mn/DOT's outreach program coordinator (far left), used a "student worker bingo" game and a little humor in an orientation session for summer interns. The interns (left to right), who came to Mn/DOT from the TRAC and Explorer career outreach programs, will work in Traffic Engineering (Eng Lee, Harding High School), Water Resources (Rachel Marorol, Bloomington-Jefferson High School), and Final Design (Jamar Esaw, North High School). Photo by Craig Wilkins

First, the classroom; then the work site, and then “orientation.” That’s the pathway that 10 students curious about transportation-related careers (civil and electrical engineering and civil technicians) are taking this year—thanks to Mn/DOT’s participation in the TRAC and Explorer outreach programs.

On June 25, Human Resources Director Mark Carlson and Emeric Pratt, outreach program coordinator, kicked off Mn/DOT’s first “TRAC Explorer Summer Orientation” for summer student workers. The students came to Mn/DOT through two career outreach programs for middle school and high school students in the Twin Cities and outstate areas:

§         Transportation and Civil Engineering (TRAC) Program, sponsored by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials organization; and

§         Explorer, sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America.

Although both programs introduce students to the possibilities of careers in transportation-related careers, the programs vary in approach and in target audience.

“TRAC is geared towards women and minority students,” explained Pratt. “It came about because AASHTO was looking at the future of transportation and noticed that there weren’t many women and minorities entering the field. They developed this program in which transportation employees volunteer to go into classrooms to help teachers with a transportation-related curriculum.” 

Forty-two Minnesota middle schools and high schools from around the state participate in TRAC, according to Pratt. Mn/DOT contributions to this partnership include:

§         40 employee volunteer “teachers”

§         Loans to schools of computers pre-loaded with software that simulates real-world transportation situations

§         TRAC-PAC, a suitcase of hands-on materials for demonstrations within the classroom

TRAC’s focus is to add another early recruiting pipeline that brings potential job candidates to transportation agencies around the country. Mn/DOT began reaping the rewards last year when the Metro Division hired a number of TRAC students as summer interns. This year the students have work opportunities at CO, Aeronautics, and the Maplewood materials laboratory in addition to Metro.

Explorer, on the other hand, is open to both male and female high school and college-age students. It came about because of a career interests survey conducted last fall by the Minneapolis Vikings Council and St. Paul (Indianhead Council) Boy Scouts. Pratt worked with both scouting councils to contact those students who expressed interest in transportation-related careers.

This outreach resulted in a series of twice-a-month career exploration meetings with students, their parents and Mn/DOT professional engineers and technicians beginning in October 2000. Discussion topics have included civil and electrical engineering, aeronautics, traffic engineering and research. Five students (age 18 and older) from these meetings have signed on for the summer with Mn/DOT.

For more information about these student outreach programs, contact Emeric Pratt, 651/296-3569.

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Ed Andrajack, transportation electrical supervisor, Fort Snelling, engages kids participating in last year's Camp Mn/DOT. The event this year will occur in several districts and CO during the week of July 23.

A new option has been added to the plethora of  “Y” camps, Girl and Boy Scout camps and church camps that punctuate summers for Minnesota children.

During the week of July 23 the Central Office and many Mn/DOT district offices will stage their own summer event for kids—Camp Mn/DOT.

Events at the one-day camp will vary depending on location but all will focus on transportation in Minnesota, said Nancy Standal, camp coordinator. Sing-alongs and food fights—the staple of many summer camp experiences—will be replaced, for example, by tours of transportation facilities, a chance to sit in a Mn/DOT snowplow and the experience of filling out a time sheet. Lectures from the camp counselor about proper dining-hall etiquette will be replaced by a speech by Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg about the importance of transportation.

“Camp Mn/DOT is an opportunity to teach young people about transportation and to help spark an interest in the kinds of careers that are available in transportation,” notes Standal. “We held similar events around the state last year and it was very successful. One young camper wrote to me after his day at Mn/DOT and told me he was going to start working much harder on his math skills because he saw how important it was. That’s a success story!”

The one-day event is open to all children age four and older interested in learning about transportation. 

Visit the Camp Mn/DOT Web site to learn more.                   

By Kay Korsgaard

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Fourteen Minnesota teachers found themselves back in the classroom this summer—this time on the other side of the desk.

The group of middle school and high school teachers completed the eight-day Transportation Education Academy on June 21, said Janese Buzzell, Mn/DOT’s aviation education section manager.

Now in its fourth year, the transportation academy is sponsored by Mn/DOT, U.S. DOT, Duluth Seaway Port Authority and St. Cloud State University. Teachers in all disciplines and grades levels are eligible for the program; this year’s participants ranged from students working on teaching licenses to automotive technology and social science educators.

The academy provides teachers with instruction in a number of areas, including the history and challenges of transportation, and the various modes of transportation. As part of their instruction, the teachers were treated to towboat rides, railroad tours, a harbor tour, tours of aircraft maintenance and manufacturing facilities, and one hour of flight training.

Mn/DOT staff served on the planning committee, presented classroom topics and arranged on-site visits to transportation locales, Buzzell said. A display of a computerized snowplow and a geographic information systems presentation demonstrated technologies Mn/DOT uses to keep Minnesota moving. Staff from Mn/DOT’s Office of Human Resources talked about recruiting needs and the TRAC and Seeds programs. 

How did the teachers grade their experience?

“It’s by far the best class I’ve ever taken as a teacher,” said science teacher Gary Beese of United South Central High School in Wells.

“I’ve been involved with the transportation thing my whole life—first as a professional driver and a truck owner,“ according to Beese, who said he was attracted to the academy because of his driver education duties. 

Transportation performance packages created by academy graduates are posted on Mn/DOT’s Web site. For information about the program, contact Dr. Tony Schwaller, St. Cloud State University, at 320/255-3235 or Janese Buzzell at 651/297-7652.

By Sue Stein

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The Get Around Guide, listing more than 150 major construction projects occurring this summer, is available both in print form and on Mn/DOT's Web site.

The spring/summer issue of Mn/DOT’s Get Around Guide is now accessible on Mn/DOT’s Web site. The guide, also available in print format, is designed to help travelers avoid highway construction projects and reduce frantic encounters with detours and road restrictions as they trek through Minnesota this summer. The guide lists more than 150 major projects, their start dates and traffic restrictions.

For more information, contact Mary Meinert at 651/297-5868.

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Mn/DOT employee information is now available online.

Want to know who in Mn/DOT has gotten married or become a new parent? This and other personal and personnel-related information is available online by clicking on “Employee Info” on the left hand navigation bar of Mn/DOT Newsline.

In addition, you can find news about events and other activities in the newsletter. Looking at today’s issue of Employeeline, for example, you will learn that cyclists who ride their bikes to this year’s Taste of Minnesota event at the Capitol in St. Paul (June 30 through July 4) can leave them in a secure—and free—parking area in the parking ramp adjacent to the Centennial Office.

Readers outside of Mn/DOT will not be able to access Employeeline, which is located on the department’s internal Web site. Plans are in the works to make this information available to Mn/DOT retirees soon through another format.

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Employees and others can learn more about tecnical research projects by reading the "Mn/DOT 1999-2000 Transportation Research Biennial Report," available through the Mn/DOT library and the Office of Research Services.

Question: “Mn/DOT does a lot of research. Many kinds of research. What are the differences in technical and non-technical; traffic forecasting and market research, and research services, etc., etc., etc.? And how much of this actually determines what happens? When the public gives its opinions, does Mn/DOT really do anything with that information? How does the average citizen find out what Mn/DOT knows?” 

Answer:  Last week, Mn/DOT’s Market Research Office explained how Mn/DOT uses market research and showcased some specific benefits that we and the public receive from actions that result from our research. This week, Adeel Lari, director, Office of Research Services, and Dave Johnson, ORS assistant director, give us some highlights of benefits that we and the public receive from recent Mn/DOT research and how employees and the public can find our research reports.

To recap the differences and similarities between market research and technical (transportation) research, last week we learned the following:

Market research

§         Researches areas such as customer opinions, expectations, satisfaction measures, etc.

§         Helps Mn/DOT to set our future direction in order to best serve our customers and monitor our progress.

Transportation (technical) research

§         Researches topics such as materials, traffic patterns, vehicle miles traveled, etc.

§         Helps Mn/DOT to develop new tools and knowledge so that employees can more effectively move in our future direction.

“We have over 100 research projects going on at any one time,” said  Johnson.

§         “We manage some projects directly;

§         Coordinate and advise on other projects whose offices have their own funding sources; and

§         Serve as staff to the Local Road Research Board.

“This board receives legislative funding and serves cities and counties.”

Johnson and Lari listed several projects that have delivered tax savings along with other benefits. Employees and customers (members of the public) can learn more about these projects—and many others—by reading their biennial publication, Realizing the benefits of knowledge: Mn/DOT 1999-2000 Transportation Research Biennial Report. The report is available through the Mn/DOT library and on the Office of Research Services Web site.

Click here to read the full response to the technical research question and to view previous questions of the week.

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