Tag Archives: Minnesota

St. Paul has Difficulty Keeping Paraeducators

The St. Paul Public Schools district, in St. Paul, Minnesota, is having difficulty recruiting and retaining paraeducators. This directly affects the students who are in Special Education and who need the assistance that comes from the teacher’s aids. This is not the only school district with this challenge. A paraeducator, or paraprofessional, are the current names for what used to be called a teacher’s aid. Previous to that, in some schools across the nation, the position was staffed by mothers, who worked as volunteers. Sometimes, the job title is shortened to “paras”. The paraeducators are the ones who help children … Continue reading →

Minnesota, Delaware, and Rhode Island Gain Approval

The Department of Health and Human Services has granted conditional approval to three more health insurance exchanges. Those states are Rhode Island, Minnesota, and Delaware. This brings the grand total of health insurance exchanges that have been approved to 12. As you may be aware of by now, the Affordable Care Act requires every state to have a functioning health insurance exchange by January 1, 2014. Individuals and small businesses will use the exchanges in order to find affordable health insurance coverage. There were three options that a state could choose for its health insurance exchange. One option is a … Continue reading →

Mom Sues Insurers Who Denied Son’s Autism Therapy

In many states, the cost of applied behavioral analysis, or ABA, therapy is required to be covered in a health insurance plan. In Minnesota, this is not the case. A mother in Minnesota is suing two insurance companies who refused to cover the ABA treatment that her son required. Applied behavioral analysis, or ABA, is a treatment used with children who have autism. It is an ongoing form of therapy. Several states, including California and Florida, have laws in place that require health insurance plans to cover the cost of ABA treatment. Sadly, not all states have laws that require … Continue reading →

Minnesota Genealogy Resources

Minnesota has more than one official nickname. When I searched for the state’s nickname on Google, it said that one of them was “The Gopher State”. What do gophers and genealogists have in common? They both do a whole lot of digging! Here are some Minnesota genealogy resources that you can dig through in order to find out more about your ancestors who lived in “The Gopher State”. FamilySearch has a Wiki page about the state of Minnesota. There are links for each and every county in Minnesota. Click on any of them, and it will bring you to a … Continue reading →

Super Summer Fun: Wet and Wild Waterparks

Today I’m wrapping up my series on wet and wild waterparks by spotlighting some of the most popular scream inducing soggy rides in California, Colorado and Minnesota. These parks prove how easy it is to get your family soaked this summer. If you are headed off on a summer road trip in the next few weeks and your car’s A/C bites the dust consider cooling off at one of the following waterparks: CALIFORNIA The hugely popular Raging Waters located in San Jose, California (about 50 miles from San Francisco) is home to more than 23 acres of wet and wild … Continue reading →

Family-Friendly Summer Travel Bargains

Whether you’re interested in spending quality family time getting up close to an endangered Amur leopard or you prefer ferrying around the waterways around the beautiful state of Maine these next summer travel deals will allow you to do so without going broke in the process. Take a look: MAINE Casco, Maine is known by the locals as the world’s most charming city by the bay. And during the summer months it becomes a haven for families who love to explore in the great outdoors. You can start in Portland’s historic downtown with its fascinating side streets; browse for local … Continue reading →

Summer Road Trip: Cruising the Country

If your family enjoys spending the summer months cruising the countryside in search of unique attractions then you are in luck. Several popular travel destinations are bringing in one-of-kind treasures to their sites this summer in hopes of attracting a record number of tourists. For example, in St. Paul a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence is coming to the state as part of Minnesota’s 150th anniversary celebration. The document is the only one of its kind that travels the country. It is often referred to as the “Dunlap Broadsides” and was typed and printed shortly after the handwritten … Continue reading →

Welcome to SpongeBob SquarePants World

It’s not exactly as massive as Walt Disney’s theme parks, but parents of SpongeBob SquarePants fans are thrilled just the same. In just a few days SpongeBob wannabes will get the chance to chow down on Krabby Patties and chili kelp fries before taking a 60-foot plunge on the Splat-O-Sphere. It all happens this Saturday when Nickelodeon opens Nickelodeon Universe smack in the middle of Minnesota’s Mall of America. The standalone theme park is set on seven acres in the middle of the world famous shopping center and features nearly 30 rides, along with live performances, visits from costumed characters … Continue reading →

The Ultimate Travel Nightmare

Imagine witnessing a horrific traffic accident, pulling over, then learning that while you were rendering aid to an injured motorist someone else stole your car. It sounds unbelievable, but it’s exactly what happened to two guys in Minnesota recently. Longtime friends Chase Torgerson and Cody Charpentier were driving along a northwestern Minnesota highway when they saw a car fly through the air and crash into a median. According to police reports, the men jumped out to help, and as they were tending to one of the injured victims they saw one of the other passengers from the crashed car hop … Continue reading →

Winter Adventure Travel Packages—Minnesota

You’ve tried skiing, mastered ice skating, are over tobogganing, and never got into snowshoeing, so what’s left to conquer this winter? Have you considered dog sledding? As I continue my series of blogs spotlighting various tours for you die-hard winter sports enthusiasts I’m turning my attention to the often-overlooked sport of dog sledding. Believe it or not, a company in Minnesota is offering a unique travel package for beginners looking to try their hand at mushing. For about $900 you can participate in a 4-night trip offered by the Northern Minnesota-based White Wilderness Sled Dog Adventures. The trip combines the … Continue reading →