President’s Letter

Hello MGWA! 

Welcome to September, the “back to” season!  In this season of transition, be sure to take some time to reflect on what you liked about summer and to anticipate a few things you are looking forward to this fall.  I hope one thing you are looking forward to is the fall MGWA conference! The Board has been busily planning the conference, and many other things.  I’d sum up our recent planning in three words: conferences, connections, and communications.

First, conferences.  The fall conference theme is “Poking the Bear, How does Pumping Impact Water Quality?” Thanks to everyone who submitted an abstract; it looks to be an informative conference!  Our keynote speaker will be Madeline Gotkowitz from the Wisconsin DNR and we have a full slate of full-length presentations, a few lightning talks, and several posters.  The Board will be finalizing the fall conference program this month. Looking ahead to the spring conference – we will vote on the theme during the fall conference, so if you have ideas for the spring conference theme, please submit them by Friday, October 16 here: Spring 2027 Conference Theme Ideas – Fill out form.

Second, connections. On September 29, Dr. Peter Kang from the University of Minnesota, MGWA, and AIPG are hosting a field trip of Dr. Kang’s fractured rock hydrogeological research sites near the Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota. The field trip will be followed by a pizza and a networking social at Tate Hall. This will be a time for groundwater enthusiasts – both students and professionals – to meet each other and learn about some exciting groundwater research occurring in our backyard.  Additionally, the MGWA Board is dedicating more time to connecting with other groundwater-related organizations in Minnesota. Three upcoming events at which MGWA will have a booth include the University of Minnesota’s Earth & Environmental Sciences Career Fair (October 6), the Brownfields and Beyond: 2026 Minnesota Redevelopment Conference (October 22-23 in Rochester), and the Minnesota Rural Water Association Technical Conference (March 2027 in St. Cloud).

Third, communications.  We are doing our best to communicate about upcoming events through the MGWA web page, emails, and social media posts.  If you aren’t being reached effectively, please get in touch!  MGWA staff and the Board are exploring options for modernizing the MGWA web page to increase visibility, streamline content updates, and improve functionality for communications with membership. One specific communication improvement we are working on is to get the word out about student scholarship availability.  The University of Minnesota summer hydrogeology field camp is a valuable educational opportunity for students and we are working to promote the availability of scholarships early and often.  Updates are coming soon to the web page. 

Thanks for taking the time to read through this; I hope you are excited about all the conferences, connections, and communications coming up.  MGWA is a wonderful organization, full of well-rounded people!  (ha! Get it?  well..)

Until next time,

Jared Trost President, MGWA

Fall is coming! A beautiful fall day in 2025 with brightly colored leaves reflected on a surface expression of groundwater at Lebanon Hills Regional Park. 

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