Slaveholder Investment in Territorial Minnesota

Enslavers from slave states came to Minnesota during the Antebellum Era and invested in land and businesses there. The investors represented the diversity of slaveholders: owners of large plantations, operators of small farms, and urban residents. Some enslavers actively bought and sold people, but others had unwittingly inherited captives from deceased relatives. Most of them had brief stays in Minnesota during the spring and summer while making their investments, but a few of them sold all their captives in the South and then permanently relocated to Minnesota to buy the land for their new homes. Their investments provided sorely needed capital to communities throughout Minnesota, and they partly enabled the existence of local institutions such as the University of Minnesota. This article looks at the investors, the trail of their money from the labor of their captives into the hands of Minnesotans, and the ways in which Minnesotans spent that money from slave labor

Black representation in American short films, 1928-1954

Afro-American StudiesDoctor of Philosophy (PhD

Black Cloud: The Struggles of St. Cloud\u27s African American Community, 1880-1920

From the 1890s to the 1920s, a community of over one dozen African Americans existed in St. Cloud, Minnesota. It consisted of African Americans from the South and elsewhere in the North. Most found employment in low-wage jobs, but some--like John Webster and David Basfield--started their own businesses in town. Their children attended the same schools as the other local school-age children, and one of them--Ruby Cora Webster--became the first known graduate of what became St. Cloud State University. The children left St. Cloud by the 1920s, and their parents either stayed there or relocated with them. In the meantime, segregation by skin color intensified during the community\u27s existence, and a mob\u27s lynching of an African American nearly took place in town in 1917. This article looks at the people comprising St. Cloud\u27s African American community and their struggle for survival during one of the nation\u27s most violent periods for American Americans

The Contemplation of Our Righteousness : Vigilante Acts against African Americans in Southwest Minnesota, 1903

In 1903 an African American man came to Montevideo, Minnesota from out of state and was accused of physically assaulting a European American woman. The townspeople formed a posse and searched for the alleged assailant in southern Minnesota. At the time the African American population was in the single digits. None of the African American residents knew the alleged attacker or were related to him. Nevertheless, the victim\u27s family approached those residents and told them to leave town, and their subsequent departure left Montevideo without African Americans for well over half a century. The local press covered the alleged attack as a consequence of African American migration from the South to the North and bemoaned the impending arrival of the ethnic tensions that had plagued the South for generations. The removal of African Americans from Montevideo predated the lynching in Duluth by seventeen years, showing that the tension had seeped into life in Minnesota. This article looks at violent vigilantism in southern Minnesota during one of the most violent periods that African Americans faced in American history

Chronicles of Oklahoma

Article describes the nearly forgotten African American community centered around West Edwards Street in territorial Edmond

Nutritional Condition and Physiological Stress Levels of Elk in the Black Hills, South Dakota

Percent of body fat and physiological stress are important correlates to wildlife demographics. We studied winter percent of body fat and physiological stress levels for a declining elk (Cervus canadensis nelsoni) population in South Dakota, 2011–2013. We obtained percent of winter body fat, pregnancy status, lactation status, and physiological stress data from 58 adult females (2+ years old). We compared physiological stress level data from 2011 with data collected from this same herd when elk densities were much higher (1995–1997). Our objectives were to determine percent of body fat during winter, examine if winter body fat was correlated with pregnancy and lactation status, and quantify and compare physiological stress hormone values from elk in the mid-1990s. Probability of being pregnant increased with higher winter nutritional condition, or percent of body fat; whereas females with a higher probability of previously lactating were lower in winter body fat. Mean fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) levels in 2011 (mean = 47.78 ng/g, SE = 2.37) were higher during summer compared to data collected in 1995–1997 (mean = 34.21 ng/g, SE = 3.71); however, mean FGM levels during winter did not differ between the two time periods. Although summer levels of FGM have significantly increased since the mid-1990s, we caution against any interpretation of increased FGM levels on elk fitness, as it may not infer biological significance. Mean winter percent of body fat of elk was lower when compared to other populations in the west but this difference does not appear to be limiting vital rates and population growth for this elk herd. We recommend future research focus on summer/autumn data collection to provide a more comprehensive understanding of percent of body fat for elk in our region

Characteristics of successful puma kill sites of elk in the Black Hills, South Dakota

Elk Cervus canadensis nelsoni in the Black Hills, South Dakota, have been declining since 2006 and there is concern by resource managers and hunters that puma Puma concolor predation may be contributing to declining herds. We evaluated characteristics at sites where puma successfully killed elk in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We evaluated characteristics at coarse (79-ha plots) and fine (0.2-ha plot) scales across the landscape. Our primary objective was to obtain a better understanding of vegetation and terrain characteristics that may have facilitated greater susceptibility of elk to predation by puma. We evaluated effects of road density, terrain heterogeneity, probability of elk use, and vegetation variables at 62 puma kill sites of elk and 186 random sites to identify key landscape attributes where elk were killed by puma. Elk were killed by puma in high use areas. Elk were also killed in areas that had greater amounts of edge and intermediate ruggedness at the coarse scale. Further, elk were killed in areas with greater small tree density and woody debris at the fine scale. High germination rates of ponderosa pine trees are unique to the Black Hills and provide dense patches of cover for puma. We hypothesize that cover from small trees and woody debris provided conditions where puma could stalk elk in areas with optimal security cover for elk. We suggest managers implement vegetation management practices that reduce small tree density and woody debris in areas with greater density of meadow—forest edge if they are interested in potentially diminishing hiding cover for puma in elk high use areas

Effects of Plant Phenology and Vertical Height on Accuracy of Radio-telemetry Locations

The use of very high frequency (VHF) radio-telemetry remains wide-spread in studies of wildlife ecology andmanagement. However, few studies have evaluated the influence of vegetative obstruction on accuracy in differing habitats with varying transmitter types and heights. Using adult and fawn collars at varying heights above the ground (0, 33, 66 and 100 cm) to simulate activities (bedded, feeding and standing) and ages (neonate, juvenile and adult) of deer Odocoileus spp., we collected 5,767 bearings and estimated 1,424 locations (28-30 for each of 48 subsamples) in three habitat types (pasture, grassland and forest), during two stages of vegetative growth (spring and late summer). Bearing error was approximately twice as large at a distance of 900mfor fawn (9.98) than for adult deer collars (4.98). Of 12 models developed to explain the variation in location error, the analysis of covariance model (HT*D + C*D + HT*TBA + C*TBA) containing interactions of height of collar above ground (HT), collar type (C), vertical height of understory vegetation (D) and tree basal area (TBA) was the best model (wi¼0.92) and explained ; 71% of the variation in location error. Location error was greater for both collar types at 0 and 33 cmabove the ground compared to 66 and 100 cm above the ground; however, location error was less for adult than fawn collars. Vegetation metrics influenced location error, which increased with greater vertical height of understory vegetation and tree basal area. Further, interaction of vegetation metrics and categorical variables indicated significant effects on location error. Our results indicate that researchers need to consider study objectives, life history of the study animal, signal strength of collar (collar type), distance from transmitter to receiver, topographical changes in elevation, habitat composition and season when designing telemetry protocols. Bearing distances in forested habitat should be decreased (approximately 23% in our study) compared to bearing distances in open habitat to maintain a consistent bearing error across habitats. Additionally, we believe that field biologists monitoring neonate ungulates for habitat selection should rely on visual locations rather than using VHF-collars and triangulation

Association of HIV-1 Infection and Antiretroviral Therapy With Type 2 Diabetes in the Hispanic Population of the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, USA

The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) in South Texas has one of the highest prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) in the United States (US). We report for the first time the T2D prevalence in persons with HIV (PWH) in the RGV and the interrelationship between T2D, cardiometabolic risk factors, HIV-related indices, and antiretroviral therapies (ART). The PWH in this study received medical care at Valley AIDS Council (VAC) clinic sites located in Harlingen and McAllen, Texas. Henceforth, this cohort will be referred to as Valley AIDS Council Cohort (VACC). Cross-sectional analyses were conducted using retrospective data obtained from 1,827 registries. It included demographic and anthropometric variables, cardiometabolic traits, and HIV-related virological and immunological indices. For descriptive statistics, we used mean values of the quantitative variables from unbalanced visits across 20 months. Robust regression methods were used to determine the associations. For comparisons, we used cardiometabolic trait data obtained from HIV-uninfected San Antonio Mexican American Family Studies (SAMAFS; N = 2,498), and the Mexican American population in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES; N = 5,989). The prevalence of T2D in VACC was 51% compared to 27% in SAMAFS and 19% in HHANES, respectively. The PWH with T2D in VACC were younger (4.7 years) and had lower BMI (BMI 2.43 units less) when compared to SAMAFS individuals. In contrast, VACC individuals had increased blood pressure and dyslipidemia. The increased T2D prevalence in VACC was independent of BMI. Within the VACC, ART was associated with viral load and CD4+ T cell counts but not with metabolic dysfunction. Notably, we found that individuals with any INSTI combination had higher T2D risk: OR 2.08 (95%CI 1.67, 2.6; p \u3c 0.001). In summary, our results suggest that VACC individuals may develop T2D at younger ages independent of obesity. The high burden of T2D in these individuals necessitates rigorously designed longitudinal studies to draw potential causal inferences and develop better treatment regimens