Twin Cities CBS affiliate WCCO TV recently visited the St. Olaf carpentry shop to watch Gregg Menning work on the locally grown frame that he's building for the Serious Man blackboard section that will be auctioned at the Black and Gold Winter Gala.

When the Twin Cities Transit for Livable Communities program asked St. Olaf math students to help measure bike and foot traffic, the students responded by creating the first model of its kind to do so.

In "A valuable piece of film history -- in a lecture hall," the Star Tribune tells the story of how St. Olaf got to be part of the Oscar-nominated film A Serious Man, and how the college is making use of a unique prop the crew left behind.

Charles F. Priore Jr., science librarian in the Hustad Science Library at St. Olaf, has been named co-editor of the second edition of Blue Book Publications' single-volume Ammo Encyclopedia.

St. Olaf College is receiving a bequest of approximately $1 million from the estate of the late Carolyn Amalie Granrud '43, who will have given a total of $1.3 million to fund scholarships.

"A study in green science" in the February issue of Consulting-Specifying Engineer features Regents Hall of Natural and Mathematical Sciences and the building's recently bestowed LEED Platinum rating.

"The choir showed enviable cohesion, accurate intonation, and impressive flexibility with a high tenorial center of gravity," wrote Chicago music critic Lawrence Johnson after the St. Olaf Choir's tour performance Friday.

Three times a year students from Northfield's Open Door Nursery School visit the St. Olaf Natural Lands as part of an ongoing collaboration that gives Oles experience in environmental education while providing the children with an opportunity to learn about nature.

Nine St. Olaf organ students recently presented a benefit concert at a New York City-area church that raised nearly $2,500 for relief efforts in Haiti.

Through the St. Olaf Civic Engagement Program, students are visiting residents at the Northfield Retirement Center, working at the Community Action Center, and more -- all as part of their classwork. "It’s so much easier to understand and connect with the academic material if you have a personal experience relating to it," says Alexandra Mastny '11.

The Washington Post is reporting that, with 26 volunteers, St. Olaf College is the leading producer of Peace Corps volunteers among small schools.

Karin and Bob Moe have given St. Olaf $500,000 for the renovation of the old science building that, when completed, will house language departments and the International and Off-Campus Studies Program.

Laura Wilde '08 recently earned the opportunity to compete at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in New York City. She shares how she's preparing for the national contest, the one thing that makes her nervous for competitions, and how St. Olaf prepared her for a vocal career.

A recent Los Angeles Times opinion piece about mistakes journalists have made with large numbers quotes Lynn Steen, St. Olaf professor emeritus of mathematics.