After the Friday Roundtable taping wrapped up, Kerri threw one more question to our guests off the air: “Who is emerging as a GOP candidate to challenge Dayton?”
Patricia Lopez: “I don’t even know if that name is out there yet.”
Steve Perry: “The name I keep hearing in sort of an ‘if only’ vein from Republicans is Julie Rosen.”
Lopez: “She has not said ‘no’ and [I heard her give] what sure sounded like a stump speech. She just dropped by the office and I thought, ‘That sure sounded like a stump speech.’”
Brian Bakst: “She would be headed for a primary no matter what, though, because that stadium legislation that she co-sponsored would be a non-sale within the convention.”
John Grotzinger, right, chief scientist for the Curiosity mission, talked with Tom Weber of The Daily Circuit. (Tim Gruber for the Public Insight Network)View full galleryJohn Grotzinger, chief scientist for the Curiosity mission, explained the process of communicating with the rover on Mars. (Tim Gruber for the Public Insight Network)Guests looked at moon rocks provided by the Minnesota Historical Society at Science Night Minnesota. (Tim Gruber for the Public Insight Network)A moon rock, provided by the Minnesota Historical Society, was on display at Science Night Minnesota. (Tim Gruber for the Public Insight Network)Jaime Upton, 12, middle, and her classmates from the Farnsworth Aerospace PreK - 8 school got a feel for what it's like to be an astronaut by trying to pick up rocks in a simulated lab. (Tim Gruber for the Public Insight Network)Students from the Farnsworth Aerospace PreK - 8 school tried their hand at launching a puck into orbit. (Tim Gruber for the Public Insight Network)
Tens of thousands of people around the world have said they want to go to Mars, even if it means they will never return to Earth. Dozens of them were in the crowd Tuesday night at the Fitzgerald Theater for Science Night Minnesota — Mission to Mars.
Hank Butitta, foreground, a graduate student in the School of Architecture, answers questions about converting an old school bus into a living space during his master's project defense Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at the University of Minnesota. After removing the school bus seats, Butitta added a wooden floor and ceiling, seating and sleeping areas, tables and storage. Eventually he'll add a bathroom to the back of the bus. (MPR Photo/Jennifer Simonson)View full galleryof the first tasks Hank Butitta took on was getting rid of the rust on the floor of the school bus he bought on Craigslist. Photo courtesy of Hank Butitta.Hank Butitta uses an angle grinder to cut out the rusty floor of the school bus. Photo courtesy of Hank Butitta.Hank Butitta, a graduate student in the School of Architecture, had to convince his professors to let him park an old school bus in the Rapson Hall courtyard for a semester while he converted it into a living space as part of his master's project at the University of Minnesota. (MPR Photo/Jennifer Simonson)Vince Butitta, Hank’s brother, helped Hank on the project throughout the semester. Photo coutesy of Hank Butitta.University of Minnesota graduate student Hank Butitta answers questions about his master's project, a school bus that he converted into a living space, Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at the University of Minnesota School of Architecture. (MPR Photo/Jennifer Simonson)As part of his master's project, architecture student Hank Butitta converted an old school bus into a living space Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at the University of Minnesota School of Architecture. The project is nearly complete, but he plans to add a bathroom in the back of the bus. (MPR Photo/Jennifer Simonson)Hank Butitta, a graduate student in the School of Architecture, converted an old school bus into a living space as part of his master's project Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at the University of Minnesota. (MPR Photo/Jennifer Simonson)The school bus living space includes seating and sleeping areas, tables and storage Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at the University of Minnesota School of Architecture. (MPR Photo/Jennifer Simonson)
When Adam Marcus told his graduate students to do something “full-scale” for their final project, he didn’t think the semester would end with a school bus-house hybrid parked behind Rapson Hall.
“I said, ‘We’re going to do full scale,’” said Marcus, a University of Minnesota Architecture School design fellow. “And Hank said, ‘I’m gonna buy a bus.’ And I said, ‘Go for it.’”
“So I commend you for taking that premise literally, quite literally,” Marcus said to Hank Butitta, as the student presented his Master’s project to a group of professors and professional architects last week.
Hank has been working on the bus project for about four months, but he’s been thinking about it for years. Four or five years ago, Hank learned that his grandfather owns about 80 acres of land north of the Wisconsin Dells. Hank has been trying to figure out how to get a cabin on the property since then.
“Building code just doesn’t allow for buildings under 600 square feet and requires all sorts of permits for septic and electrical, even if you’re not interested in having those things,” said Butitta. “And we heard that if we were on wheels we could get away with anything we wanted.”
So when Hank received his instructions for his final project, he knew exactly what he wanted to do. He turned to Craigslist and bought a bus for $3,000.
Hank’s grandfather Curly, thrilled by the prospect of someone wanting to use the land, is lending Hank the money for this project. So far, Hank has spent between $4,000 and $5,000, and estimates the project will take at least another $5,000 to finish.
“I’d like to keep the pace up with a few things to finish up the framing of the cabinets and maybe even the framing of the bathroom space,” said Butitta. “But it may be a few years until the systems really get fully fleshed out, probably a system a year. Like ‘OK, let’s get the propane hooked up and get a heater in here because the winter is miserable. OK, let’s get a toilet in, because I’m tired of going to the outhouse.’”
Though all those systems won’t yet be complete, Hank plans to park the bus on his grandfather’s land before the winter comes. The last step in the project will also be the most meaningful. The loan from Hank’s grandfather came with one condition: to put up a sign that says, “Curly’s Woods.”
Now that Gov. Mark Dayton has signed the same-sex marriage bill into law, we asked the participants on this week’s Roundtable for advice on how to bridge gaps between Minnesotans who support same-sex marriage and those who oppose it. Jim Wallis, author of “On God’s Side,” thinks we are on the cusp of a nationwide Read more →
“Gatsby as a literary creation leaves me cold. Like one of those manicured European parks patrolled on all sides by officious gendarmes, it is pleasant to look at, but you will not find any people inside.”
“When garment factories were still mainly based in retail countries, consumers knew people who held jobs in factories, and had a personal connection with those who had been injured or put at risk in the workplace.”
VIkings fans cheered for stadium bill sponsor Julie Rosen after the measure passed in the Senate 38-28. (MPR Photo/Tim Nelson) 
Kerri Miller
