Noteworthy

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A WINDOW TO EDINA’S PAST

THE STAINED GLASS WALL on the east side of Edina City Hall is exactly where it should be: close to the site of Edina Mill. Its blue, gold and green shapes, highlighted with copper, feature elements of Edina’s history: the circle of gold glass at the top of the twostory window represents the water wheel of Edina Mill, which turned just a few blocks from this site more than 150 years ago. On the north side of the window, a column of blue glass symbolizes the falls of Minnehaha Creek. The beautiful and balanced composition of this window emphasizes how crucial Minnehaha Creek was to the development of our community.

The artist of the window is Michael Pilla, a glass artist in Menomonie, Wisconsin. Pilla creates windows for homes, churches, libraries and many other commissions and projects. He also restores historic stained glass. The geometry in the window at Edina City Hall reflects the arts and craft style often visible in Pilla’s art, and one of his signature technical characteristics is used here as well: Copper plates and clips (rather than lead or zinc) are placed over the joints and glass to reinforce the points where these come together, adding strength and color to his windows.

Looking through the window from the City Hall staircase, we see our active, busy city—traffic on 50th Street along with bikers and pedestrians. Pilla’s creative stained glass depicts the energy and enterprise of the late 1800s, and his references to Edina’s history and landscape resonate with the nearby commemoration of these landmarks and their contribution to Edina’s story.

Contributed by Laura Westlund, a tour guide at the Weisman Art Museum and an art hound for Minnesota Public Radio.

CITIZEN OF EDINA

Shrey Ramesh

As a junior pursuing a degree in biomedical engineering at the University of WisconsinMadison, Edina native Shrey Ramesh spends much of his time studying or at the lab. But in what is undoubtedly a very technically challenging field, he draws much of the drive for what he does from people. The end of the product life cycle is, for Ramesh, the patient.

“Even though you have to put in a lot of hours and a lot of hard work for it … there’s obviously things that motivate me throughout the semester, like going to clinic and seeing patients,” Ramesh says. “I think about what my end goal is.”

Ramesh traces his initial interest in the biomedical field back to Project Lead the Way engineering classes offered through Edina Public Schools and a longtime affinity for biology and healthcare. In 2019, Ramesh was awarded the Connecting With Kids Leadership Award for volunteering for more than 800 hours at a hospital.

When looking at colleges, he says, “I thought, why not be an engineer and a doctor? … There are not a lot of people who are both, and it’s a really, really cool space.” Ramesh plans to attend medical school after he graduates with his engineering degree.

Ramesh has been conducting research since freshman year in a radiation oncology lab, and he has played a role in two papers which are soon to be published. The first explores the effectiveness of using highpowered X-rays as opposed to radioactive material in cancer treatment. The second examines the radiation-enhancing effect of inhibiting the expression of a mutated receptor to treat lung cancer patients. This year, he also presented research at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting.

This past summer, Ramesh built on his engineering experience by interning at Boston Scientific. He also returned to volunteering at M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital. “After COVID-19 shut [volunteering] down, I was bummed because I never really got to ease out of it,” Ramesh says. “I’m working with a lot of really good people and getting a lot of really good experience.”

Contributed by Izzy Wagener on behalf of the Edina Community Foundation.

READ

SUPPER AT SIX

In the early days of television, the period of time after lunch and before dinner was considered a vast desert for producers. These hours reflected the doldrums when human attention spans were foggy. Soap operas and clown shows lulled viewers throughout the afternoon.

Author Bonnie Garmus takes on this historical period in Southern California in her debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry. In the book, Walter Pine knows that he has met someone special when chemist Elizabeth Zott bursts into his office at KCTV to tell him that his daughter has been taking her daughter’s lunches. Elizabeth is wearing her lab coat and a pencil behind her ear and begins explaining the nutritional significance of the lunches she prepares for her daughter.

Elizabeth commands Walter’s attention with her detailed explanation of the chemistry experiment that is cooking, and he’s suddenly struck with an idea. He needs a cooking show to fill the 4:30 p.m. time slot, and he thinks pretty, blonde, brilliant Elizabeth would be a perfect fit.

For her cooking show, Elizabeth prepares school lunches that are executions of high science while being nutritious and delicious. She speaks directly to the women who watch her show, believing they are capable of great things—a notion not widely held in the early 1960s.

As readers take on the great chemistry experiment that is Thanksgiving dinner, I hope they will have time to enjoy this novel. It is a mid-century story with both sorrow and immense humor.

Contributed by Maureen Millea Smith, a librarian and readers’ advisor at the Edina Library and a Minnesota Book Award–winning novelist. You can find her books at maureenmilleasmith.com.

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HEAL

The Importance of Hydration

Water and salt are two of the least expensive and most abundant substances on Earth; at the same time, they are also two of the most valuable. Aside from clean air to breathe, proper hydration is one of the most important needs of the human body.

But what is “proper hydration?” Believe it or not, true hydration requires more than just water. In fact, water is only half of the hydration equation. Without salt and other electrolytes like potassium and magnesium, you can actually deplete yourself by drinking too much water.

How is this possible? It has to do with how cells absorb water. The inside of the cell is where water needs to be to sustain the life of the organism. Electrolytes help shuttle water across a cell’s water-repelling membrane to the inside of the cell. True hydration is not determined by how much water is inside of your body but how much of that water is inside of the cells.

So, how can you properly hydrate your body and even assess how much water is inside of your cells?

• Consume up to half of your body weight in ounces of water per day. • Add a pinch of salt for every 8 oz. of water consumed (up to 2 tsp./day). • Athletes might consider higher salt intake or electrolyte supplementation.

• Avoid electrolyte drinks that contain sugar, caffeine and artificial colors. • Determine, track and measure cellular hydration levels with the help of a healthcare professional. (My colleagues at Statera Health are well-versed in this area if you need a starting point!)

Contributed by Timothy Borowski, M.S., a natural healthcare professional specializing in neurological function, injury rehabilitation and complex pain management. His complementary healthcare practice, Axon Movement, is located at Statera Health in Edina. You can find him on Instagram @timothy_borowski.

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