MINNESOTA RISES AS THE BIG TEN FALLS PAGE 6 PARTLY CLOUDY HIGH 65° LOW 54°
U OF M
MINNEAPOLIS
ST PAUL
TUESDAY
CRIME
SEPTEMBER 30, 2014
GOPHERS FOOTBALL HAS SEEN IMPROVEMENT UNDER KILL.
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT MNDAILY.COM
ELECTION 2014
Scammers target int’l students
ANALYSIS
Cues in the hues
Callers threaten to cancel victims’ admission to the U if they don’t hand over money. BY BARRY LY TTON blytton@mndaily.com
A phone rings in the middle of the day. Minutes later, it buzzes alive again with a caller listed as the “University of Minnesota Police Department.” A menacing voice declares an outstanding arrest warrant. Scammers use this calling strategy to tr y to trick students out of their money, and the fraudulent crime has noticeably surfaced at the school, according to a public safety update emailed to the University community Wednesday. No University students have succumbed to the callers’ requests, according to police, but law enforcement and other metro area agencies say they have fielded many reports from would-be victims. And other colleges nationwide have seen similar scams targeting students. As par t of the hoax, callers identify themselves as UMPD or FBI agents and tell victims they have overdue taxes or legal fees, according to the update. The scammers then threaten to cancel victims’ admission to the University if they do not drop
ELIZABETH BRUMLEY, DAILY
Lawn signs are posted in the front yard of a home in Minneapolis’ Seward neighborhood Thursday evening. Campaign advertisements feature an array of different logos, colors and designs that aim to paint candidates’ identities and catch voters’ interest.
u See SCAM Page 4
The 2014 election cycle features a wide array of logo designs, all intended to paint candidates’ identities and catch voters’ interest.
CITY
BY KEVIN KARNER kkarner@mndaily.com
Minneapolis to consider e-cig ban
W
berg knew exactly what it meant to
Minneapolis City Hall will be open later for inperson absentee voting beginning on Oct. 20. u See Page 3
The University of Minnesota electrical
With less than six weeks to go until
engineering freshman naturally associates
Election Day, campaigns for Minnesota
colors with liberal and conservative ideals,
governor, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House
like most people.
of Representatives and other offices are in
This connotation, although common,
full swing, and political signage — along
may seem like a long-established part of
with television and radio advertisements —
the American political lexicon, but analyz-
could help decide the outcomes.
ing designs and colors that identify cam-
BY ETHAN NELSON enelson@mndaily.com
u See SMOKING Page 3
ithout any hesitation, Erik Sund-
be a red or blue state.
A University-area councilman will introduce a plan to treat e-cigs the same as cigarettes.
Minneapolis may soon equate vaping with smoking. Ward 2 City Councilman Cam Gordon has plans to introduce an amendment to the citywide smoking ban code on Friday. This would essentially classify the use of e-cigarettes as smoking, banning them in places like restaurants and bars. Gordon and health exper ts say the change would be in line with other local tobacco bans and would prevent young people from developing nicotine addictions. “[E-cigarettes are] a quick and easy way to get addicted to nicotine,” said Lara Pratt, manager of the Minneapolis Health Department’s Healthy Living initiative. The proposed amendment comes about a decade after the City Council implemented a citywide smoking ban. The ordinance currently classifies smoking as “inhaling, exhaling or combustion of any cigar, cigarette, pipe, tobacco product, weed, plant or any other similar article.” The amendment would come on the
RELATED CONTENT
paigns is a relatively new concept.
This election cycle features a wide array of logo designs, all intended to paint candidates’
u See SIGNS Page 12
HEALTH
Wave of rare virus reaches Children’s Hospital Physicians have treated almost a dozen cases, and researchers are working on finding a cure. BY KAYLEE KRUSCHKE kkruschke@mndaily.com
Since mid-August, an uncommon respirator y illness has sent almost 450 wheezing patients to hospitals across most of the countr y — including at least 11 cases at the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital. Enterovir us D68 made its presence known in the state in mid-September when labs at the University and the Minnesota
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Department of Health discovered the virus in patient samples. The exact number of cases across the state is unknown, as many go unreported, said Jayne Griffith, senior epidemiologist at the Minnesota Department of Health. “[But] we know it’s out there,” she said. Mark Schleiss, director of the University’s Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology, said EV D68 seems to be more problematic for children — particularly those with pre-existing asthma. At this point, there is no validated, FDAapproved EV D68 diagnostic test, said Schleiss, who is also a doctor at the University’s Children’s Hospital and a pediatrics professor.
“In the past, there’s never been such a demand for such a test,” he said, “because this is a virus that’s never really been on the horizon enough and part of our landscape that we feel we need to test for it.” Schleiss said he has helped sequence a portion of the virus using patients’ respirator y secretions and that University researchers are planning to fully sequence the strain and characterize its molecular genetics, which may help researchers find a cure. Patients suspected of having the virus show respiratory tract disease symptoms. Some of those symptoms include wheezing, u See ENTEROVIRUS Page 4
COGS kicks off school year At its first meeting of the year, the group talked over possible student health plan changes. BY HALEY HANSEN hhansen@mndaily.com
CORA NELSON, DAILY
President of the Council of Graduate Students Andrew McNally speaks to graduates at Walter Library on Monday.
The Council of Graduate Students plans to take on campus-wide issues this year while also tackling new graduate studentrooted concerns. In its first general assembly meeting of the school year Monday night, COGS discussed potential changes to graduate assistant student health plans and moved forward with its plans to protest the use of the Washington Redskins name on campus. COGS President Andrew McNally said the group will address changes in health care coverage for graduate assistants that may be coming next year. He said the University is re-negotiating
its Graduate Assistant Health Plan contract for next school year, which could cause changes in some students’ coverage. According to COGS documents, the health insurance plan covers graduate assistants and fellows and is “one of the most important incentives for attracting students.” “We have one of the best insurance plans in the Big Ten right now,” Graduate Education Council representative Keaton Miller said at the meeting. At the meeting, the group discussed potential changes to coverage, which may include co-pay increases and a reduced health care network. Though no changes are set in stone and it’s unclear exactly what the new plan will entail, McNally said COGS wants to begin talks on the new plan early because it affects a lot of students. u See COUNCIL Page 3
VOLUME 116 ISSUE 17