Friday, March 20 | MMAM | 5:30p - 7:30p
Saturday, March 21 | MMAM | 8a - 5p
Free | Registration Requested
Winona State University (WSU) and the Minnesota Marine Art Museum (MMAM) present a sustainability conference centered on Climate Change and Freshwater: The Past Present and Future of the Midwest. The conference will take place on March 20 - 21 in Winona, MN. The conference will kick off with an evening at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum featuring a keynote speech from featured artist Tali Weinberg on the connection between art and the climate conversation. The following day will take place at Winona State University featuring presentations, workshops, and poster presentations that further explore issues of freshwater.
The whole event is open to the public and free to attend. Please register for the event before March 19, 2026.
Conference Schedule
Day 1: Friday, March 20
Artist Tali Weinberg Keynote Speech
Location:
Minnesota Marine Art Museum
800 Riverview Drive, Winona, MN
Run of show:
5p-5:30p: Guests Check-In
5:30p-6p- Welcome
6p-7p: Tali Weinberg Keynote Speech
Confluences: Weaving Multidimensional Stories of Water
Talk Description: What does water reveal about the interdependence of ecological and human health? How is water impacted by pollution and rising temperatures? What new perspectives can water offer us about relationships to places and each other that might help us to address these crises? And what role does art play in this conversation? In this talk, Tali Weinberg will share examples from over a decade of work attending to these questions. Rooted in textile practices, Weinberg draws from scientific data, interdisciplinary research, lived experience, and plant- and petrochemical-derived materials to explore our multivalent, multiscalar relationships to water.
7p - 7:30p: Reception
Day 2: Saturday, March 21
Presentations
Location:
Winona State University Kryzsko Commons
250 W 10th St, Winona, MN
8:30a-9a: Breakfast
9a: Welcome by Provost of WSU
9:15a- 10:15a: Session 1
Robert Tereba, Southern Minnesota Chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby, You’re Anxious about Climate Change? Let’s get to Work.
10:15a- 10:30a: Break
10:30a-11:45a: Session 2
[10:30-10:45] Victor Teng, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Interactive Model of Upper Mississippi River Basin: The Demonstration
[10:45-11] Lynn Carlson, Environmentalist, What does SE MN, Iowa Select Farms, Cargill, Walmart and the Wall Street Farm Bill have in common?
[11-11:15] Patrick Kelly, Wisconsin DNR, Using Long-Term Data to Understand Ecological and Environmental Changes in the Upper Mississippi River
[11:15-11:45] Q+A with Session 2 Presenters
11:45a-12:45p: Lunch
12:45p-2p: Session 3
Sadie Neuman, City of Winona Citizens Environmental Quality Committee, The Watershed Game
2p-3:15p: Session 4
[2-2:15] Jen Kader, Clean Water Council, "Game changer": How Minnesota's Clean Water Fund has transformed water work in the state
[2:15-2:30] Matt Lindaman, WSU, Past and Future: Minnesota’s Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment
[2:30-2:45] Daniel Wilson, Project REACH- U of M, Addressing Environmental Risks from Nitrate Contamination in Private Wells
[2:45-3] Anne Conway, Izaak Walton League, Save Our Streams Citizens Science Program
[3-3:15] Q+A with Session 4 Presenters
3:15p-3:45p: Break + Poster Presentations
Posters:
Bronwyn Byrne, WSU, The Next Drop Matters: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions to Drought
Ayden Orourke, WSU, Drop Into the Future: Rethinking Water Security and Infrastructure in a Thirstier World
McKayla Knaack, WSU, The Price of Plenty
Ray Dean and Frankie Schewe, WSU, What’s Hurting Our Water: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions to Excess Nitrogen and Phosphorous Transport in Our Local Water Systems
Cristian Valenzuela, WSU, Reusing Wastewater in a Changing Climate
3:45p- 5p: Session 5 International Session
[3:45p-4p] Linda D’Amico, WSU, Can a Forest Have Rights? What Ecuador Teaches Us About Water and Climate Stability
[4p-4:15p] Iris Wang, WSU, The Hai River, Tianjin, and the Making of a Modern Port City in the Early Twentieth Century
[4:15-4:30p] Michael Bowler, WSU, Climate Change and Water in Bangladesh: Flooding and Drought
[4:30p-4:45p] Krishna Roka, WSU, Climate Change and Water in Nepal: Melting Glaciers and Drying Rivers
4:45p-5p: Q+A with Session 5 Presenters
End of Conference. Thank you!
About the Minnesota Marine Art Museum
Climate Mission: MMAM is committed to actively staying informed and participating in meaningful and sustainable climate action. As we explore our relationship with water, we will uphold the responsibility that cultural/social institutions have to be a resource for building climate resilience through our operations, development, and engagement programs. Through connections driven by intention, we strive to be a community asset centered on diversity, inclusion, art, and science.
