Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · 12h

Last week I was honored to speak at the National Research Program on Crime meeting in Stockholm—and to rediscover some family roots! The visit was a real career highlight. Tack så mycket to Hans Grönqvist, the Swedish Research Council & many new friends and old (photo credit: PO Wikström).

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · 2d

Prison Labor and Affordable Housing

“At minimum, incarcerated workers housed in county jails deserve a pay increase to cover the higher cost of living in a county jail… [and] Minnesotans need to wrestle with the language in our own state constitution.” www.startribune.com/tolkkinen-mi...

Tolkkinen: Minnesota’s Constitution allows $1-an-hour labor for inmates. Should it?

In two rural counties, that labor is being used to build affordable housing.

www.startribune.com

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · 7d

New! 2 assistant research professor positions now open with Jordan Hyatt & team at Drexel to help lead, manage, coordinate & support projects on prison conditions, Scandinavian justice, legal financial obligations, sentencing, autism, & housing.

Details: careers.drexel.edu/cw/en-us/job...

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · 10d

New UofMN music scholarship is a fine way for RHCP drummer to honor his parents, music teachers, & fellow musicians. Can't wait for the halftime show (& marching band drum-off?) on Oct. 11. And his enthusiasm here reminds me how HS music ed changed my life too. youtu.be/Aauv2yii78w?... via @YouTube

Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith launches new U of M music scholarship

YouTube video by WCCO - CBS Minnesota

youtu.be

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · 12d

“It was sometimes a tricky needle to thread … And some of Friday’s contestants couldn’t help slipping into sincerity.” www.startribune.com/university-m...

U of M crowns most ‘performative male,’ bringing TikTok trend to life

Contestants held tote bags, drank matcha and poked fun at the new Gen Z archetype.

www.startribune.com

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · 22d

New! How time since conviction and exposure to "redemption research" on risk of reoffense affect employers' willingness to call back job applicants with criminal records. -Chae Jaynes, Mateus Rennó Santos, Danielle Thomas & Katelyn Smith in J. of Crim Justice www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · Sep 6

Anderson and @nclc4consumers.bsky.social call to:
* Eliminate medical fees; mandate free, adequate care
* Stop collection & discharge outstanding medical debt
* Bar contractors from profiting off carceral medical services/devices
* Increase Medicaid and Medicare access in prisons and jails

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · Sep 6

New! Anna Anderson on Medical Debt Behind Bars

Incarcerated people have a constitutional right to care but often lack access to insurance and must bear the costs (and debt) of copays, fees, medications, emergency charges, and ambulance & hospital bills. inquest.org/medical-debt...

Medical Debt Behind Bars - Anna Anderson - Inquest

Incarcerated people accrue debt for nearly all of their medical care. This makes a mockery of their right to health care—and saddles them with devastating debt upon release.

inquest.org

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · Sep 5

Sharing a victim’s cherished memory brings a moment of comfort to the survivors — and the community. And reminds us that “the small interactions we have, that maybe we don’t even think twice about, can have a totally different impact on someone else.” www.startribune.com/annunciation...

Father of Annunciation victim Fletcher Merkel calls into KDWB radio

Jesse Merkel asked Falen & Colt to replay his son’s on-air segment.

www.startribune.com

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · Sep 3

How one European manufacturer is adjusting to US import tariffs in the vital (for me, at least) custom guitar pick industry:

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · Sep 3

"Video visits are good as it fits into their schedule, but they are not the same. … Giving your child a hug is worth a hundred video visits.” theconversation.com/65-000-penns...

65,000 Pennsylvania kids have a parent in prison or jail − here’s what research says about the value of in-person visits

In-person visits in prisons and jails can strengthen family relationships and reduce recidivism.

theconversation.com

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · Sep 2

New National Academies report on school active shooter drills (free download) calls for:
-trauma-informed drills
-ban high-sensorial, hyper-realistic, deceptive drills
-national guidance
-staff & police training
-accessibility & equity
-research & funding nap.nationalacademies.org/resource/291...

Active Shooter Drills in Schools: Protecting Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Health

nap.nationalacademies.org

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · Sep 1

Love the B-school's new name but I'll miss the old logo...
mndaily.com/294866/campu...

Headline: Carlson School of Management announces rebrand

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · Aug 28

Why not both? :) The election was a local referendum on a water bond bill but it seemed to garner national attention as well.

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · Aug 28

“Oh, yes. I’m a good suffragist. I’m enthusiastic over the ratification. I’m going to study politics and be progressive.”
-Marguerite Newburgh of South St. Paul MN (that's her at right), the first US woman to vote after enactment of the 19th Amendment, 105 years ago. mnhs.gitlab.io/archive/vote...

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · Aug 27

As we mourn today's Annunciation Church shooting, the reporting and photojournalism are almost too much to take in; sharing this gift link for those seeking good local coverage from Minneapolis. www.startribune.com/minneapolis-...

Live: Neighbors describe volley of gunfire in attack that killed two children, wounded 17

Sources identified Robin Westman, 23, as the shooter, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene. One source told the Star Tribune Westman’s mother once worked at Annunciation.

www.startribune.com

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · Aug 27

Good Morning! Rather than doomscrolling on your next work break, you might take a calming visit to the Minnesota State Fair’s live @mndnrewr.bsky.social Fish Cam (daylight hours, now through 9/2). www.youtube.com/live/2XCCl9j...

Live Fish Cam from the State Fair

YouTube video by Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

www.youtube.com

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · Aug 26

"Now that most mental effort tied to writing is optional, we need new [old] ways to require the work necessary for learning," moving away from take-home tests and toward real-time assessment via blue books & oral exams.
-Clay Shirky on the "medieval turn" in higher ed
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/o...

Opinion | Students Hate Them. Universities Need Them. The Only Real Solution to the A.I. Cheating Crisis.

www.nytimes.com

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · Aug 20

mixed signals

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · Aug 20

For folks in recovery, some "felon friendly" industries (eg, bars/restaurants) can be triggering, narrowing job options.

Navigating the Labor Market among People Who Use Drugs
-Mike Vuolo Anneliese Ward @leschneider.bsky.social new in @sociusjournal.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Navigating the Labor Market among People Who Use Drugs: Qualitative Evidence from a Justice-Involved Sample - Mike Vuolo, Anneliese Ward, Lesley E. Schneider, 2025

Given substantially higher substance use rates among justice-involved people and that employers are largely protected from disqualifying people who use drugs, t...

journals.sagepub.com

Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · Aug 15

It definitely makes a statement…

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · Aug 15

Today’s economic news: it’s not censorship, it’s *shred*sorship.

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · Aug 14

The Times' Durkheimian vision of anomie and crime is more Hirschi than Merton, emphasizing the ”subtle standards that allow communities to function...[relying] not just on written laws and policies but also on less formal norms and values to bind us together." www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/o...

Opinion | Crime Keeps Falling. Here’s Why.

www.nytimes.com

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · Aug 12

Youth incarceration has dropped since 2000 but disparities have risen. Josh Rovner's @sentencingproject.bsky.social
report shows that tribal youth are at least 10 times as likely to be held in placement as white youth in Minnesota, the Dakotas & Wisconsin. www.sentencingproject.org/press-releas...

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Chris Uggen @chrisuggen.bsky.social · Aug 8

The candy in my conference gift bag seemed oddly personalized, though not wholly inaccurate.

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