Local parks offer dozens of activities for all ages, but if you are looking ahead to cooler weather, you can follow the Vikings here or here as training camp begins.

The Armed Forces Service Center located at the Minneapolis/St Paul International Airport  is an "all free" stop open 24/7 and offers numerous amenities...lounge area, donated cell phones, free WI-FI, computers, rooms with bunk beds, food etc., for active-duty military personnel, their dependents and National Guardsmen.

Interested in a new career? MnSCU will offer an energy technical specialist degree at nine colleges this fall. It's believed to be the first of its kind in the country!

From Automobile Detailing, to a Photography Studio, to a Warehouse Distribution service, Entrepreneur Magazine's Start Up Guides will take you step by step through starting your new business.

MN Journal Finance and Commerce writes about a launch of a new website listing Minnesota technology jobs, managed by the Minnesota High Tech Association.

Looking for a name for your child?  Or are you just curious about the meanings behind names?  Look at Nameberry, Baby Names and Baby Center to explore what's in a name.

Keep track of major financial regulatory developments with this site  prepared by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Reforming the Nation's Financial System: A Timeline along with it's companion site on the financial crisis. The timeline starts on March 19, 2009 with a hearing from the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs on bank regulation.

Human trials for the H1N1 vaccine in the U.S. will start in August.  Trials already begun in Australia.  Check out CNN.com for news updates.  The World Health Organization has declared H1N1 a global pandemic.

Placeography  is a wiki where you can search for the history and stories about a house, building, farmstead, public land, neighborhood or any place to which you have a personal connection.  You can use the site to learn information or to share it by contributing what you know about a building, structure or property. This growing fun-to-use site has a notable Minnesota bias.

Simply type a symptom, your age and your gender into the Virtual Doctor site. The virtual doctor will help you determine what is wrong and when it's time to see your doctor.

On July 14, 2009 U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the availability of nearly $300 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for state-run rebate programs for consumer purchases of new ENERGY STAR qualified home appliances.

This article appeared in The Pioneer Press in July.  In it Paul Krugman outlines the economic ills that refuse to go away and the causes behind them.

This is one of the most useful websites to confirm (or debunk) those forwarded emails all of us get.  Check Snopes!

The same great small business information is available and its a little easier to read and review your search results. If you haven't used it lately, check it out and see why library customers search Reference USA over 10,000 times each month!

Remember "face time"? A certified geek reviews how to schmooz to make the right business connections.

Known for its long-range weather forecasts, Farmers' Almanac covers a wide range of interests including astronomy, gardening, cooking, and natural medicine.  Looking for the best days to go fishing, searching for innovative ways to cut your landscaping bills, or a possible cure for the common cold, try this fascinating site.  It will not disappoint!

Reuters recently announced that the recent edition of their Handbook of Journalism is available online for free.   Included are a General Style Guide, a Sports Style Guide, and special guidance on various topics such as using information found on the Internet.

Follow the confirmation hearings on CNN.com.  Get the background on Judge Sotomayor from the Whitehouse press office.

Senator Al Franken is conducting a series of open houses around the state until he is able to set up permanent offices.  The Star Tribune has listed a schedule.  You can also find contact  information for Senator Amy Klobuchar and any of Minnesota's eight Representatives through their websites at Senate.gov and House.gov.

There have been articles in the news lately about how social security numbers can be "figured out" and possibly open to identity theft.  Check out the Social Security Administration's guide on identity theft and your SSN.

Use simple keyboard shortcuts to type umlauts, circumflexes, upside-down question marks and more at this Penn State site! 

Learn about global trends in art museums, international journalism and more at these free library programs from The People's University, sponsored by the Library Foundation of Hennepin County and various community partners.

Der Spiegel reports on William White--yet another economic analyst who foresaw the impending calamity.

HOME Line provides free legal, organizing, education and advocacy services so that tenants throughout Minnesota can solve their own rental housing problems.

This subsidy pays the 35 % COBRA premium for eligible individuals. Learn more from the Mn Dept. of Human Services. 

Three Rivers Parks have it all -- find an event to share with friends or family, or make your own fun at a nearby park.

For all things Congressional, The Library of Congress website Thomas is without equal.
Link here to the status of bills, full-text of public laws, committee information, Presidential nominations and more.

Common Craft does an excellent job explaining technology with their videos - check out this one on Twitter, and this one on Twitter search.

Common Craft does an excellent job explaining technology with their videos - check out this one on Twitter, and this one on Twitter search.

The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries http://www.newberry.org/ahcbp/index.html  is a useful tool for those seeking records of past events, trying to interpret historical data, or working on state and local history. Counties have been the principal geographic units for collection of materials including records of births, marriages, deaths, probated wills, real estate transfers and voting. Knowing the county name and its boundaries at specific points in time can be very significant. For the state of Minnesota, the county boundaries are mapped from 1778 to 2000. The ability to layer modern boundaries and names over historic ones, change the date of the map, zoom-in and zoom-out and measure distances between two locations are some of the useful features of the database.

David Rose's TEDTalk  highlights what you need to know about pitching your company to venture capitalists or angel investors. His advice is excellent for developing presentations for any audience. 

The Minnesota Supreme Court decision that settled the election between Al Franken and Norm Coleman.