Cedar Rapids William \u201cBill\u201d Ronnenberg Sr. The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread at Meth-Wick Manor in Cedar Rapids surrounded by his family Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 pm on Friday March 7 at Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home Memorial services will be at 11:00 am on Saturday A luncheon will be served following the service at the church Iowa to William and Ardelia (Ward) Ronnenberg He spent his early years on the family farm before moving to Cedar Rapids He graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1953 Upon his return he worked for Collins Radio In November 1957 Bill met the love of his life at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids Bill retired from Rockwell Collins as Head of Air Transport Training in 1993 During his retirement Bill enjoyed riding RAGRAI spending time with family and attending his grandchildren’s activities Sofia and Luisa of Washington DC; Julie Bode and husband Dwight of Coralville and their children Quinn and Rhett of Manchester He is also survived by his sister Rose McDonald sister-in-law Barb Conner and numerous nieces and nephews Bill was preceded in death by his wife JoAnn They would also like to thank the healthcare providers and staff at Meth-Wick for their loving care given to Bill In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial donations be made to Trinity Lutheran Church Online condolences are welcome at www.cedarmemorial.com under obituaries The Gazette has been informing Iowans with in-depth local news coverage and insightful analysis for over 140 years independent journalism with a subscription today © 2025 The Gazette | All Rights Reserved Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application currently residing at Sugar Loaf Senior Living in Winona the son of Elmer and Esther (Oldendorf) Ronnenberg He went on to attend Mankato State University graduating in 1969 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration From 1969-1975 he honorably served our country as a member of the Army Reserves most recently owning and operating several Subway restaurants throughout the Twin Cities He doted on each of his nieces and nephews including many family gatherings and high school reunions He is survived by his siblings: Jeannette Colbenson and Debra (Roger) Holm; nieces and nephews: Ann (Mike) Hallum and Nathan (Kaitlin) Holm; 17 great-nieces and nephews He is preceded in death by his parents; brothers-in-law: Henry Colbenson Rick Pelowski; and special friend Rick Preuss at 1:30pm at Hoff Funeral Home in Rushford The family would like to extend their gratitude to the staff at Sugar Loaf Senior Living Memory Care for their wonderful care To view a live stream of the funeral service, please click the following link: https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/index.php?data=MTcwOTI2NzI3MjI5ODIzMiZvbmVyb29tLWFkbWluJmNvcHlfbGluaw== Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors We're here for you 24 hours a day: 1-800-275-2332 Relieve your family the burden of making difficult decisions during a time of great stress and grief you will save money and give peace of mind to your family and loved ones at a time when they will need it most call (319) 393-8000 or toll free at 1-800-275-2332 and ask to speak with a Certified Preplanning Counselor There is nothing more important to us than serving families and being there for them when they need us most Please review our services and let us know how we can help Stop in or call us at (319) 393-8000 or toll free at 1-800-275-2332 "Everything for your family." These four simple words drive everything we do at Cedar Memorial it's our goal to embrace you and your family with beauty at Mercy Medical Center surrounded by her family. Jo Ann was born on St She was the daughter of Marion Conner and Irene (Finley) Conner. From fourth grade on she lived in Millersburg where she attended school In November 1957 she met the love of her life Bill Ronnenberg soon after he separated from the Air Force. They were married on July 25 Iowa. Pastor Koberg presided. They would have celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary this July Sofia and Luisa all of Washington DC; Julie Bode and husband Dwight of Coralville and their children Quinn and Rhett all of Manchester She is also survived by her sister Barb Conner special cousin Shirley Henderson and numerous nieces and nephews Jo Ann’s faith was very important to her. She was a very active member of Trinity Lutheran Church. Through the years she taught Sunday School and was instrumental in setting up the church library. Jo Ann’s family was very important to her; she strived to be a good wife She will be remembered for her amazing cooking They would also like to thank the healthcare providers and staff at West Ridge Care Center for their tender loving care given to Jo Ann In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association in Jo Ann’s honor at https://act.alz.org/site/Donation or Trinity Lutheran Church Phone: 319-393-8000Toll Free: 800-275-2332Fax: 319-393-9047 Phone: 319-393-8004Toll Free: 877-638-2622 Copyright © 2025 Cedar Memorial. All rights reserved | Web Application by Informatics, Inc. | Pay OnlineEC2AMAZ-JURNIGD For this week’s edition of Lion Street Style, I sat down with Emily Ronnenberg, a junior studio arts major. Read below to learn more about her evolving sense of style and her business, “Looks on Books.” Francesca Bermudez (FB): What does fashion mean to you? Emily Ronnenberg (ER): Honestly, to me, fashion just means expressing myself through what I wear. ER: My style is always changing. Some days I’ll be super one way, some days I’m another way. Super ... inspired by celebrities, pop culture, art, things around me. FB: Where are your favorite places to shop? ER: Oh my god, all over. I love Dolls Kill. I love Urban Outfitters, of course. Melrose Trading Post … on Sundays is really fun. I love vintage. I like the department stores. FB: Do you have any favorite designers that you draw inspiration from? ER: Oh my gosh, yes! My favorite designer is definitely Louis Vuitton. That was my first big designer handbag when I was younger. I think Louis Vuitton is so classic and their stuff is such a great investment. If you’re ever going to buy a designer bag, buy a Louis Vuitton. It will last you forever. FB: What is the most special piece in your closet? ER: At the Melrose Trading Post, there’s this brand called [iamkoko.la] that’s pretty cool. I saw Kylie Jenner and Madison Beer both had [one of their shirts] … so I tracked it down. It says “good girls go to heaven, bad girls go backstage.” I also really love this pair of vintage Guess jeans I have that I painted flames on. ER: Yeah. The pants I’m wearing right now, I actually kind of cut. They were jeans. I definitely kind of like to revamp things. ER: I definitely love, love, love snake print. I love the boxy toe on little heeled shoes. I love little cherub stuff … the little angels and all of that. I love just the crop white tank tops. Super simple, you can wear them with everything. FB: What would you never be caught wearing? ER: I hate, hate, hate wedge sneakers. That trend just never appealed to me for some reason. FB: Can you tell me a little more about your business? ER: I do a lot of collaging and art. I get a lot of inspiration from Tumblr, Instagram, all different things like that. So I actually called [my business] “Looks on Books.” [They are] just plain notebooks, and I either do custom or pre-made. You can send me photos … or I can pre-make them. They’re just little plain notebooks inside and I use mine as a planner. You can use it for anything. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Los Angeles Loyolan (@laloyolan) Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Please disable your ad blocker, whitelist our site, or purchase a subscription and history — the weekend before Thanksgiving is always AAR-SBL the annual conference of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature experiencing a rather different sort of history than can be found in the drab rooms of sprawling convention centers I became acquainted with 97-year-old resident Fritz Cohen who fled the German town of Ronnenberg in 1938 with his parents He began making return visits to his hometown as soon as the 1950s and took part in conversations and commemoration efforts as they evolved over the decades he embarked on a weeklong trip to Ronnenberg which centered on two days of events reckoning with the town’s Jewish history and the legacy of the Holocaust Fritz interviewed in front of his childhood home The main event was the laying of twenty-two “Stolpersteine” memorial bricks before each home where Jews had fled joining three bricks which had already been laid in remembrance of Jews who were deported and murdered Artist Gunter Demnig installing Stolpersteine in front of Fritz’s childhood home Three new Stolpersteine for Fritz Cohen and his parents join that for his grandmother including a former house synagogue now being proposed as an educational space attendees ended the day opposite the Jewish cemetery where flowers were laid at the foot of a memorial column listing the fates of the Jewish population Peter Hertel (in beige coat) speaks at the Stolpersteine dedication ceremony There were many in attendance: Fritz and his daughter and I but also the relatives of others who were persecuted recorded the event and helped spread knowledge of it even further local examples of larger-known events can further conversations among professional scholars But history can do work more important than that — showing what happened where people lived and live; fulfilling a responsibility to the past as well as the present recalls how in the 1960s her history textbooks skipped from the 1920s to the Second World War and she had to find answers about those decades from the local library and books like Anne Frank’s diary the past is what surrounds us and what always could be The question is not whether we will acknowledge the past — it’s which past we will choose to acknowledge I would like to receive emails from CONTINGENT and that historians should be paid for their work Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News Your request appears similar to malicious requests sent by robots Please make sure JavaScript is enabled and then try loading this page again. If you continue to be blocked, please send an email to secruxurity@sizetedistrict.cVmwom with: Print The story is now well known was founded in 1959 by Hollywood stars Yvonne Fedderson and Sara O’Meara after they went on a Hollywood U.S.O tour in Tokyo and came across 11 orphans on the streets who had no place to go they raised money to support them and to build more orphanages in Japan Childhelp became a powerhouse charity in Hollywood supported by powerful players including Efrem Zimbalist Jr. enabling the cause to reach far beyond Hollywood As the world evolved into the 21st century While it remains a very strong Christian-based charity and today its supporters and donors represent a broad spectrum of society They are serious about their mantra: “for the love of a child.” That’s the bottom line Orange County happens to be one of the most supportive the dedicated came together at The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Coast to honor co-founders Fedderson and O’Meara at the O.C they labeled the affair “Legends of Hollywood,” as their co-founders and many of the principal donors certainly are Their major group home in Beaumont bears the name Childhelp Merv Griffin Village Joy Estrada and honorary chair Janet Ronnenberg more than 250 guests converged on Pelican Hill for an evening of dining A net amount over $375,000 will go to Childhelp programs In the generous crowd were super donors Jacquie and Michael Casey Also supporting the cause were guests of the Cleo A and major underwriters Janet and Cliff Ronnenberg Special Hollywood guests of the evening were dedicated Childhelp ambassadors Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd from ABC TV’s mega hit “Dancing With The Stars.” They joined NASCAR’s Paulie Harraka and mingled with the local crowd Spotted on the red carpet were Linda and Jay Burns Visit Childhelp.org for more information Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. B.W. Cook is editor of the Bay Window, the official publication of the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach. Opinion Subscribe for unlimited access Site Map Schumacher-Kish Funeral and Cremation Services For the fourth time in five years, a Baylor School of Education (SOE) graduate has been named Clinical Teacher of the Year for the state of Texas This year’s honoree: Alexandra Ronnenberg (BSED ’21) who received the award — which honors senior-level teacher-education students — from the Texas Directors of Field Experience (TDFE) last fall She was specifically recognized for her outstanding instruction and interaction with children during her teaching internship last spring “I feel so honored,” Ronnenberg says “If you would’ve told me four years ago I’d be a teacher I can’t imagine loving anything more.” Ronnenberg applied to Baylor with the intention of getting a business degree but that quickly changed after she spent a summer behind a desk She changed her major to education during Orientation and never looked back “I loved every second of my time in SOE,” Ronnenberg says “It was a relief to walk into class every day and know this was the right path for me I’m so grateful for my time there.” student-centered teacher,” says Darlene Bolfing (BSED ’95 “That is why her students have thrived “I’m confident Alex will have a huge and positive impact on the achievement of students,” adds Dr director of the SOE’s Office of Professional Practice “She definitely has what it takes.” Today, Ronnenberg teaches second grade at Hillcrest Professional Development School in Waco ISD the very same school where she completed her internship And while only in her first year of teaching Ronnenberg is looking forward to the years ahead “Teaching is the best career in the whole world,” she says “You really get to make a difference Fillmore County Journal "Where Fillmore County News Comes First" November 14, 2017 by Fillmore County Journal Leave a Comment at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Home in Rushford She grew up on the family farm in Whalan and was a 1949 graduate of Peterson High School Eileen was united in marriage with Norman Eggert on April 7 She and her husband farmed in the Hart area Eileen also worked for Herff Jones in Lewiston John’s Lutheran Church in Hart as well as the ladies aid there Eileen is survived by four children: Diane (Garry) Ronnenberg of Rushford Jodi Eggert and Brad Eggert; 20 great-grandchildren Minn.; two sisters: Marlys (Richard) Pianin of Irvine She was preceded in death by her husband; three sisters: Harriet Olive and Lucille; and by a son in infancy The family prefers memorials directed to St where there will also be a one hour visitation prior to the service The family would like to thank Mayo Clinic Hospice and the Good Shepherd Lutheran Home for all of the wonderful care given to their mother Filed Under: Obituaries Tagged With: Peterson, Rushford, Whalan Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" © 2025 · Website Design and Hosting by SMG Web Design of Preston, MN. Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker The Orange County Chapter of Childhelp will hold its Legends of Hollywood Childhelp Diamond Jubilee Gala on Oct Event chairs Joy Estrada and Gina Van Ocker will lead the committee in transforming the main ballroom to bring legendary Hollywood back to life It will be an evening to remember with dinner all to raise money toward stopping child abuse and neglect and to support the children under Childhelp’s care Event Sponsors include Jacquie and Michael Casey Childhelp has been working to stop abuse and neglect in Orange County and across the country 92 cents is invested into serving the children in need of the nonprofit’s program and services For more information on tickets, sponsorships, donations or underwriting, visit bidpal.net/childhelpocgala2019 or contact Linda Burns at iburnit@me.com or (949) 463-8804 Newport Beach Independent Newspaper Newport Beach Magazine Newport Beach Country Club Magazine Coastal Real Estate Guide (NB,LB, CDM) California Business Journal (partner) Laguna Beach Independent Newspaper Laguna Beach Magazine Laguna Beach City Guide On The Menu Laguna Beach Montage Magazine Monarch Beach Resort Magazine Pacific Coast Magazine (SoCal) Omni Escapes Hotel Magazine View our entire portfolio here See "My Great Big Live Wedding with David Tutera," featuring Byron couple Jennifer Jones and Rob Ronnenberg Tuesday on Lifetime (channel 28 on Charter cable in Rochester) JOYCE JEANETTE (CONNER) STONE Dripping Springs Texas Our beloved Joyce Jeanette (Conner) Stone passed away peacefully at home and into the arms of our Father on May 22 Joyce graduated from Roosevelt High School in Cedar Rapids in 1956 and went on to be the first member of her family to attend college degree in special education from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley and later completed postgraduate training at the University of Denver and the Colorado College in Colorado Springs Joyce taught special education in Colorado Springs Joyce is survived by her husband of 58 years Josef Stone and Sofia Stone; and two sisters She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother A Celebration of Life gathering for Joyce will be held at the Lake Iowa Nature Center near Millersburg A later memorial service will be held at the Driftwood Methodist Church Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the National Breast Cancer Foundation Norway is mourning the saboteur Joachim Rønneberg, who led a five-man team that daringly blew up a factory producing heavy water, depriving Nazi Germany of a key ingredient it could have used to make nuclear weapons. The prime minister, Erna Solberg, said Rønneberg, who died on Sunday at 99, was “one of our finest resistance fighters” whose “courage contributed to what has been referred to as the most successful sabotage campaign” in Norway. Rønneberg, then 23, was recruited by the Special Operations Executive, or SOE — Britain’s wartime intelligence gathering and sabotage unit — to destroy parts of the heavily guarded plant in Telemark, southern Norway, in a raid in February 1943. In a 2014 Norwegian documentary coinciding with his 95th birthday, Rønneberg said the daring operation went “like a dream” — a reference to the fact that not a single shot was fired. Parachuting on to snow-covered mountains, the group was joined by a handful of other commandos before skiing to their destination. They then penetrated the factory to blow up its production line. Read moreRønneberg said he made a last-minute decision to cut the length of his fuse from several minutes to seconds, ensuring that the explosion would take place but making it more difficult to escape. The group skied hundreds of miles across the mountains to escape and Rønneberg, wearing a British uniform, ended up in neutral Sweden. Operation Gunnerside has been recounted in books, documentaries, films and TV series, including The Heroes of Telemark (1965), starring Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris. “We must not forget what he stood for and has passed on to us,” said Eva Vinje Aurdal, the mayor of his hometown of Ålesund, 235 miles northwest of the capital, Oslo. The town ordered flags to fly at half mast on Monday and flowers were laid at the foot of a sculpture of Rønneberg, showing him in a uniform, walking up a rocky path. Inaugurated in 2014 by Rønneberg, the granite monument carries the names of all the men who took part in the second world war raid. Volume 8 - 2021 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.685877 This article is part of the Research TopicEmerging Infections and Diseases of HerpetofaunaView all 16 articles A correction has been applied to this article in: Corrigendum: Global Patterns of the Fungal Pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Support Conservation Urgency The amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a skin pathogen that can cause the emerging infectious disease chytridiomycosis in susceptible species It has been considered one of the most severe threats to amphibian biodiversity We aimed to provide an updated compilation of global Bd occurrences by host taxon and geography and with the larger global Bd dataset we reanalyzed Bd associations with environmental metrics at the world and regional scales We also compared our Bd data compilation with a recent independent assessment to provide a more comprehensive count of species and countries with Bd occurrences Bd has been detected in 1,375 of 2,525 (55%) species sampled more than doubling known species infections since 2013 Bd occurrence is known from 93 of 134 (69%) countries at this writing; this compares to known occurrences in 56 of 82 (68%) countries in 2013 Climate-niche space is highly associated with Bd detection with different climate metrics emerging as key predictors of Bd occurrence at regional scales; this warrants further assessment relative to climate-change projections The accretion of Bd occurrence reports points to the common aims of worldwide investigators to understand the conservation concerns for amphibian biodiversity in the face of potential disease threat Renewed calls for better mitigation of amphibian disease threats resonate across continents with amphibians As Bd appears to be able to infect about half of amphibian taxa and sites there is considerable room for biosecurity actions to forestall its spread using both bottom-up community-run efforts and top-down national-to-international policies Conservation safeguards for sensitive species and biodiversity refugia are continuing priorities they called for a more comprehensive approach to quantify the complexities of interacting amphibian threat factors providing continuity of and a means to archive the Global Bd Mapping project from 2007 to present zoospore loads) and user-friendly data import and export functions Owing to an abundance of new occurrence data and the potential climate-change implications for significant temperature and precipitation metrics with Bd occurrences we conduct downscaled analyses of environmental associations with Bd occurrence for North America Lastly, we compare our Bd database tallies by taxon and countries through 2019 with the 2020 results reported by Castro Monzon et al. (30) who examined the peer-reviewed literature of Bd occurrences aggregated by a web-search engine. We combine unique taxonomic and country data from Castro Monzon et al. (30) with our findings for an overarching summary of the taxonomic and geographic scope of Bd knowledge to date Bd occurrence data management was based on methods reported previously, whereas analyses conducted here were intended to complement previous assessments (28, 43) Bd occurrence database oversight including limited data quality assurance and quality control were conducted by the 2007–2019 Bd database manager (KLR) published or unpublished reports were sent directly to us (DHO We quantified the number of data sources in our 2019 database by five types: (1) peer-reviewed journal articles; (2) reports; (3) theses and dissertations; (4) online sources (newspapers online compilations); and (5) unpublished contributed datasets Data duplication was assessed for studies imported to the Bd-Maps database prior to publication that were later identified in literature searches of published papers There were multiple records for a location if Bd sampling occurred for multiple species Site-level data compilations were composite records for a common latitude/longitude coordinate, or a specific locality description (28) Site-level Bd occurrence was assigned to one of three categories: Bd detected; Bd not detected; Bd detection uncertain even if multiple species were sampled for Bd at a unique geographic coordinate or the location was sampled over multiple years the site was designated “Bd detected” if Bd had ever been detected at that location for any species in any year Site-level Bd detected and not-detected data were included in geospatial analyses described below Countries were designated as “Bd detected” based on field or museum specimens sampled or collected from the wild If the only positive sample for a country came from a captive sample the country was not designated as “Bd detected.” An analysis of continental USA watershed-scale Bd occurrence was conducted an individual watershed was designated as “Bd detected” if Bd had ever been detected in samples of any species in any year If a watershed had been sampled but Bd had never been detected there it was labeled as “Bd not detected.” For country-scale patterns a country was labeled as Bd detected or not detected based on the composite data in the database for that nation Analyses of Bd occurrence associations with environmental attributes focused on elevation and 14 climate metrics (Table 1) of world sites with Bd sampling compiled through 2019. Elevation and climate data were derived from online global geographic models (Supplementary Appendix 1) World climate data were available for 0.5-degree latitude/longitude grid cells hence Bd site-level occurrences were consolidated per grid cell for consistency with climate data (i.e. This consolidation likely reduces potential spatial autocorrelation data collection biases among sampling events and geographic- and population-level redundancy considerations of the reported source data Environmental attributes analyzed for associations with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) occurrence (detection no detection) across world sites with Bd sampling compiled through 2019 To avoid collinearity issues, we removed highly correlated predictor variables (74) we refined elevation and climate data to six parameters for analyses Three elevation metrics were determined per 0.5-degree latitude and longitude grid cell and used in analyses: mean elevation; minimum elevation; and maximum elevation 10-year mean annual precipitation was highly correlated (>0.7) with: 10-year average of lowest monthly precipitation 10-year average of highest monthly precipitation and 10-year average of average monthly precipitation only 10-year mean annual precipitation was used in analyses 10-year mean annual daily temperature was highly correlated (>0.7) with all other temperature variables (10-year lowest mean temperature only 10-year mean annual daily temperature was used in analyses The final six covariates used in the models of environmental associations with Bd occurrence were: 10-year mean annual precipitation Both presence-only and presence-and-absence (i.e., absence = no detection) Species Distribution Models (SDMs) were evaluated. Given the uncertain nature of true absences, presence-only models have been considered more robust (75) whereas presence-absence data include the broader dataset assembled for Bd and can be compared with previous models using presence-only (detections-only) data a maximum-entropy SDM was used to estimate the effect of environmental covariates on relative odds of Bd occurrence using both detection and no-detection data a logistic regression SDM was used to estimate the effect of environmental covariates on odds of Bd occurrence As we expect non-linear relationships between environmental covariates and probability of Bd occurrence threshold) and used forward selection to select the transformations that best-explained variation in Bd occurrence a subset selection procedure was used to determine the best-fit model (i.e. select the final environmental covariates) As we expected interactions among covariates (e.g. the effect of mean temperature depends on annual precipitation) we allowed for interactions among all covariates To visualize the form of the relationship between final model covariates and probability of Bd occurrence (e.g. we plotted model predictions for a range of the environmental covariate while holding all other environmental covariates at their mean To visualize the form of interactions among covariates we plotted model predictions for a range of the environmental covariate while holding the interacting covariate at the 0.25% percentile Final models were fit with the entire dataset FTVA and AUC were calculated using MIAMaxent Figure 1. World maps of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) occurrences at unique sites from data compiled for the Global Bd Mapping project through: (A) June 2014 (42); and (B) December 2019 Sites shown with Bd detections also may have sampling results with no detection; records with only country-level coordinates are not mapped Global Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) detections in amphibians as compiled through December 2019 Family-level summary of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) detections among species sampled for Bd Regional maps of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) occurrences at unique sites from data compiled for the Global Bd Mapping project: (A) North America; (B) South America; (C) Europe; (D) Africa; (E) Eastern Asia; (F) Australia; and (G) New Zealand Figure 3. United States 5th-field hydrologic unit code watershed maps of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) occurrences from data compiled for the Global Bd Mapping project through: (A) June 2014 (42); and (B) December 2019 Watersheds shown with Bd detections also may have sampling results with no detection Consolidation of site-level Bd occurrence data compiled through December 2019 into 0.5-degree grid cells resulted in 3,777 grid cells used in global SDMs analyzed with both detection and no-detection data Using only the detection data in global SDMs (presence-only models) Fraction of total variation accounted for (FTVA) by each variable in best-fit global species distribution models (SDMs) of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) occurrence from data compiled through December 2019 In the SDM derived from both detection and no-detection data at the global scale, the best-fit model included two environmental parameters and their interactions: mean temp and temp range. Probability of Bd occurrence was a function of mean temp + temp range + mean temp * temp range. Variation in probability of Bd occurrence was primarily described by mean temperature (0.969; Table 4) Relative habitat suitability of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) occurrence (probability ratio output) for each environmental attribute [(A) mean temperature; (B) annual precipitation; (C) maximum elevation; (D) temperature range] from the global presence-only best-fit species distribution model Each environmental attribute marginal-response plot is calculated while holding all other covariates at the mean Absolute probability of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) occurrence for the environmental attributes (A) mean temperature and (B) temperature range from the global presence-absence best-fit species distribution model The AUC for the global presence-only model was 0.86 indicating a model with high sensitivity and specificity The AUC for the presence-absence global model was 0.63 indicating a model with less sensitivity and specificity than the presence-only model The maps of Bd habitat suitability (presence-only model) and probability of Bd occurrence (presence-absence model) from our best-fit global models (Figure 6) were reflective of our dot distribution of Bd occurrences (Figure 1) Areas of heightened likelihoods of Bd occurrence included mesic mid-latitude and coastal influences especially when considering the presence-only model and arid zones had lowest Bd probabilities Global maps of predicted Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd): (A) habitat suitability derived from the best-fit presence-only species distribution model (log2-transformed [log base 2] probability ratio output area under curve [AUC] = 0.86); and (B) probability of Bd occurrence from the best-fit presence-absence species distribution model (AUC = 0.62) Both maps were derived using Bd data compiled through December 2019 Final best-fit model covariates of regional presence-only species distribution models (North America including regional model area under the curve (AUC) and fraction of total variation accounted for (FTVA) for each variable Figure 7. Regional predictions of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) habitat suitability from our best-fit presence-only species distribution models (log2-transformed [log base 2] probability ration output, area under curve values in Table 5) using Bd data compiled through December 2019 for: (A) North America; (B) South America; (C) Europe; (D) Africa; (E) eastern Asia; and (F) Australia Final best-fit model covariates of regional presence-absence species distribution models (North America Figure 8. Regional predictions of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) absolute probability of Bd occurrence from our best-fit presence-absence species distribution models (area under curve values in Table 6) using Bd data compiled through December 2019 for: (A) North America; (B) South America; (C) Europe; (D) Africa; (E) eastern Asia; and (F) Australia A better understanding of linkages between these pathogen occurrence patterns and amphibian disease threats are needed across continents The incidence of known species infection has increased by 13% over this relatively short time period our knowledge of Bd sampling had doubled across US watersheds and Bd detections were reported for 916 (49%) watersheds may have led to emergence of different predictor covariates at the global level sampling bias favoring species or locations in the United States may have led to skewed environmental associations during global assessments With many former data gaps filled by the time of our 2019 data snapshot this single-region bias is a lesser concern the different covariates that emerged in our regional SDMs support the unique role that different climate metrics in each area may have on emerging Bd patterns these composite surveillance efforts are an unparalleled accomplishment by a vast global community of natural-resource managers and amphibian scientists With about half of sampled amphibian species being infected and Bd occurring at <40% of sites sampled the need for effective pathogen biosecurity-and-mitigation is paramount to reduce further Bd transmission and losses of vulnerable hosts as a variety of water resources are often managed by watershed boundaries Building upon the increasing public awareness of the linkages between human and wildlife pathogens and their diseases resulting from the recent coronavirus pandemic could bolster biosecurity implementation for broader One Health aims Adaptive management and learning from such field trials is needed to advance effective mitigations with knowledge of the risks and benefits they may entail Each intervention that might safeguard species from severe infection merits study for efficacy and practicality as part of research and conservation trials while biosecurity measures could stall inadvertent spread Our newly updated dataset points to the broad human dimensions of Bd surveillance, and specifically the contributions to our current understanding of global Bd occurrences from a broad world community. Our 769 data sources show international partnerships have been established between local faunal and land-management experts and personnel from numerous universities and institutions to pursue Bd surveillance (Supplementary Table 2) Such co-production underscores the local and global interest in Bd occurrence Although published data from peer-reviewed journals dominate our compilation of data sources (86%) incentives are needed to improve this rate to ensure data quality assurance of sampling and analytical procedures Publishing could be promoted prior to graduate student defenses expanding the new portal to identify chytridiomycosis occurrences such as genetic and genomic public databases a corresponding increase in the depth of knowledge of species status and threat occurs As Bd chytridiomycosis appears to be about a half-Earth pandemic across amphibian taxa and sites there is considerable room for action from both bottom-up community-run efforts and top-down national-to-international policies having importance The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors Ethical review and approval was not required for the animal study because no live animals were used for this research DO designed research and led manuscript development. KR compiled and summarized data, drafted figures and tables, and developed Supplementary Material KC developed geographic information for analyses and drafted figures AB assisted with logistical support and manuscript development All authors provided critical feedback and contributed to the final manuscript This project was supported by the US Department of Agriculture The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest We thank the world amphibian science and management community for contributing data to this project The use of trade or firm names is for reader information and does not imply endorsement by the U.S Department of Agriculture of any product or service The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2021.685877/full#supplementary-material Supplementary Appendix 2. Comparing the current study with results from Castro Monzon et al. (30) Relative habitat suitability of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) occurrence (probability ratio output) for each environmental attribute from the global presence-only best-fit species distribution model Each environmental attribute [(A) mean temperature; (B) annual precipitation; (C) temperature range; (D) maximum elevation] marginal-response plot is calculated while holding all other covariates at the mean The frequency of observed presence (FOP) plots (black dots orange line estimating trend) show the number of sites with Bd occurrence across the range of the explanatory variable (e.g. the frequency of Bd occurrence points increases as max elevation increases The kernel estimated data density (light gray background) shows the sampling effort Absolute probability of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) occurrence for the one environmental attribute (mean temperature °C) from the global presence-absence best-fit species distribution model The frequency of observed presence (FOP) plot (black dots orange line estimating trend) shows the number of sites with Bd occurrence across the range of the variable Marginal-response plots [N = 24; 18 shown in (A) 12 shown in (B)] depicting interactions of covariates from the best-fit presence-only global species distribution model of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) occurrence using detection-only data for 0.5-degree latitude/longitude grid cells model predictions) is calculated for a range of the environmental covariate (named below plot) while holding the interacting covariate (named above plot) at the 0.25 percentile (left) Non-interacting covariates per plot are held at their mean Marginal-response plots (N = 6) depicting interactions of covariates from the best-fit presence-absence global species distribution model of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) occurrence using detection and no-detection data for 0.5-degree latitude/longitude grid cells The predicted probability of Bd occurrence is calculated for a range of the environmental covariate (named below plot) while holding the interacting covariate (named above plot) at the 0.25 percentile (Left) Summary of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) detection (+) and no-detection (–) records and sites in the Global Bd Mapping Project (Bd-Maps) database through December 2019 Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis detections by species with references and countries of detection Supplementary Table 3. 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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Deanna H. Olson, ZGVhbm5hLm9sc29uQHVzZGEuZ292 Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience running for Albert Lea City Council Ward 6 prepares before the candidate forum Thursday night gives opening comments to Mike Woitas from KATE Radio Nick Ronnenberg prepares to give opening remarks during the candidate forum for Albert Lea City Council Ward 6 who is running for county commissioner District 2 Dawn Kaasa and Steve Kluver prepare before their candidate forum Thursday while moderator Mike Woitas Freeborn County sheriff candidates Ryan Shea and Jeffrey Strom before their forum Thursday night Freeborn County sheriff candidate Dale Glazier prepares for the Freeborn County sheriff candiate forum The City Council Chambers were packed Thursday night as residents attended a candidate forum for City Council Ward 6 Freeborn County Board of Commissioners District 2 and Freeborn County sheriff before the upcoming primary elections Aug was hosted by Mike Woitas from KATE Radio and was streamed on the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce Facebook page The first candidates to speak were Ward 6 candidates Brian “BJ” Anderson Anderson described himself as a “numbers guy” and said that particular trait was important when dealing with budgets and also said he was an “agent of change” who would not be afraid to speak up for what he believed in who is involved in a number of different clubs around Albert Lea said his biggest concerns were finding tax relief support for law enforcement and neighborhood safety McColley said she had been involved with a number of boards and said she knew what it took to get things to happen being a mother of a child with special needs Woitas’ first question was on ways to cut back and not raise taxes to cover items when the city faces large monetary items needing to be addressed in the next year such as work at the wastewater treatment plant McColley said she would work to “make sure the bids are worked on” and that it was important to decide on them quickly after receiving them “so the bids don’t go up by the time we make them happen.” Ronnenberg said besides planning for the project the council should look at other areas where cutbacks or redirections could be made “A project like that is probably not going to be paid for in one year if you have to have a levy in one area in order to avoid having … an increase in tax you have to try to just look at where there are some other areas where you can either cut back or have a delayed project on some other funds so you can get a big project like that done,” he said who said taxes have gone up due to an increase in housing values “There are a lot of ways to control the costs,” he said … sometimes … it means hurrying up and getting something started quickly so that the bid doesn’t change Woitas also asked candidates what they felt the most important issue was for Albert Lea that needed addressing Anderson said taxes were the most important issue for local residents “There’s a ton of projects that are coming up and sometimes we have to prioritize the projects that we’re doing now so we have that money available next year when we need to do the big things,” he said and the council needs to be forward-looking with that kind of stuff We need to not just budget one year or one meeting at a time we need to slow down the pipeline in some areas and speed it up in others.” and said while speaking with people taxes came up most frequently “I’ve literally had people talk about getting taxed right out of their house,” he said “I think what we need to do is grow the tax base so that we can take pressure off of the career homeowners that we have.” McColley’s biggest concerns for Albert Lea were mental health and the workforce everyone wants business to come to Albert Lea,” she said “But do we have the workforce to lift them up?” which in turn could leave people vulnerable The second forum saw candidates running for county commissioner race District 2 Steve Kluver and Scott Woitas fielded a variety of questions from moderator Mike Woitas Mike Woitas asked the three candidates in attendance a hypothetical question: What would they do if they received a $1 million grant and why Scott Woitas said he would look at creating capital profile budgets for the different departments and dividing the money “so that we fund these projects for years to come.” He also said doing so would help lower taxes by planning for the future and said she would check with voters within her district as well as other commissioners in deciding where the need for the money could go so maybe if there was a project that was going to be stalled off for a few years that perhaps could be done at an earlier time,” she said “We also want to set some money aside so that you have reserves Kluver said for an entire county $1 million was not much but noted previous commissioners started a project to build a storm shelter on the south side of Albert Lea “If I had an extra million dollars then I would also want that to be a community and activity center down in that part of town so the residents can enjoy the south side for their graduations He also said the money could help with the playground as well as parking Mike Woitas asked the candidates to describe what they felt was the main role of a county commissioner as it related to governance “The role as commissioner is you are the ambassador for your constituents,” Kluver said you’ve got to be reacting to those phone calls and said the biggest role was being a communicator and representing district voters and be willing to take their questions and concerns forward when you’re at a board meeting,” she said You are representing all of the district voters Scott Woitas said the biggest role was representing people who voted them into office and ensuring tax money was spent appropriately with full dollar value Mike Woitas read a prepared statement from Tews before the forum began “I’m running to bring some rural common sense to the county board,” Tews said in the statement “I have the experience of serving as a London Township supervisor for the last 10 years.” pitched why they should be the next sheriff “I have lived in Freeborn County for the past 35 years ever since I was hired by the city of Albert Lea as a police officer in 1987,” Strom said “I spent almost the entirety of my law enforcement career with Albert Lea Police Department with the exception of two or three months in a small town out in western Minnesota “The last 26 years of my law enforcement career I’ve spent as a lieutenant with Albert Lea Police Department.” He said he had the energy and dedication needed to promote change within the sheriff’s office and because he has not worked “in the current culture” felt he had outside ideas and experiences needed to transition the office to a more “community-oriented approach who has been with the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office for 22 years said he served as a resource for everyone he has worked with “There’s many times people are in my office all throughout the day asking questions on their current cases and where to go with things,” said Shea “I answer my phone at all times of the day and all times at night to help other officers with their questions on cases.” Glazier has been in law enforcement for over 19 years and said he was running on a new vision for the county DWIs and other road things without being fully staffed we need to be there for the citizens of our community and we need to work with other departments and work well together,” he said “We need an office that respects each other Woitas also asked the candidates what they felt their greatest strengths and weaknesses were Glazier said he was a good communicator and had an ability to work with everybody “You have to have good direction and you have to work with everybody You have to work with people within your department and you have to work with other agencies.” He said he did not know what his greatest weaknesses were but admitted his children said he was stubborn and described himself as a “stand up guy” who told the truth whether or not someone wanted to hear it He admitted his biggest weakness was his tendency to take on too much and said he took calls from people at all times of the day visit the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce Facebook page The Minnesota Timberwolves (33-29) are home in Northwest Division play versus the Utah Jazz (15-45) on Sunday which includes the Tampa Bay Lightning versus the Florida Panthers Top 25 teams will take the court across two games on Monday’s college basketball schedule The college basketball schedule on Monday should provide some fireworks Our computer model has provided picks against the… Ranked teams are on Monday’s college basketball schedule for two games including the Kansas Jayhawks squaring off against… The former Navy Corpsman Combat Medic (who lost his leg when he stepped on a IED in Afghanistan) and the firefighter are committed to serving others The breast and thyroid cancer survivor and her high school sweetheart embody the saying The high school sweethearts are helping to raise Chris’ two younger siblings His mother was killed in the Charleston church massacre and his father passed away a year later He’s currently trying to pursue a career in Major League Baseball They were both married before and have children — in fact Jennifer was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at age 28 and received a lung transplant in 2017 and community were destroyed when Hurricane Irma hit in September 2017 They had to cancel their wedding and are working to rebuild their lives Shilo was deployed to Iraq after 9/11 and his Hum-V was hit by an IED He suffered extreme burns and lost his ears he’s undergone over 75 reconstructive surgeries Jamie is a former school counselor who adopted two young siblings in foster care Kibwe received a scholarship and came to the U.S Kibwe started the non-profit organization Dreamchaser which offers scholarships and mentoring for at-risk youth Jason and Flo are survivors of the 91 Harvest Festival shooting in Las Vegas he proposed while recovering in the hospital Wedding planner extraordinaire David Tutera is back on TV giving even more couples the special day of their dreams My Great Big Live Wedding with David Tutera is a new eight-part event series on Lifetime — part of the network’s Real Love Tuesdays — produced by Thinkfactory Media and the network’s next foray into live TV Tutera will be working with “eight inspirational couples whose remarkable stories of love and survival redefine real love.” viewers meet a new couple who share their emotional love story live from a different city in the US “All of America is invited to watch as these deserving couples work with world-renowned wedding and event planner David Tutera to create the weddings of their dreams each episode will culminate in the live broadcast of the wedding brought to life by Tutera,” Lifetime revealed in a press release Click through the gallery to meet some of the truly inspiring couples who are about to say ‘I do’ on live TV Sign Up a nonprofit research group based in South Burlington projects that 43 million of the nation's 111 million households will grow at least some of their own fruits That's a rise of 19 percent over last year and according to the association's annual report more than half of those home gardeners are looking to save on their grocery bills but there is also something endearing about the growing process; nurturing from seedlings to stove makes the produce irresistible smell and feel of a garden can be downright magical And no one knows that magic better than David Slay chef-owner of the acclaimed Park Ave restaurant in Stanton Under the watchful eye of full-time gardener Kathryn Agresto highly productive vegetable gardens flourish just steps away from his restaurant The chef's gardens have the blessing of the property's owner (and Slay's business partner) The land used to be the Ronnenberg family's dairy farm Raised beds corral 10 varieties of tomatoes purple pole beans and French Breakfast radishes yellow-skinned lemon cucumbers and purple-skinned (Purple Haze) carrots Different types of basil mound next to one another Deeply ridged Romanesco summer squashes are plentiful; they look like fluted zucchini and when cut into crosswise slices And plump little Fairy Tale eggplants weigh down vines their exteriors striated in splashy streaks of purple and white tomatoes or herbs for the restaurant in five or six months," Slay says "And about 40 percent of my other vegetables come from the garden and a similar salad often costs $18 at other restaurants and those tomatoes (in the $18 salads) are coming cold-packed in a cardboard box," he says adding that he has to factor in the salaries of his large staff These are the best tomatoes I have tasted in my 20 years in California," he says explaining that his roots are in the Midwest where his father was also a chef-restaurateur "I like to let the tomatoes sit a day in the shade (after they are harvested) Slay likes to show off the natural sweetness of his tomatoes explaining that he doesn't want to overdress them He likes to serve them with the Little Gem (small romaine) lettuce and a wedge of Stilton cheese drizzled with a little warm tomato vinaigrette Or he fries generous slices of panko-crusted green tomatoes and serves them with goat cheese and pan-seared scallops It's not just Park Ave employees who frequent the garden "About half of the restaurant's diners visit the garden — it's like Disneyland for them and the servers love to show it off," says gardener Agresto and you can smell the tomatoes and the basil "It is so much fun to see their faces when they see the garden." Special to the Indy by OCSocialScene.com The Orange County Chapter of Childhelp and Eurocar presented the 5th Annual Eurocar Charitable Fundraiser an Evening of Cars and Local Stars at the Eurocar Showroom in Costa Mesa helping the organization finish out 2012 on a bright note are committed to Childhelp’s goal of making the lives of abused and neglected children better Vice President of The Orange County Chapter of Childhelp was on hand to answer questions about Childhelp along with Patti Edwards who is on the Childhelp California State Board It was a fun evening of admiring the many spectacular cars along with great music and wonderful drinks and appetizers as well as a Virtual GT sponsored race car driving demo with professional racers each of the 400 guests brought a gift for a child The event raised 600 gifts and store gift cards for the children in Childhelp’s care They were distributed to the local group homes in Costa Mesa and the Village in Beaumont It made for a very merry Christmas for the Childhelp children Childhelp has brought the light of hope and healing into the lives of countless children for over 50 years CEO and Co-Founder Sara O’Meara and President and Co-Founder Yvonne Fedderson started Childhelp in 1959 establishing it as a leading national non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of child abuse Childhelp’s programs and services include residential treatment services Childhelp also created the Childhelp National Day of Hope held each April during National Child Abuse Prevention Month that mobilizes people across America to join the fight against child abuse Your browser is too old. To use this website, please use Chrome or Firefox. passed away peacefully at Owen Sound Hospital on Friday May 6 Pat was the proud owner of Pat Boyd Backhoeing for over 30 years he enjoyed raising beef cattle on the farm near Hepworth tinker in his shop and loved spending time with his family especially his grandchildren Beloved wife of Marie (Ronnenberg) Boyd whom he married in 1968 Don Boyd (Jenn Lavers) and Cindy Boyd (Joey Belanger) sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law Shirley Boyd Fondly remembered by many nieces and nephews Predeceased by his parents John and Nancy (Melville) Boyd brothers-in-law and sisters-in law Ron Yundt Relatives and friends were invited to share their memories at the Brenneman Funeral Home memorial donations to a charity of one’s choice appreciated by the family www.brennemanfuneralhome.ca 185 Wallace Ave., Listowel, ON N4W 1K8. © All materials copyright Midwestern Newspapers, 2006-2025. Photographs and text found here may not be used for any purpose whatsoever without express permission. If you need something, please ask. Your feedback is welcome. Please direct comments, questions or suggestions to mwilson@midwesternnewspapers.com CloseCreate an account or log in to save stories We have added it to a list of your favorite stories Rushford officials are still trying to restore basic services The water is undrinkable -- they're not sure if it's entirely free of flood contaminants The state Health Department says people shouldn't even use it to wash says he doesn't think people outside the flood area realize the extent of the damage.MPR photo/Mark SteilThe sewer plant's not working -- it was swamped in the flood The bacterial bugs that break down the waste need time to rebuild their numbers All the equipment in the telephone office downtown was destroyed Only parts of town have electrical service MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all All of this means mostly sleepless nights for Rushford City Administrator Windy Block "I know this is bad," says Block "We know we're going to need help and I don't think the world knows yet how bad this is." Much of the flood-deposited mud has been cleaned off Rushford streets and sidewalks Someone shoveled a path down this sidewalk.MPR photo/Mark SteilBlock says the flood destroyed 176 homes and damaged another 70 so badly they may be unfixable The town suffered an estimated $38 million in damages That's a substantial loss in a community of 1,800 people Most of the downtown was flooded with several feet of water Block says what happens to those businesses will affect the town's recovery "I think there's like 93 structures down there I'm guessing most of them are not salvageable "We're going to lose some of those and what they choose to do is a bigger worry about keeping the vitality of the community into the future." The lost businesses are already having an impact Christine Ronnenberg is standing outside a downtown Rushford store "This is Terry Litscher's meat processing plant," says Ronnenberg and we're shut down for a while." "I don't think the world knows yet how bad this is." The flood cut off electrical service to the store's refrigeration units causing all the meat in the building to spoil She had a second position in town to fall back on at the liquor store; but the high water also ended that job An important part of that assistance may come from the government FEMA teams fanned out to begin surveying flood damage in the area Wednesday a crucial step in deciding whether the state will earn a federal disaster declaration Eide said she was confident flood damages would surpass the $6 million mark required for a federal disaster declaration Assuming President Bush declares a flood disaster for the area sometime in the future the FEMA assessment will help determine where the federal dollars go Hauling flood-ruined goods away in Rushford.MPR photo/Mark SteilAt a meeting in Rochester on Wednesday FEMA's Minnesota spokeswoman Melynda Petrie said the money should start flowing as soon as the declaration is made "If it is declared for individual assistance -- again that's the homeowners the residents -- then that would cover temporary housing no one knows when the disaster declaration will be made and when the federal help will arrive Rushford City Administrator Windy Block says he's hopeful everyone sort of thinks somebody should be there to help a little bit," says Block "And the question is -- will they be there Block says officials in Rushford and all the other flooded towns in southeast Minnesota need a break He describes the days since the flood as basically dealing with problem after problem after problem When Fiji was hit by Cyclone Winston in 2015 it caused F$2 billion worth of loss and damage The Fiji government’s official post-disaster assessment highlighted many adverse impacts Nearly 40,000 people required immediate assistance following the cyclone 495 schools and 88 health clinics and medical facilities damaged or destroyed The cyclone destroyed crops and food gardens on a large scale this single disaster compromised the livelihoods of nearly 540,400 people in Fiji – some 62 percent of the population So what happens when there are repeated extreme weather events and governments and communities must rebuild Vanuatu faced two cyclones in just one week – Tropical Cyclones Judy and Kevin – followed by a 6.5 magnitude earthquake The Melanesian nation was hit again in October by Cyclone Lola How many times must ni-Vanuatu bounce back from these disasters before wealthy industrialised nations will accept responsibility for reducing the green house gas emissions that amplify the intensity of these cyclones The term “loss and damage” refers to a range of destruction and permanent loss associated with climate change impacts. These can include “extreme weather events” such as tropical cyclones or flooding events or “slow onset events” that may be harder to spot immediately but still threaten ecology and livelihoods (slow onset changes can include sea level rise over many years coastal erosion or ocean acidification that damages reefs and fisheries) Pacific governments have worked with the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) to campaign for action on loss and damage at the annual global climate negotiations – the Conference of the Parties (COP) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Vanuatu’s Ralph Regenvanu has been appointed as one of eight Pacific Islands Forum Climate Champions Regenvanu is lead ministerial negotiator on Loss and Damage at the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) Loss and Damage is not just a Pacific problem,” he said “What we are experiencing now and have faced for many years we see the rest of the world beginning to feel.” “We empathise deeply with the people of Canada as their entire nation burns with wildfire the United States and Asia as crippling heat-waves kill elderly and the poor We empathise with the people of Italy and Korea as flooding has destroyed homes and taken lives and I hope that the world has sufficient collective courage to turn this canoe around.” there are tentative steps forward on Loss and Damage – though still a long way to go At the opening ceremony, the host nation UAE agreed to put a new Loss and Damage Fund into operation. The coalition of governments and civil society who had fought for the Fund welcomed the decision: “After 30 years of effort from developing countries on the frontline of climate impacts and from civil society a Loss and Damage Fund has been agreed in the UNFCCC The Loss and Damage Fund – whilst not perfect – is a critical step towards climate justice and will play a vital role in supporting developing countries and communities on the front line of climate impacts.” in the face of resistance from wealthy governments and fossil fuel corporations minimising and addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change including extreme weather events and slow onset events.” faced with the refusal of rich industrialised countries to commit resources to a new fund the 2015 Agreement noted that “it does not involve or provide a basis for any liability or compensation.” other Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries have been at the forefront of a campaign to overturn this decision recognising that funds to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change are not enough last year’s COP27 in Egypt decided to establish a new Loss and Damage Fund there have been fierce negotiations at a Transitional Committee responsible for designing the new financial mechanism After a deadlock at the 4th Transitional Committee meeting in October climate finance advisor Liane Schalatek of the Heinrich Böll Foundation explained: “The meeting tanked because rich countries drew up too many red lines and displayed little political will for compromise Instead they played hard ball with the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable countries and communities already suffering catastrophic losses and damages.” A further emergency meeting in November forged an uneasy compromise Australia and other developed countries had fought within the Transitional Committee for the new fund to be housed at the US-dominated World Bank The carefully crafted compromise (which the United States still refused to endorse!) agreed the World Bank would temporarily house the new Fund but with a series of conditions and reviews in 2024 that would open the way for the creation of an independent body Espen Ronnenberg is a climate advisor at the Pacific Community (SPC) and a long-time COP negotiator for Forum island countries “we were not entirely in favour of the World Bank however we were able to get a number of safeguards into the Transitional Committee decision we think that having the Fund under the World Bank will be fine.” “We have what have been described by our negotiators as three exit ramps,” he said “The first step will be for the World Bank to confirm that they can accommodate the conditions that have been set down Then the Board of the Fund will be meeting and will have the opportunity to analyse and consider whether the conditions have been met by the World Bank when the World Bank will be operating the Fund and there will be a review – which is the third exit ramp If the review finds that the World Bank has not met the conditions that have been put down then we have to look for another host for the Fund.” For Lavetanalagi Seru of the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN) it’s “one of the most difficult decisions we have to make at the COP we already made our decision from our strategy meeting to move on rather than allow the renegotiation of the text because we already have some of those safeguards in place.” governments agreed to break protocol and operationalise the new Fund clearing the way for world leaders to make ambitious pledges of support fearful they would have to battle over the next two weeks to protect the Fund all over again Tuvalu’s former Climate Change Ambassador Ian Fry is the inaugural United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change I wrote a letter as Special Rapporteur to the President of COP28 above the Loss and Damage Fund,” Fry said “I had grave reservations about where the Fund was heading There is no clear recognition of human rights as an underlying objective of the Fund We also had reservations about the World Bank being the institution administering the fund We’ve had many years of experience dealing with the World Bank and there was concern that the money would not go to the most vulnerable.” Forum island states will continue to negotiate in coming days to improve its operation they argue that Loss and Damage funding should be delivered as grants and not loans given loans will exacerbate the debt crisis already facing many climate vulnerable countries and SIDS would have to repay loans for damage they didn’t create in the first place Negotiators will also work to ensure that the new Fund makes decisions based on a human rights approach as well opening up the Fund’s board with gender-balance and seats for indigenous peoples there will be a call for OECD industrialised nations to move beyond making voluntary pledges to the Fund It’s estimated that any global loss and damage funding will require US$400 billion a year to meet the needs of developing countries While this seems an astronomical sum for ordinary people it’s a long way short of the amount spent on armaments and warfare every year – and initial pledges at COP28 are nowhere near enough As the new Loss and Damage Fund enters into operation this week developed nations have started to announce pledges of support pledges of Loss and Damage funding have come from Italy (€100 million); Germany (US$100 million); France (up to €100 million); the United Kingdom (£40 million); and European Union (€25 million) The conference host United Arab Emirates (UAE) has also agreed to contribute US$100 million (It seems like a generous contribution until you remember that the oil-rich nation will spend that amount on fossil fuel production every three days between now and the end of this decade!) Two of the world’s economic powerhouses – and largest greenhouse gas emitters – have pledged paltry amounts which claims to be a key development partner to Pacific Island states The United States committed just US$17.5 million for developing countries around the world Given the size of the US economy and the 134 developing countries in the G77 group Washington’s pledge looks like the small change found down the back of the couch the largest Pacific Islands Forum member Australia has yet to publicly announce its pledges for the Loss and Damage Fund the Green Climate Fund and the new Pacific Resilience Fund – watch this space The challenge for Australia is that its international climate finance is drawn from the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget, rather than new and innovative sources of finance (such as levies on shipping or financial transactions or the transfer of fossil fuel subsidies towards more appropriate use) According to Australia’s 2023-4 budget papers the Albanese government is planning to stabilise – but not increase – its ODA budget from 2026 until 2036 So where will the money come from to meet the steadily rising targets for climate finance which the Paris Agreement says must ramp up after 2025 How can Australia hope to host COP31 in 2026 with support from Pacific Island States if it hasn’t the will to develop new and additional sources of climate finance diplomats from Small Island Developing States are at the forefront of addressing this dilemma Pacific states like Solomon Islands and Marshall Islands are working to forge an agreement at the international Maritime Organisation to dramatically cut shipping industry pollution by introducing a $100 per tonne levy on maritime emissions Revenues from this levy could go towards Loss and Damage funding as well as investing in low-carbon shipping technologies For United Nations Special Rapporteur Ian Fry funding for the Loss and Damage mechanism needs more structured commitments where is the money going to come from?” Fry said “If we look at the impacts of climate change already we’re talking in terms of billions of dollars The Fund is never going to work if it only has to rely on pledges But I seriously think it’s not going to be adequate for the needs of the most vulnerable the global climate talks always take one step forward then three steps sideways The failure of OECD countries to meet the 2020 target for climate finance agreed in the Paris Agreement still rankles amongst many developing nations As financial and diplomatic resources are poured into the wars in Ukraine and Palestine when will wealthy countries and corporations allocate the same resources towards the greatest security challenge facing island communities After the announcement on the Loss and Damage Fund former Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama tweeted: “While I’ll never celebrate irreversible climate impacts But ‘voluntary’ contributions won’t cut it Frontline nations like Fiji didn’t choose this battle and the worst emitters shouldn’t choose if they pay for the damage they’ve caused.” For Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna “Our priority in the Pacific is the 1.5°C threshold and unfortunately the big emitters are not listening to the science Civil society and church groups also argue that funding for loss and damage is no substitute for urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions They want countries like Australia to ban the opening of new oil gas and coal projects that will only worsen emissions As the Pacific Conference of Churches proclaimed after its 12th General Assembly held in Noumea in November: “We urge COP28 to hear the cry of our people land and ocean and to remember that without maintaining the 1.5-degree target all climate adaptation and loss and damage funding is blood money.” who returns to Munich to take on a new role as head reinsurance controlling for Munich Re Group Munich Re has appointed Scott Hawkins as managing director Australasia, effective from 1 April 2021 he will be responsible for overseeing the leadership and strategic steering of Munich Re’s businesses in Australia and New Zealand as well as being principal officer of Munich Holdings Australasia Hawkins joined Munich Re in Australia in 2005 and has been its head of non-life for the past six years. He brings more than 25 years of experience in non-life insurance and reinsurance business and possesses deep technical expertise and understanding of the challenges and opportunities of the insurance industry in Australia and internationally Subscribe to the finews.asia WhatsApp channel and receive regular updates with our news and background stories directly to your mobile phone + More on this topic + More on this topic Munich Re has appointed Scott Hawkins (pictured) as managing director for Australasia Asia Pacific – Greater China and Australia/New Zealand who will return to Germany to take on a role as head of reinsurance controlling for the Munich Re Group With over 25 years of experience in general insurance and reinsurance Hawkins has a deep technical expertise and understanding of the challenges and opportunities of the insurance industry in Australia and internationally He joined the global reinsurer’s Australian arm in 2005 and has served as head of non-life for the past six years Hawkins holds a Master of Business (Finance) and a Master of Business (Financial Services) from the University of Technology He is also a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors “We’re pleased to appoint Scott Hawkins as our managing director for Australasia,” said Farny “Scott has a proven track record in strategically managing significant reinsurance transactions and in developing innovative risk solutions I’m convinced his deep technical expertise and strong client focus will position him well to lead our Australasia business into the next stage of its development “I would also like to thank Ralph Ronnenberg for his strong contribution to successfully developing the business over the past five years.”