UMD News

Director of Public Relations:
Susan Beasy Latto, slatto@d.umn.edu
315 Darland Administration Bldg.
1049 University Drive
Duluth, MN 55812
(218) 726-8830 Cell: (218) 348-5688
Fax: (218) 726-7413

October 24, 2006

Contact:
Susan Beasy Latto, Director, UMD Public Relations, (218) 726-8830, slatto@d.umn.edu
Jim Beauregard, Chief of Police, Morris Police Department, (320) 589-1155, mpd@co.stevens.mn.us
DVD is available at: http://www.ci.morris.mn.us/pd/

A DVD on Methamphetamine Use,

"Meth in the Heartland: A Community's Response"

Provides Insights for Communities Struggling With Meth

As a final project for their graduate school program, four UMD students have produced an educational DVD on the subject of methamphetamine use in small town America. The DVD, titled "Meth in the Heartland: A Community's Response" has received wide-ranging interest from community groups, parent organizations, prisons, treatment centers and others confronted with the growing problems of meth use.

The 47-minute video was produced by four UMD Masters of Education students Jim Beauregard, Jill Beauregard, Casey Wagner and Mike Cihak. The students are part of UMD Master of Education hybrid on-line program/Morris Cohort.

The video is designed to serve as a practical tool for communities of all sizes to mobilize their resources to overcome the meth problem. The DVD consists of interviews with people who deal with or are impacted by meth use in their every day lives. These persons include doctors, social workers, politicians, meth users, prisoners and victims.

Jim Beauregard, who is the Chief of Police in Morris, Minnesota, and part of the UMD team that produced the DVD, uses the video extensively in his profession. He has given over 50 presentations on meth to public health agencies, churches and businesses in Western Minnesota.

A free, streaming video of the DVD along with an information survey is available for the general public on the Morris Police Department website, listed above. The project has generated much public interest and many copies of the DVD have been ordered.

The DVD was aired in September by Pioneer Television of Appleton, Minnesota, reaching over 200,000 homes in North Dakota, South Dakota and Western Minnesota.

The UMD Masters of Education hybrid on-line program is based on learning in an online community. The two-year program is tailored specifically for professionals who wish to earn a graduate degree while maintaining full–time employment.