[MNASIS-L] Freedom of Information Day & Sunshine Week 2010

[Janet Arth]

~~Freedom of Information Day & Award Ceremony~~

Tuesday, March 16, 2010
12:00 Noon – 1:00 p.m.
Minneapolis Central Library
300 Nicollet Mall  -  Pohlad Auditorium -  2nd floor

Keynote speaker
Chief Justice Eric J. Magnuson

Presentation of the 2010 John R. Finnegan
Freedom of Information Award to
   Reed Anfinson -- Publisher and Owner Swift County Monitor-News

The award will be presented by John R. Finnegan, Sr.

Sponsored by the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information
   The event is free and open to the public
    Light refreshments will be served

Additional information:  mtreacy at onvoymail.com or 612 781 4234

~~ Sunshine Week: Freedom of Information Day & Award Ceremony ~~

Profile of Chief Justice Eric J. Magnuson

In his keynote remarks at Freedom of Information Day 2010 Chief Justice 
Eric J. Magnuson will explore the open approach used in the contentious 
Senate recount and its impact on the public perception of the outcome. 
He will also address the Court’s decision to initiate a new test of 
cameras in the court in Minnesota.

Prior to his June 2008 appointment by Governor Pawlenty, Chief Justice 
Magnuson was an attorney and shareholder in the business litigation 
department at the Briggs and Morgan Law Firm in Minneapolis.  In that 
position he practiced almost exclusively in state and federal appellate 
courts where he worked in consultation with trial attorneys on matters 
in anticipation of appeal.  Previously he was an attorney and partner 
with the Rider Bennett law firm in Minneapolis from 1977.  In that 
position he chaired the appellate group practice and was managing 
partner for ten years.

Chief Justice Magnuson has written and edited a number of federal and 
state appellate treatises.  He is co-author of the 2007 edition of West 
Publishing’s Minnesota Practice: Appellate Rules Annotated, co-editor 
and chapter author for the fourth edition of Eighth Circuit Appellate 
Practice Manual, and co-editor of Matthew Bender’s The Art of Advocacy: 
Appeals

Chief Justice Magnuson received a BA in history from the University of 
Minnesota.   He graduated cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law.


Profile of Reed Anfinson

Anfinson is a long-term journalist and advocate for access to government 
information at the local, state and national levels.  He has testified 
frequently before both the Minnesota Legislature and the U.S. Congress 
on Freedom of Information and First Amendment issues.

Since 1994 he has co-chaired the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s 
legislative committee and currently chairs the National Newspaper 
Association Government Relations Committee. In 2012 Anfinson becomes 
President of the National Newspaper Association.

For the past 30 years Anfinson has been associated with the Swift County 
Monitor-News as a reporter, managing editor, and now publisher and 
owner.  In this role he has published frequent editorials and articles 
on open government, including articles on the state’s Data Practices 
Act, open meeting regulations and discussions of the impact of video and 
digital technology on public access.


John R. Finnegan Freedom of Information Award

The Freedom of Information Award, established by the Minnesota Coalition 
on Government Information in 1989, is named for John R. Finnegan, Sr., 
retired senior vice president and assistant publisher of the St. Paul 
Pioneer Press. Finnegan is founder and stalwart of the Minnesota Joint 
Media Committee which has consistently supported open records, open 
meetings and other First Amendment-related causes in the Legislature and 
other public arenas in Minnesota.