Wal-Mart won preliminary approval in its seven-year bid to build a Supercenter in northwest Gainesville on Thursday night.

During a Board of Regents committee meeting on Thursday, the University’s One Stop Student Services boasted its place as a leader in the nation’s effort to reintegrate soldiers by providing higher education.

Nationally, it’s a process characterized by confusion.

Carin Anderson , senior veterans coordinator for One Stop, said it’s her office’s goal to help veterans get their benefits as easily as possible. Data from 2009 shows the University had 777 veterans certified to receive benefits across all its campuses. Of those, 597 attend the Twin Cities campus.

“All veterans, whether they have seen combat or not, face a major transition when reintegrating from military to civilian and college life,” Anderson said.

After serving in Iraq from 2003 to 2004 with the Wisconsin National Guard, Anderson recalled struggling with the transition from soldier to civilian life. She said tasks like writing papers were difficult because the detailed instructions of the military don’t make the transition into the classroom.

This financial support is needed as many Meals On Wheels programs across the country are struggling to survive during this economic downturn. The “Wal-Mart Foundation Impact Grant” is intended to help Lonoke County Council on Aging continue to meet the long-term equipment needs of providing meals to our seniors in Lonoke County.

In 2009, many Meals On Wheels programs were forced to change or reduce their services. The Wal-Mart Foundation stepped in to help restore those meals. This year, the Wal-Mart Foundation is spending more than $2 million nationwide to ensure Meals On Wheels programs have the equipment they need to maintain their operations.

UNM is the only public four year institution in the state to receive it; Navajo Technical College in Crownpoint, NM, received the award last year.

“UNM is the only institutional recipient designated by Carnegie as a research university, very high research activity,” said Gary Smith, director of UNM Office of Support for Effective Teaching and professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Smith will lead the project.

UNM was selected as one of only 30 minority-serving institutions — Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Predominantly black institutions and tribal colleges and universities—through a highly competitive application process to strengthen efforts to support first-generation students.

The Walmart at 1231 Folly Road on James Island is the last non-superstore in the Charleston area, but that will change starting this summer.

The store tentatively plans to start renovations July 11 that will allow it to begin selling a full line of groceries, much like recently completed renovations to the Walmart at Wando Crossing in Mount Pleasant, where a complete food line and deli were added across the back of the store without expanding the store’s footprint. The James Island store will not be physically expanded either.

The latest Walmart in Ontario County will open at 7 a.m. Wednesday, March 17 at 441 Commerce Drive, off Route 96 just past the Thruway exit and opposite the Hampton Inn.

Ed Narrod, manager of the 99,000-square-foot store, said the biggest surprise for shoppers will be the variety of food, produce, meat and beer available: “They’re gonna save — for themselves and their families.”

Fond du Lac County 4-H and Boys & Girls Club have received a $4,000 grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation to launch Youth Voice: Youth Choice.

The program created by the National 4-H Council encourages young people to develop and maintain healthy, active lifestyles. The program tackles wellness issues such as nutrition and physical fitness, according to a 4-H press release.

The foundation is focused on funding community programs in health and environmental sustainability, and especially those that address hunger, homelessness, education, job training and other basic needs.

Wasilla seniors receive Walmart grant

Wasilla Area Seniors announced Monday it had received a $15,000 grant from Walmart Foundation to help the group’s Meals on Wheels program buy a vehicle to continue serving home-bound seniors in the Wasilla area.

According to a statement from Wasilla Area Seniors, many Meals on Wheels programs were forced to change or reduce their services last year. The Walmart Foundation gave grants that helped restore some of those meals and this year is spending $2 million around the nation to assist Meals on Wheels programs by providing funding for equipment.

Great news!  The next “Walmart Foundation $5 Day” at the Orlando Science Center will be Sunday, March 14. Thanks to the generous support of the Walmart Foundation, all guests to the Orlando Science Center on that day will enjoy exhibits, films and live programs for the significantly discounted price of $5. General admission fees are usually $17 for adults and $12 for kids (ages 3-11).

“These are the types of community programs we are proud to sponsor for our Central Florida neighbors,” said Steven Daniel, Walmart Market Manager for Central Florida, in a statement.