The Minnesota House and Senate in a joint session this morning elect a new member to the University of Minnesota Board of Regents representing the First Congressional District in southern Minnesota. It’s prompted by the departure of Patricia Simmons, the University’s longest-serving regent, who announced her resignation in March. A legislative committee, unable to settle on one applicant, forwarded the names of Mayo cardiologist Doctor Brooks Edwards and Mary Davenport, interim president of Rochester Community and Technical College. It’s possible that others could be nominated on the House floor during today’s joint convention.