2011 Missouri River Flood
The 2011 Missouri River floods was a flooding event on the Missouri River in the United States. The flooding was triggered by record snowfall in Rocky Mountains of Montana and Wyoming along with near-record spring rainfall in central and eastern Montana.


2011 Missouri River Flood
All six major dams along the Missouri River released record amounts of water to prevent overflow which led to flooding threatening several towns and cities along the river from Montana to Missouri; in particular Bismarck, North Dakota; Pierre, South Dakota; Dakota Dunes, South Dakota; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Sioux City, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; Council Bluffs, Iowa; Saint Joseph, Missouri; Kansas City, Missouri; Jefferson City, Missouri, and St. Louis, Missouri. Many smaller towns were also at risk, suffering the same fate as the larger cities if not worse.


2011 Missouri River Flood
According to the National Weather Service, in the second half of the month of May 2011, almost a year's worth of rain fell over the upper Missouri River basin. Extremely heavy rainfall in conjunction with an estimated 212 percent of normal snowpack in the Rocky Mountains contributed to this flooding event. {1}


2011 Missouri River Flood, Background
The flood, rather than being a short term event, was anticipated to last from June through August 2011 as a result of attempts by the Corps of Engineers to regulate the release of water through 850 miles (1,370 km) of open river from Garrison Dam in North Dakota to the confluence with the Mississippi River at St. Louis. The Garrison Dam began releasing a record of 152,000 cubic feet (4,300 m3) of water per second on June 1, 2011—more than twice the previous record release in 1997. The Corps was criticized for not releasing the water earlier. However the Corps defended its practice noting that it did not foresee a cooler than normal spring which delayed the mountain snowmelt and the record sustained torrential spring rains in Wyoming and Montana.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Background
In attempting to control the flood water release in since all the reservoirs were 100 percent or more of capacity (with the exception of the Fort Randall Dam), the Corps of Engineers doubled the record release of water in the river's five North and South Dakota dams. Officials said that problems downstream could have been alleviated by river control work and new levee construction that came about in the wake of the Great Flood of 1993. However, they were unsure whether the levees could sustain being waterlogged in a long-term flood.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Background
A study by Utah State University  examined the buildup of water storage leading to the 2011 Missouri River flooding  observed by  satellites indicated that precipitation over the MRB undergoes a profound modulation during the transition points of the Pacific quasi-decadal oscillation and associated teleconnections. The results infer a prominent teleconnection forcing in driving the wet/dry spells in the MRB, and this connection implies persistence of dry conditions for the next 2 to 3 years, which is linked to the 2012-15 Midwestern drought.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Release of water by dam
In May 2011, dams above Gavins Point began stepping up the release of water (in cubic feet/second), exceeding all previous nationwide records for release.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Missouri River bridge closings
The flood forced the closing of several Missouri River traffic bridges from just above Gavins Point to northern Missouri. The closings made it impossible to cross the river for more than 100 miles (160 km) between Sioux City and Omaha and another 100 miles (160 km) between Plattsmouth, Nebraska (just south of Omaha) at Mile Marker 591 and St. Joseph, Missouri, at Mile Marker 450. Authorities were also considering closing the Plattsmouth Bridge.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Missouri River bridge closings
During the flood, every bridge between Omaha and Kansas City was either closed entirely, had exit ramps blocked or had other work at some point.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Montana
On May 22, 2011, flooding of the Little Bighorn River and nearby tributaries inundated Crow Agency and shut down Interstate 90 between Hardin and the Wyoming state line. May 26 flooding on Musselshell River inundated portions of Roundup. Waters from the Shields River entering the Yellowstone River created flooding that closed a portion of Interstate 90 from Livingston to Springdale. Flooding on Pryor Creek, another tributary of the Yellowstone River prompted closing of Pompeys Pillar National Monument.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, North Dakota
On May 10 President Barack Obama declared much of North Dakota a disaster area over flooding which began on February 14 and had been continuing.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, North Dakota
Some of the most dramatic flooding in North Dakota was on Souris River which comes close to the Missouri but is not a tributary as it flows instead north into the Assiniboine River in Canada, which also experienced prior flooding. 10,000 people in Minot were evacuated on June 1. On June 20 after they returned, officials announced that a new crest from new heavy rains would result in the river being a foot higher than the first crest. On June 21, 12,000 people, a quarter of the town's population, were ordered to evacuate after Lake Darling Dam had to step up its release of water. Amtrak suspended service on the Empire Builder through Minnesota, North Dakota and eastern Montana.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, South Dakota
On June 1, nearly 3,000 people in Pierre and Fort Pierre were evacuated.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, South Dakota
On June 3, South Dakota governor Dennis Daugaard urged residents in the Country Club section of Dakota Dunes (which is below Gavins Point Dam) to evacuate. He noted that it might be two months before they could return.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, South Dakota
On June 21, South Dakota reported its first flood fatalities when two women drowned in Lyman County, South Dakota, after they drove their car down a washed out road. The fatalities were unrelated to flooding and increased releases on the Missouri River, but rather related to flash flooding from heavy rains


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, South Dakota
On the same day Pierre, South Dakota, officials estimated costs from the flood would be $13.2 million for that community.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, South Dakota
On June 30, the spillway at Big Bend Dam was temporarily closed for inspections.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Iowa
On June 10, the WinnaVegas Casino, which is owned by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, near Sloan, was inaccessible. Shortly after, a yellow amphibious vehicle known locally as "the Duck" was used to provide transportation from Sloan across the floodwaters to the casino. The Duck now makes annual appearances as a float in Winnebago High School's homecoming parade.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Iowa
On June 4, near River Mile 575 (near Hamburg), the main levee suffered a partial collapse. One June 5, it suffered a second partial collapse. On June 7, it suffered a third partial collapse. Finally, on June 13, it suffered a total collapse and had a 300 feet (91 m) wide gap. After the first partial collapse, the Corps of Engineers initiated an emergency contract to raise the levee immediately surrounding the town in order to protect it from an estimated 10 feet (3.0 m) of flood water.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Iowa
On June 22, a mandatory evacuation of all residents in Mills County between Interstate 29 and the Missouri River was declared.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Iowa
On June 25, a levee breach north of Council Bluffs flooded an area of Harrison County which could impact U.S. Route 30 connecting Blair, Nebraska and Missouri Valley, Iowa. DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge was also impacted by the break in the levee.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Iowa
On June 27, officials said water "could begin slopping" over the emergency levee at Hamburg on its west side. The Nishnabotna River on its east side was reported to be two feet above flood stage.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Iowa
On July 1, the main levee near Percival (16 miles north of Hamburg) breached in the early morning hours adding to the flooded conditions from the Hamburg breach. The breach occurred despite a month-long battle by the local residents.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Iowa
On July 1, the privately owned Vanmann #30 levee at Mile Marker 637 to 637.5 on the Iowa side, about 10 river miles south of the reactor, was blown up by the local levee authority. The levee destruction was done to alleviate flooding in a bend of the river where water was pooling on cropland and creating an enormous water pool directly opposite the reactor. Authorities initially reported a 3-to-4-inch (76 to 102 mm) rise in the river after the levee was blown.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Iowa
Both the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources said they did not regulate the levee. Flooding on the Iowa side had been a source of considerable concern after a June 25 levee breach upstream of the reactor near Missouri Valley, Iowa, prompted evacuations of 18 homes, temporary closing of the Blair Bridge (while flood walls were built to protect the Iowa approach) and closing of DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge on the DeSoto Bend.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Iowa
They had raised the levee height in anticipation of the flood but after the upstream breach they had sought permission to lower it so that water could flow back into the river. When both Iowa and the Corps said they did not have authority over it the levee board blew it up at approximately 10 a.m. on July 1. Pottawattamie County, Iowa, officials initially said they were notified only minutes prior to the levee being blown up, but those overseeing the levee had notified Harrison County, Iowa, officials earlier.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Iowa
On July 1, the Corps reported that runoff on the river for June was the largest of any month on the river below Sioux City since record keeping began in 1898. June runoff was 13,800,000 acre-feet (17.0 km3), beating the April 1952 record of 13,100,000 acre-feet (16.2 km3). The third highest record was 10,500,000 acre-feet (13.0 km3) which was set in May 2011. The combined runoff for May and June was 24,300,000 acre-feet (30.0 km3). The normal for the entire year is 24,800,000 acre-feet (30.6 km3).


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Iowa
On July 11, officials at Sioux Gateway Airport said they experiencing higher ticket sales. They speculated that the difficulty of driving from Sioux City and Omaha had spurred the increase.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Iowa
As flood waters started to recede by late August, flood damage to Interstate highways 29 and 680 north of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was reported as extensive. Discounting the interstate system flood damage to county roads in Pottawattamie County alone was expected to amount to $40 million in repair costs.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
On June 2, Scouts Rest Ranch, Buffalo Bill's home near the Platte River in North Platte, closed because of flood fears. Exhibits were moved and berms were built around the buildings. On July 13, officials said the flooding was not as severe as had been expected.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
On June 4, Omaha city officials began releasing 6,000,000 US gallons (23,000 m3) of raw sewage per day into the river from its plant in South Omaha. The city generates about 86,000,000 US gallons (330,000 m3) a day, but only a small percentage is dumped into the river. The city of Omaha installed giant water pumps just east of Qwest Center Omaha to evacuate storm and sewer water directly into the Missouri River. By June 22, the city estimated 3 million dollars had been spent directly towards this flooding event.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
On June 9, Nebraska reported its first event-related fatality when a worker was killed while working on a levee at Fort Calhoun when his truck tipped over.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
The flooding affected the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station near Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, where the grounds of the plant were inundated by the flood, however, the plant had been in safe shutdown mode for refueling since April 2011. On June 6, the Federal Aviation Administration placed flight restrictions over the plant within a 2 miles (3.2 km) radius in which planes cannot fly lower than 3,500 feet (1,100 m) over the plant.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
On June 7, a fire broke out in the plant's switch gear room, prompting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to declare an "Alert", which is level 2 on the NRC's emergency classification. Officials for the plant's owner, the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD), were confident that enough redundancies were in place to ensure adequate safety. The complex's elevation is 1,004-foot (306 m) elevation above sea level and as of June 19 the river had risen to 1,005.5 feet (306.5 m). Officials from OPPD stated the Calhoun plant could handle water up to 1,014 feet (309 m).


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
An 8 feet (2.4 m) high and 2,000 feet (610 m) long rubber berm surrounded the reactor building. On June 23 a helicopter being used by OPPD to survey transmission lines made an unplanned landing 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of the plant. The helicopter was photographed lying on its side but there were no reports of injuries. On June 26 the 2,000 feet (610 m) long rubber berm at the plant collapsed after it was punctured by a small earth mover ("Bobcat").


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
It was reported more than 2 feet (0.61 m) of water rushed in around buildings and electrical transformers. Backup generators were then used to ensure the facility maintained electrical power for cooling. NRC officials were at the plant at the time and NRC statements said the plant remains safe. NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko confirmed the plant's safety when he visited the plant on June 27. On June 29 officials planned to close the Blair Bridge north of the plant effectively making the river impossible to drive across for 100 miles (160 km) from Sioux City to Omaha—although officials said they hoped to erect flood barriers to reopen it.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
At Cooper Nuclear Station, Nebraska Public Power District's (NPPD) nuclear plant near Brownville, a "" (the least-serious of the NRC emergency classifications) was issued on June 19 due to the flooding. Similar to the situation at Fort Calhoun, the FAA placed a temporary no-fly zone within 2 miles (3.2 km) of the plant on June 7. Officials said, "There is no threat to plant employees or to the public; the plant continues to operate safely."


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
In preparation for the flood more that 5,000 short tons (4,500,000 kg) of sand were bought in for barricades and Hesco barriers protecting facilities at the plant. The plant is 13 feet (4.0 m) above natural grade. On June 19, the river was reported 11.5 feet (3.5 m) above flood stage at Brownville. The Cooper plant sits at 903 feet (275 m) above sea level. The river hit 900.56 feet (274.49 m) on June 19 before dropping slightly to 900.4 feet (274.4 m) on June 20. At 9:47 a.m., July 12 the plant ended its emergency status because the river had dropped to 895.8 feet—3 feet lower than the emergency status level.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
On June 23, the main levee 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Brownville bridge breached, prompting an evacuation in Atchison County, MO.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
On June 27, officials said 12 of 70 planned dewatering wells at Eppley Airfield in Omaha were functional. The wells pump water collecting around the airport over the levee wall back into the Missouri River.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
On June 29, Nebraska reported its first flood-related death when the body of a 26-year-old fisherman was found in the river near the Little Nemaha River at Nemaha.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
On July 1, the flood level at Omaha hit 36.29 feet (11.06 m), higher than the 30.26 feet (9.22 m) on July 10, 1993, during the 1993 flood but lower than the all-time record of 40.2 feet (12.3 m) on April 18, 1952.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
On July 2, the Corps of Engineers awarded a $1.4 million contract to shore up the 9 miles (14 km) levee system around Eppley Airfield with a seepage berm to allow water to seep through the levee but hold the levee materials in place. The action came after the Corps reported there were multiple sand boils on the airport side of the levee.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
On July 3, Lindbergh Road which rings Eppley by the levees was closed so work could continue on 70 relief wells by the levees.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
On July 5, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency reported that 265 square miles (690 km2) of Nebraska has been inundated by floods on the Missouri and the Platte River. At the same time NASA released satellite photos of the flood from the Landsat 5 showing flooding from Blair to Plattsmouth to June 30.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
On July 9, the Corps of Engineers said water behind the reservoirs had peaked on July 2 with only 1.5 percent left for flood storage. By July 9, the available storage increased to 3.1 percent. Officials said they planned to begin decreasing the water flowing to the Gavins Point Dam but noted that the water going into Gavins Point would fill it in 1.5 days if the reservoir were empty.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
On July 11, the Omaha World-Herald quoted USGS researchers who are studying unique aspects of the flood. Among their discoveries:


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
On July 13, OPPD said it had spent $26 million in June as a result of flooding affecting its power plants on the river ($20 million in work protecting its plants and $6 million in replacing lost generating capacity). OPPD has two coal-fired plants that are both larger than Fort Calhoun at Nebraska City. One of the rail lines providing coal was covered in water and the utility wanted to raise that track. The plants had been getting coal via a parallel line.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Nebraska
In Omaha, after peaking at 36.29 feet (11.06 m) on July 2, 2011, the river was still more than 3 feet (0.91 m) above the flood stage of 29 feet (8.8 m) as of August 28.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Missouri
On June 6, the Kansas City Corps of Engineers sent letters from its Real Estate Division to landowners along the river in northwest Missouri, telling them that through the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 via the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project and Missouri River Fish and Wildlife Mitigation Project that they were seeking willing sellers for land "for fish and wildlife habitat enhancements for aquatic species such as the pallid sturgeon." The letters arrived just as the floods began hitting their peak in Atchison County and subsequently were heavily criticized by state and federal politicians. The Corps reported that only 14 letters had been sent.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Missouri
Interstate 29 closed in early June from Iowa Highway 2 (across the Missouri River from Nebraska City, Nebraska) to Rock Port, Missouri.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Missouri
The United States Coast Guard closed the river to boaters from Gavins Point Dam (Mile Post 850) to Mile Post 450 near St. Joseph, Missouri.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Missouri
Residents of Big Lake (which had evacuated during several floods including one in 2010) evacuated in May. On June 16, 2011, the community filed an injunction in Holt County against BNSF after the railroad elevated its line near the community by 20 inches (510 mm) in preparation for the flood. Big Lake officials said the elevation would create a "bathtub" effect, trapping water in the community.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Missouri
On June 19 a levee in Atchison County was breached and the levee protecting Big Lake was breached near Corning, Missouri, at Mile Marker 550. The crest at Brownville at 44.6 feet (13.6 m) was the highest in the history of the river there (breaking the 1993 record). It prompted officials to close the two northernmost Missouri River bridges in the state, the Brownville Bridge (US 136) and the Rulo Bridge (US 159). The river had risen more than two feet in 24 hours in Atchison County. Officials said the surge in the river occurred when heavy rains in northern Iowa caused a major rise in the Nishnabotna River, which enters the Missouri River in Atchison County near Watson.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Missouri
On June 21, 300 residents of Craig in Holt County were ordered to evacuate.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Missouri
On June 24, Lewis and Clark State Park near Rushville closed.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Missouri
On June 26 BNSF had to close its main rail line providing coal to Kansas City's Iatan Powerplant (via Rulo) after the river widened in Holt County to nearly 5+ miles by Big Lake.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Missouri
On June 27 Terrible's St. Jo Frontier Casino riverboat casino closed. Levee toppings prompted the closure of Lewis and Clark Village, Missouri. Residents of the Sugar Lake area of Buchanan County were also under voluntary evacuation orders


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Missouri
On June 28 Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Holt County closed its tour route around its pools noting that it no longer control water levels in its pools and that it expects "critical habitat damage to our management areas including the moist soil units, wet prairie, and other priceless wildlife habitats and most habitats will be submerged."


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Missouri
On June 28, the Corps ordered Ameren to halt all outflows (including electrical generation) from Bagnell Dam on the Osage River until at least July 5.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Missouri
On June 29, officials at Missouri's largest coal-fired power plant at Iatan, Missouri, sent 40 of its 135 employees home because of fears that the river would cut off its access on Missouri Route 45. Employees were parking a mile from the plant being shuttled in.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Missouri
On June 30 the St. Joseph News-Press reported that residents of Holt County had dubbed the flood "Corpstrina" (pronounced Kor-TRINA) evoking the Corps of Engineers which regulates the river and the Hurricane Katrina disaster.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Missouri
On July 2 Amtrak announced that two miles (3 km) of track between Kansas City and St. Louis was flooded between Myrick (west of Lexington) and Marshall. The railroad suspended the 311 and 316 trains of the Missouri River Runner but continued to maintain other traffic via trains rerouted to the Sedalia subdivision.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Missouri
On July 3 a planned fireworks display in Richard Berkley Riverfront Park in Kansas City proceeded as planned and included the unveiling of a new lighting scheme on the Christopher Bond Bridge (Mile 365). The crest at Kansas City of 32.46 feet (9.89 m) on July 2 was well below Kansas City's all time crest of 48.87 feet (14.90 m) in 1993.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Missouri
On July 4 St. Charles held its Riverfront fireworks display on the river—although moved back a block to Riverside Drive from Frontier Park. It had crested there on July 3 at 28.03 feet (8.54  m)—well below its crest of 40.11 in 1884 and 40.04 feet (12.20 m) in 1993.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Missouri
On July 6 a breach at Atchison County that had started on June 19 widened to 600 feet (180 m). Missouri National Guard Blackhawk helicopters were used to bring in 2,000 pound sand bags to reinforce the Sugar Tree levee in Carroll County, Missouri, near Mile 300 at Norborne after a third of the landside part of the levee slid.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Missouri
On July 11 the Coast Guard closed the river above Glasgow, Missouri, at Mile 226 to navigation.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Kansas
On June 22, Leavenworth closed Sherman Army Airfield. On June 29 the levee was breached and water reached the hangars which had earlier been evacuated.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Kansas
On Jun 29 the Elwood, Kansas, south bound exit ramp off the Pony Express Bridge was closed temporarily to pump water which had accumulated from rains. Elwood is also underwent voluntary evacuations. 200 National Guard troops were deployed to Doniphan County to assist in the evacuation. 400 of Elwood's 1,200 residents voluntarily evacuated.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Kansas
The Amelia Earhart Bridge at Atchison had effectively closed on June 28. Closings of Missouri River bridges had been the result of flooding on the approaches and not the bridge itself. However, on June 29 photos began circulating that the low-lying Atchison Union Pacific rail bridge was close to water level. Union Pacific had embargoed its main rail line which goes between St. Joseph and Kansas City.


2011 Missouri River Flood, Flood stages and effects by state, Kansas
On July 1 the Corps of Engineers reported that every non-federal levee from Rulo to Wolcott, Kansas, in Wyandotte County, Kansas, on both sides of the river were either overtopped or breached. Included in the overtoppings was Kansas Department of Corrections land below the Lansing Correctional Facility at Lansing, Kansas. Another report indicated that the only overtopped federal levee was the one at Fort Leavenworth by Sherman Army Airfield.


2011 Missouri State Bears football team
The 2011 Missouri State football team represented Missouri State University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bears were led by sixth-year head coach Terry Allen and played their home games at Plaster Sports Complex. They are a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 2–9, 2–6 in MVFC play to finish in a tie for seventh place.


2011 Missouri Tigers football team
The 2011 Missouri Tigers football team represented the University of Missouri in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Gary Pinkel, who returned for his 11th season, and played their home games at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. It was the Tigers' final season in the Big 12 Conference as they departed for the Southeastern Conference in 2012. They finished the season 8–5, 5–4 in Big 12 play to finish in fifth place. They were invited to the Independence Bowl where they defeated North Carolina 41–24.


2011 Missouri Tigers football team
The NCAA recognized Missouri's football program for ranking in the top 10% of the country for Academic Progress Rate for the 2011–12 academic year, MU's final year as members of the Big 12.


2011 Missouri Tigers football team, Recruits
QB Blaine Gabbert chose to forgo his senior year eligibility and enter the NFL draft in 2011.


2011 Missouri Tigers football team, Recruits
Four days after Gabbert declared for the NFL draft, sophomore DE Aldon Smith also declared.


2011 Missouri Tigers football team, Recruits
Sheldon Richardson, a 6' 4" defensive tackle originally from St. Louis, signed a Letter of Intent to play for the Tigers in 2011. He was ranked as the #1 DT prospect in the nation from many recruiting analysts, and a 5* rating (out of 5). He also was ranked as the #1 player at any position in the State of Missouri. He originally signed with Mizzou in February 2009, but had to go to junior college (College of the Sequoias, in Visalia, California) to improve his grades; played DT for them in the past two years. He was also rated the #3 junior college prospect by Rivals.com. He also can play offensive tight end as well as defensive tackle.


2011 Missouri Tigers football team, Recruits
Michael Boddie, Gerrand Johnson, and Wesley Leftwich signed LOI prior to Feb. 3 and enrolled in classes this Spring semester.


2011 Missouri Tigers football team, Recruits
All 17 recruits signed their National Letter of Intent during the National Signing Period (February 3, 2011 – April 1, 2011).


2011 Missouri Tigers football team, Recruits
Fully one-half (9) of the 17 recruits are from Texas, and four were in Missouri; two of those four were from St. Louis. The Mizzou class consists of four offensive linemen, four defensive backs, three linebackers, two wide receivers, two defensive tackles, a defensive end, and a quarterback. Richardson is the only junior college transfer.


2011 Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2011 Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Tournament took place from May 24–28. All eight teams met in the double-elimination tournament held at Creighton's TD Ameritrade Park Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. Creighton won their second tournament championship and earned the conference's automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2011 Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Tournament, Seeding and format
The league's eight teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage. They then played a two bracket, double-elimination format tournament, with the winner of each bracket then playing a single elimination final.


2011 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2011 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, popularly referred to as "Arch Madness", as part of the 2010-11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season was played in St. Louis, Missouri March 3–6, 2011 at the Scottrade Center. The championship game was broadcast live on CBS on Sunday March 6 at 1:05 pm CST. The tournament's winner received the Missouri Valley Conference's automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.


2011 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
After coming from behind in each their first two games, the #1 seed Missouri State Bears fell short to #3 seed Indiana State. Indiana State, who had needed a buzzer-beater against Evansville in the first round, made their first NCAA tournament appearance in a decade. They also defeated #2 seed Wichita State in the semifinal, en route to only their third NCAA Tournament since Larry Bird played on their team. Aaron Carter led the Sycamores in the win with 15 points.


2011 Missouri Valley Conference men's soccer season
The 2011 Missouri Valley Conference men's soccer season was the 21st season of men's varsity soccer in the conference.


2011 Missouri Valley Conference men's soccer season
The 2011 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament was hosted and won by Creighton.


2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards
The 2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards took place on November 29, 2011, at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The ceremony was the second Mnet Asian Music Awards to occur outside of South Korea, the first being in 2010 when the ceremony took place in Macau, China.


2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards
Super Junior won three awards, the most of the night, including Album of the Year for Mr. Simple, Best Male Group, and the special Singapore's Choice Award. Girls' Generation, 2NE1, and Baek Ji-young each won two awards.


2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards, Background
The event marked the thirteenth of the annual music awards. With its slogan "Music Makes One", MAMA was broadcast live in China, Japan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia through various channels, as well as in the US and Canada. It was co-hosted by Singapore broadcaster MediaCorp.


2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards, Background
Artists Kim Hyun Joong, Beast, Miss A, Hyuna, Leessang, Koda Kumi, Vision Wei, Aziatix, Jane Zhang, and Seo In Young all won awards during the televised broadcast. On the other hand, Big Bang, CN Blue, and IU also won awards, but were not able to attend the ceremony. In total, there were twenty-five awards, including awards not given out during the broadcast of the awards ceremony. International artists are also seen with their greetings on screen including Namcha, Sodagreen, Nicholas Teo, Leo Ku, Natthew, Kwon Sang-woo, Jackie Chan, Quincy Jones, Joey Yung, Golf, Penny Tai, Eason Chan, Lollipop F, and Derrick Hoh.


2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards, Multiple awards, Artist(s) with multiple wins
The following artist(s) received two or more wins (excluding the special awards):


2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards, Presenters and performers
The following individuals and groups, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers.


2011 Mogadishu bombing
The 2011 Mogadishu bombing occurred on 4 October 2011, when a suicide bomber drove a truck into the gate of the Transitional Federal Government's ministerial complex in Mogadishu, Somalia. The resulting explosion killed 100 people and injured over 110 others. Al-Shabaab, an Islamist group, claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack is reported to be the largest since Al-Shabaab launched an insurgency in Somalia in early 2007. It also follows the withdrawal of Al-Shabaab's forces from the area in August after an AMISOM intervention to bring aid to the country during a season of drought.


2011 Mogadishu bombing, Background
During the summer of 2011, the East African region faced a drought and shortage of food supplies, particularly in the Somali region, forcing tens of thousands of people to cross the borders into Ethiopia and Kenya for refuge. Al-Shabaab threatened to expel the aid groups working in the area before the African Union's AMISOM troops took action to force the Al-Shabaab fighters out of the region.


2011 Mogadishu bombing, Background
In July 2010, Al-Shabaab also claimed responsibility for a bombing in Kampala, Uganda, in retaliation for Uganda's support to, and presence in, AMISOM.


2011 Mogadishu bombing, Attack
The attack took place at a security checkpoint leading to the complex of ministries where the Ministry of Education's building is on the K4 (Kilometre Four) district of Mogadishu. Some eyewitnesses said the noise from the explosion was loud enough to be heard several miles from the scene of the attack. According to several reports the attack was aimed at 150 young Somalis who were to be flown to Sudan to be trained as spies, but instead resulted in the death of mostly students and parents awaiting news about scholarships to Sudan and Turkey from the Ministry of Higher Education.


2011 Mogadishu bombing, Attack
Turkey, which also increased its involvement in Somalia with a pledge to re-open its embassy in Mogadishu, released a statement clarifying the events that took place. The Turkish Foreign Ministry reported that the students were queuing outside the Ministry of Higher Education when the blast occurred, waiting for the results of scholarships offered by Turkey. Other reports said that students were taking an exam at the time of the blast. Although many of the casualties were students and parents, some of the other victims were non-student civilians.


2011 Mogadishu bombing, Attack
Suldan Sarah, the communications director for President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, said that "security services are working around the clock, and are working within their capabilities, and as such have foiled a number of attempts over the past month [of other attacks]." AMISOM and TFG (Transitional Federal Government) forces cordoned off the area soon after the blast.


2011 Mogadishu bombing, Attack
On the same day, Al-Shabaab simultaneously launched attacks in the south and west of Somalia.


2011 Mogadishu bombing, Responsibility
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, saying: "One of our mujahideen made the sacrifice to kill TFG [Transitional Federal Government] officials, the African Union troops and other informers who were in the compound." A spokesman for the group, Ali Mohamud Rage, later said that: "Somalis, we warn you: keep away from government buildings and the bases of their soldiers, more serious blasts are coming."


2011 Molde FK season
The 2011 season was Molde's 4th consecutive year in Tippeligaen, and their 35th season in the top flight of Norwegian football. Molde became league champions for the first time in club history.


2011 Molde FK season
This year marked Molde's 100th anniversary, an event that was marked with the game against Sogndal on 19 June, the anniversary day. Molde won the game with the score 2–0 and overtook the leading position in the league for the first time in the 2011 Tippeligaen season, a lead the team hold onto until the end of the season. For the first time in club history, Molde became league champions in the top flight of Norwegian football. It was Ole Gunnar Solskjær's first season as the club's manager.


2011 Molde FK season
Molde FK's U19 squad played in the inaugural tournament of the NextGen series.


2011 Molde FK season, Season events, June
On 13 June, Molde struck back from the Haugesund defeat and won their biggest win of their 2011 league campaign: 5–1 against Start. In Drammen, Molde won 1–0 against Strømsgodset. Pape Paté Diouf scored the game's only goal in the 13th minute. 19 June marked Molde's 100th anniversary, and saw Molde play against Sogndal. Molde won with the score 2–0, their third consecutive league game for the first time this season, after goals scored by Pape Paté Diouf and Magne Hoseth.


2011 Molde FK season, Season events, June
Molde played with a retro kit with blue and white vertical stripes, which was a copy of Molde's kits from 1914. The win made sure Molde overtook the leading position in the league for the first time in the 2011 Tippeligaen season, a lead the team hold onto until the end of the season. Molde advanced to the quarter-finals of the Norwegian Cup through a 3–1 win at Aker Stadion against Hønefoss in the Fourth Round. A three-game winning streak ended on 26 June, when Molde lost 0–1 away to Odd Grenland. Molde won their fifth game in June, out of six possible, when they won 2–1 away against Vålerenga on 29 June.


2011 Molde FK season, Season events, July
Pape Paté Diouf scored four goals against Aalesund on 3 July when Molde continued to show great league form with a 5–2 win against their Møre og Romsdal rivals. The game was Diouf's last before his departure to Danish side FC Copenhagen nine days later. They avenged the 0–5 loss against Haugesund with a 3–1 win at Aker Stadion on 17 July. Daniel Chima Chukwu gave the home team an early lead before Mattias Moström scored twice. Molde were supposed to play against Start in Kristiansand on 22 July, but this match was postponed to 4 August due to the 2011 Norway attacks. Vålerenga were beaten for the second time in just over a month when Molde won 2–1 at home on 30 July.


2011 Molde FK season, Season events, August
Molde won the postponed match away to Start with the score 2–1, their fifth consecutive league win. Start took the lead early in the second half through a goal from Ole Martin Årst, then Molde turned the game around in eleven minutes with goals from Chima Chukwu and Joshua Gatt. Magne Hoseth gave the team a lead at Lerkendal Stadion on 7 August, but Rosenborg scored a controversial goal only five minutes later. Simen Wangberg scored with his hand, a goal Molde manager Solskjær described as an ugly goal which was incompatible with fair play.


2011 Molde FK season, Season events, August
Two goals from Rade Prica in the second half made sure Molde had to leave Trondheim with a 1–3 defeat. They were eliminated from the Norwegian Cup on 14 August when Fredrikstad won 3–2 after extra time in the quarter-final stage at Fredrikstad Stadion. Eikrem and Angan turned a 0–1 deficit, but Amin Askar equalised late in the second half. Etzaz Hussain won the game for the home side with his goal in the 117th minute. On 22 August, Magnus Wolff Eikrem scored the only goal of the game against Lillestrøm at Aker Stadion.


2011 Molde FK season, Season events, August
Molde went to Ålesund on 28 August and continued their good form with a 3–1 win, their eighth out of the last ten in the league. Gatt scored Molde's first goal in the opening minute, followed by goals from Hoseth and Makhtar Thioune. Magnus Sylling Olsen scored Aalesund's consolation goal in the last minute. By the end of August, the team's good results led to an eight points gap, although with one more game to play, down to runners-up Tromsø.


2011 Molde FK season, Season events, September
The home game against Brann on 11 September ended with a 2–2 draw, but was best remembered for the kick-off being 75 minutes delayed due to problems with the floodlights. Brann could have protested and received three points without playing the game, but chose not to, a decision praised by Solskjær. The 2–2 draw was a result of a brace from Eikrem in the first half and two goals from Lars Grorud in the second half, the last in stoppage time. Angan scored the winner in Molde's 1–0 away win against Fredrikstad on 17 September. Molde's game against Viking on Aker Stadion on 23 September ended with a goalless draw.


2011 Molde FK season, Season events, October–November
On 2 October, they took three points away from home as Tromsø were defeated at Alfheim Stadion. Within a few minutes after the 30th-minute mark, Forren and Berget were the goalscorers. Then followed a streak of draws that lasted three games; 0–0 at home against Odd Grenland, 1–1 away against Stabæk, and a 2–2 draw in what was a potentially league-defining game against Strømsgodset. On 30 October, before the match against Strømsgodset in the third-to-last game of the season, it was clear that Molde would become champions if they won. A tense first half ended goalless.


2011 Molde FK season, Season events, October–November
In the second half, Magne Simonsen gave Molde the lead, but the goal was immediately equalised by Ola Kamara. In the 70th minute, Eikrem scored and Molde seemed to have won the league. Right before stoppage time, Anders Konradsen scored after a corner and equalised for Strømsgodset. The draw meant that Molde had to await the result from the game played later the same evening at Lerkendal Stadion between Rosenborg and Brann before they could know if they became champions or not that day. Brann took an early 3–0 lead and won the game 6–3.


2011 Molde FK season, Season events, October–November
Rosenborg could no longer achieve the number of points needed to win the league and Molde were champions. Club captain Daniel Berg Hestad lifted the trophy at home ground after Molde's 3–1 win against Sarpsborg 08 on 20 November. Angan, Vini Dantas and Simonsen scored the goals for Molde. The season ended with a 1–2 defeat away to Sogndal. Zlatko Tripic scored Molde's last goal of the season, while Tore André Flo scored both for Sogndal.


2011 Molde FK season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2011 Molde FK season, Squad, Players on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2011 Molde FK season, Team kit
This season's kits were produced by Umbro with Sparebanken Møre as the shirt sponsor. On 19 June 2011, in the Tippeliga-match against Sogndal, Molde played with a retro kit, which was a copy of Molde's kits from 1914, due to Molde's 100-year anniversary.


2011 Moldovan local elections
Local elections were held in Moldova on 5 June 2011, with a runoff for mayors two weeks later. In one of the most high-profile races, Dorin Chirtoacă was reelected as mayor of Chişinău in a very close run-off election.


2011 Molise regional election
The Molise regional election of 2011 took place on 16–17 October 2011.


2011 Molise regional election
Michele Iorio (PdL) narrowly defeated Paolo Di Laura Frattura (PD) and secured a third consecutive term as President of Molise.


2011 Molise regional election
In May 2012 a tribunal declared the election invalid due to irregularities committed by Iorio and his centre-right coalition. Finally, the Italian Council of State confirmed this election as invalid on 29 October 2012 and the new elections were held in February 2013.


2011 Molson Canadian Men's Provincial Curling Championship
The 2011 Molson Canadian Men's Provincial Curling Championship was held February 2–6 at the Miramichi Curling Club in Miramichi, New Brunswick. The winning team of James Grattan will represent New Brunswick at the 2011 Tim Hortons Brier in London, Ontario.


2011 Monaco GP2 Series round
The 2011 Monaco GP2 Round was the third round of the 2011 GP2 Series season. It was held on May 26–28, 2011 at Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco, supporting the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix. GP2's feeder formula GP3 did not appear at this event.


2011 Monaco Grand Prix
The 2011 Monaco Grand Prix, formally the Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2011, was held on 29 May 2011 at the Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Sixth round of the 2011 Formula One season, the 78 lap race was won by the championship leader, Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel who started from pole position. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was second and McLaren's Jenson Button third.


2011 Monaco Grand Prix
Winner Vettel extended his lead in the World Drivers' Championship to 58 points over Lewis Hamilton who was sixth. Mark Webber finished fourth and maintained third place in the championship, six points behind Hamilton in third and three ahead of Button. In the World Constructors' Championship, Red Bull extended its lead over McLaren to 61 points, with Ferrari being a further 68 points behind.


2011 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Background
Many of the drivers were initially concerned that the Drag Reduction System (DRS) would prove to be unsafe on the narrow streets of the principality, and so lobbied to have the device banned for the duration of the weekend. Some elements of the paddock, including Williams objected to the ban, and use of the device was retained, with the DRS activation zone encompassing the front straight of the circuit, prompting Lewis Hamilton to comment that he did not think the 300 metres (980 ft) of space allowed for the DRS would promote much overtaking. Following increased pressure from the drivers and FOTA, the FIA agreed to ban the use of the DRS in the tunnel for free practice and qualifying.


2011 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Background
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought its yellow-banded soft compound tyre as the harder "prime" tyre and the red-banded super-soft compound as the softer "option" compound, as opposed to the previous year where Bridgestone brought the medium compound as the "prime" tyre. The Monaco grand prix marked the debut of the Pirelli red-banded super-soft compound.


2011 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Background
In the build-up to the race, Hispania Racing team principal Colin Kolles suggested that the team would submit an official protest to the FIA over the use of off-throttle blown diffusers. Hispania had planned for an upgrade that would include the device for the Spanish Grand Prix before the FIA declared off-throttle blown diffusers to be a moveable aerodynamic device, and therefore illegal. Hispania then proceeded to abandon the planned upgrade. However, the FIA reversed their decision shortly before the Spanish Grand Prix, instead nominating to discuss the matter with the sport's technical working group. Kolles declared that his team believed the off-throttle blown diffuser concept to be illegal, and was considering a protest before the Monaco Grand Prix.


2011 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Background
Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton were first and second at the previous Grand Prix, the week before in Spain; and although they were also first and second in the Drivers' Championship at this point in the season - the gap was not as close as it was in the Grand Prix. Vettel's 4 wins from 5 races had given him 118 points, 41 more than Hamilton's 77 points. Third in the standings was Mark Webber, 10 behind on 67, and Jenson Button was 6 behind him on 61. Fernando Alonso was fifth with 51 points - less than half Vettel's total.


2011 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Background
Red Bull Racing led the Constructors' Championship with 185 points and McLaren were second on 138 points (47 behind). Ferrari were third on 75 points and the battle for fourth raged on between Renault and Mercedes GP - who were on 46 and 40 points respectively. Before this race, Williams had had the worst start to a season in their history and were yet to score any points.


2011 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
In the third part of qualifying, Sergio Pérez crashed after exiting the tunnel, an accident similar to Nico Rosberg's in the earlier free practice session. However, Pérez was not so lucky as he smashed into the barrier used to separate the track and escape road, and qualifying had to be red flagged for more than half an hour, while Pérez was extricated from the car and the barrier was repaired. This meant that in the 2:26 time left, none of the remaining nine cars could improve their times due to the lack of heat and performance in their tyres.


2011 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
That meant that Vettel, who already had set the second fastest qualifying time in Monaco history, and Button who had set their times earlier in the session were better off than drivers who did not. Pérez's impact with the barrier was similar to Sauber driver Karl Wendlinger's crash in the run-up to the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix. As expected, the improved safety regulations resulted in Pérez's injuries being less severe, as he suffered a concussion and a sprained thigh.


2011 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
Neither Hispania driver was able to record a lap time during the qualifying session; Liuzzi due to damage sustained during the earlier practice session, and Karthikeyan due to a gearbox and a rear suspension failure. However, in line with the 107% rule the team were allowed to enter the race due to posting competitive times during earlier free practice. Kamui Kobayashi and Jaime Alguersuari had also been called to the stewards' room after Kobayashi slowed down whilst coming into the pits, blocking Alguersuari who was on a flying lap in the first part of the session.


2011 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Race
Vettel won the start from pole and led Button to the first corner, with Alonso getting around a slow starting Webber for third. Hamilton started ninth in the position vacated by Pérez but made little progress on the opening lap. Vettel went 2.4 seconds ahead of Button by the end of the first lap. Schumacher's anti-stall kicked in at the start  dropping him to tenth at first corner, but he retook ninth from Hamilton at Grand-Hotel hairpin.


2011 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Race
Vettel continued to build a strong lead but his pit stop on lap 16 was slow and he was fitted with hard compound tyres due to a radio communication error. Alonso briefly led then but when he pitted on Lap 17 Button went to the lead. He stayed there until Lap 33 when he pitted and Vettel once again resumed the lead.


2011 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Race
On lap 30 Glock's rear left suspension broke, so there were yellow flags for a brief period while they removed his car.


2011 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Race
An incident between Hamilton and Massa caused Massa to crash in the tunnel, bringing out the first safety car. At the same time Schumacher's car suffered an airbox fire as he was about to pit, and he retired in the pit entrance forcing a safety car period while they cleared both cars. Vettel found himself leading behind the safety car and when racing resumed a battle between Vettel, Alonso and Button began. Vettel held the two former world champions behind him, despite being on tyres that had lasted since lap 16.


2011 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Race
As Button and Alonso fought for second place, the race looked set for an exciting climax, when an accident occurred involving Hamilton, Sutil, Alguersuari and Petrov. Sutil had hit the barrier on the previous corner, causing a right-rear puncture. Hamilton braked as Sutil lost control, and Alguersuari then ran into the back of Hamilton, damaging Hamilton's rear wing. Alguersuari hit the barrier, causing Petrov to do the same and both cars were out of the race, with Petrov being briefly trapped in his car.


2011 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Race
This brought out the safety car again and on lap 72 the race was red flagged, with the cars stopping on the grid at lap 72. During the red flag period, teams were allowed to change tyres and work on cars (unlike most motorsport, where tyre changes are not permitted during the red flag unless it is for a change of weather conditions). This worked to the advantage of Vettel, Alonso, and Hamilton. Vettel and Alonso had heavily used tyres, while Hamilton most likely would not have been able to finish the race with the damaged rear wing that required almost the entire red flag period to repair.


2011 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Race
After Petrov was extracted from his car and the track cleared, the race resumed still behind the safety car, which went in at the end of lap 73. On lap 74 there was a brief yellow flag period due to an incident between Hamilton and Maldonado, ending Maldonado's race with a broken front suspension. Vettel took the chequered flag, extending his lead in the world championship to 58 points. Vettel was closely followed by Alonso in second, with Button taking the final podium spot.


2011 Monaco Grand Prix, Report, Race
Hamilton had a difficult day, being penalised for causing two avoidable accidents, one involving Massa (for which he was given a drive-through penalty), and another with Maldonado for which he received a post-race 20 second penalty which did not affect his sixth placing. In an interview with BBC Sport, Hamilton criticised the stewards after the race, saying "Out of six races, I've been to the stewards five times. It's a joke, it's an absolute frickin' joke." He later apologised.


2011 Monegasque municipal elections
The 2011 Monegasque municipal elections were held on 13 March to elect the 15 members of the Communal Council of Monaco.


2011 Monegasque municipal elections, Electoral system
Monegasque citizens over 18 are entitled to vote. The 15 councillors were elected for a four-year period in a single multi-member constituency using plurality-at-large voting with a two-round system. A majority of the votes was required to be elected. The second round would have been held one week after the first round. The Mayor of Monaco was elected by the councillors after the election. Candidates were required to be at least 21 years old and to have the Monegasque nationality for at least 5 years.


2011 Monegasque municipal elections, Results
Georges Marsan was reelected as a mayor after the election.


2011 Mongolian Premier League
Statistics of Niislel Lig in the 2011 season. The title was won by FC Ulaanbaatar which was their first ever title.


2011 Mongolian Premier League, League standings
In the first round of the competition, all the teams played each other twice. The top four teams advanced to the semi-finals.


2011 Mongolian Premier League, Super Cup
The 2011 Super Cup was played on 1 October 2011 between the league champion FC Ulaanbaatar and the cup winner Erchim. The winner would qualify for the 2012 AFC President's Cup.


2011 Mongolian Premier League, Super Cup
Erchim won 2–1 and became the first Mongolian representative in the AFC President's Cup.


2011 Monmouth Hawks football team
The 2011 Monmouth Hawks football team represented Monmouth University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season  as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC). The Hawks were led by 19th-year head coach Kevin Callahan and played their home games at Kessler Field. They finished the season 5–6 overall and 4–4 in NEC play to tie for fourth place.


2011 Montana Grizzlies football team
The 2011 Montana Grizzlies football team represented the University of Montana in the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. were led by second-year head coach Robin Pflugrad and played their home games at Washington–Grizzly Stadium. They are a member of the Big Sky Conference.


2011 Montana Grizzlies football team
The team finished the regular season with an overall 9–2 record, 7–1 in Big Sky play. They then won two FCS playoff games, before being eliminated in the semifinals by Sam Houston State, thus ending their season with an overall 11–3 record. On  July 26, 2013, Montana was sanctioned by the NCAA, which found that "boosters provided extra benefits to players." Montana vacated its last five wins of the 2011 season (three during the regular season and two in the postseason) and its participation in the NCAA playoffs, resulting in an official record of 6–3 overall, 5–1 in conference play.


2011 Montana Grizzlies football team, NCAA investigation and sanctions
In 2013, the NCAA investigated the University of Montana for violations of regulations concerning gifts to student athletes. On July 26, 2013, the NCAA announced its finding that the university had insufficiently monitored its football program, enabling boosters to provide gifts and services to players against NCAA regulations.


2011 Montana Grizzlies football team, NCAA investigation and sanctions
Much of the investigation centered on events surrounding the arrests of two Montana football players, cornerback Trumaine Johnson and backup quarterback Gerald Kemp, in October 2011. The NCAA found that boosters provided the players with bail and free legal counsel, in violation of NCAA rules. Several university personnel, including then-coach Robin Pflugrad, then-athletics director Jim O’Day, and the university compliance officer, evidently knew details of the situation but did not report them. The investigation also found that six boosters had provided smaller benefits to players over 100 times between 2004 and 2012.


2011 Montana Grizzlies football team, NCAA investigation and sanctions
Montana faced several penalties as a result of the investigation, most of which it self-imposed. Montana vacated five wins from the 2011 season in which Johnson and Kemp had played, including a win in the rivalry game against Montana State and two FCS playoff victories, vacating the school's participation in the FCS playoffs. Montana was also subjected to a probationary period and lost four scholarships in each of those years.


2011 Montana State Bobcats football team
The 2011 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bobcats were led by fifth-year head coach Rob Ash and played their home games at Bobcat Stadium. Montana State is a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 10–3, 7–1 in Big Sky play to win the conference championship after it was determined on July 26, 2013 by the NCAA that Montana had played its final six games with ineligible players. Montana State and Montana had finished tied for the conference title at 7-1 prior to the NCAA ruling. MSU received an at-large bid into the FCS playoffs where they defeated New Hampshire in the second round before falling to Sam Houston State in the quarterfinals.


2011 Monte Carlo Rally
The 2011 Monte Carlo Rally, officially 79ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo was the first round of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) season. The rally took place between January 19–22, 2011. The event marked the centenary of the creation of the Monte Carlo Rally, which was first held on January 21, 1911.


2011 Monte Carlo Rally, Introduction
The rally started in Valence on Wednesday 19 January and covered over 1341 km including 337 km in thirteen special stages. Stages were run both in daylight and at night and included two passes through the famous Col de Turini on the Friday night. A full capacity 120 entries were registered for the event including Le Mans 24 Hours star Stéphane Sarrazin and WRC brothers Petter and Henning Solberg. This was in addition to the regular IRC participants; Jan Kopecký, Freddy Loix, Bruno Magalhães, Thierry Neuville, Guy Wilks and reigning champion Juho Hänninen.


2011 Monte Carlo Rally, Introduction
Eurosport expanded their TV coverage of the event showing twelve of the thirteen stages live as part of a total of fourteen hours of television over the three days of the competition.


2011 Monte Carlo Rally, Results
Bryan Bouffier won his first and only IRC rally after a tyre gamble on the second day proved fruitful and lifted him from seventh in the rally standings to the lead. He had a commanding lead of 50 seconds into the final day which proved too much for his rivals and led him to victory. Second went to Škoda's Freddy Loix and third place went to Guy Wilks, after Stéphane Sarrazin incurred a 30-second penalty for checking into service three minutes late after the final stage. Sarrazin finished fourth ahead of 1994 rally winner François Delecour, who was making his return to rallying after a lengthy absence.


2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
The 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, a men's tennis tournament for male professional players, was played from 9 April through 17 April 2011, on outdoor clay courts. It was the 105th edition of the annual Monte Carlo Masters tournament, which was sponsored by Rolex for the third time. It took place at the Monte Carlo Country Club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, near Monte Carlo, Monaco.


2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Tournament, Exhibition
On 11 April, an exhibition featuring two players from the Women's Tennis Association, current world number one Caroline Wozniacki and reigning French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, took place during the traditional women's day at the tournament. Schiavone won the one-set exhibition match 6–4.


2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Points and prize money, Points
Because the Monte Carlo Masters was the non-mandatory Masters 1000 event special rules around the point distribution happens. Monte Carlo Masters counted as one of a player's 500 level tournaments, while distributing Masters 1000 points.


2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Champions, Doubles
Bob Bryan /  Mike Bryan defeated  Juan Ignacio Chela /  Bruno Soares, 6–3, 6–2.


2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters – Doubles
Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić were the defending champions, but decided not to participate together. Zimonjić played alongside Michaël Llodra, but lost to Marcel Granollers and Tommy Robredo in the second round. Nestor partnered up with Max Mirnyi, but they were eliminated by Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi in the quarterfinals. Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan won the title, defeating Juan Ignacio Chela and Bruno Soares 6–3, 6–2 in the finals.


2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters – Singles
Six-time defending champion Rafael Nadal successfully defended his title, defeating David Ferrer in the final, 6–4, 7–5 to win the Singles title at the 2011 Monte-Carlo Masters. This was Nadal's 7th consecutive Monte-Carlo Masters title, breaking the all-time records for both the most consecutive titles at any tournament and the most Monte-Carlo titles.


2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters – Singles, Seeds
The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters – Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw of the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.


2011 Montedio Yamagata season
The 2011 Montedio Yamagata season is Montedio Yamagata's third consecutive season in J. League Division 1. It also includes the 2011 J. League Cup, and the 2011 Emperor's Cup.


2011 Montepaschi Strade Bianche
The 2011 Montepaschi Strade Bianche took place on 5 March 2011. It was the 5th edition of the international classic Montepaschi Strade Bianche. The previous edition was won by Maxim Iglinskiy, who rode for Astana.


2011 Monterrey Open
The 2011 Monterrey Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the third edition of the Monterrey Open and was categorized as an International tournament on the 2011 WTA Tour. It took place at the Sierra Madre Tennis Club in Monterrey, Mexico, from February 28 through March 6, 2011.


2011 Monterrey Open, Champions, Doubles
Iveta Benešová /  Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová def. Anna-Lena Grönefeld /  Vania King, 6–7(8), 6–2, [10–6]


2011 Monterrey Open – Doubles
Iveta Benešová and Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová successfully defended their last year's title, defeating Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Vania King 6–7(8), 6–2, [10–6] in the final.


2011 Monterrey Open – Singles
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was the defending champion and defended her title by defeating Jelena Janković 2–6, 6–2, 6–3 in the final.


2011 Monterrey Open – Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw of the 2011 Monterrey Open.


2011 Monterrey casino attack
On August 25, 2011, members of Los Zetas set a casino on fire in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, killing 52 people.


2011 Monterrey casino attack
The attack left over a dozen injured, and over 35 trapped for several hours before the Mexican forces arrived at the place a few minutes after the incident. Media reports said the majority of those killed were women, including one who was pregnant. Although the government crackdown of the drug cartels dates back to 2006, Monterrey became an increasingly violent city in 2010,  due to the rupture of the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas.


2011 Monterrey casino attack
Surveillance videos show how four vehicles with several well-armed gunmen arrived at the entrance of Casino Royale. After the gunmen descended from their vehicles, they quietly stormed the casino's main entrance, opened fire on a few gamblers and guests, and then doused the casino entrances with gasoline and started a fire that trapped the people inside. This attack was classified as the most violent and bloodiest in the history of Monterrey and one of the worst in the whole state of Nuevo León.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Background
Grupo Royale is a chain of casinos and entertainment venues with branches in Monterrey, Mazatlán and Los Cabos, as well as a branch in Escobedo named "Fantastic Escobedo".


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Background
The casino Royale San Jerónimo is at the junction of Calle Jesús María González and Avenida San Jerónimo, and is owned by Raúl Rocha Cantú and José Alberto Rocha Cantú, also owners of Conexiones y Mangueras S.A. (Cymsa) and Entertainment Enterprises of México S.A. de C.V. It was opened in November 2007 to more than 500 people, to whom the casino gave a total of two million pesos as a welcoming gift.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Background
The casino had been attacked on several previous occasions. On January 17, 2011 it was announced in the news media that the business had been the victim of organised crime, and that an armed squad had entered the premises to subdue those inside, although this was denied by their then legal representative, Enrique Hernández Navarro. In the early hours of May 25 of the same year, it was attacked by a group of delinquents who detonated firearms, taking money from customers and from the establishment, which was one of several casinos attacked that day.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Background
On May 4, 2011 the casino had been shut down by the municipality for failure to obtain permits for expanding the premises, reopening its doors on May 31 due to an appeal by its owners to the State Tribunal for Administrative Litigation, claiming that the works were for remodelling. This appeal was granted by magistrate José Alfonso Solís Navarro.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Background
Before this tragedy another betting center, owned by Grupo Royale, had been attacked twice this year by organized crime, but with no casualties.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Attack
Minutes before 2:00 PM on 26 August 2011 in Monterrey, Nuevo León, twelve members of the criminal group Los Zetas, along with one of its leaders, met at "El Gran Pastor" restaurant located on Gonzalitos avenue, just a few blocks away from the casino. The cartel members ate cabrito in a "special meeting," where they were given orders to carry out the attack at the Casino Royale.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Attack
According to the perpetrators, the attack was intended to send a message to the owner of the casino for failing to pay an extortion. By 3:00 PM, the Zetas left the restaurant and headed to a Pemex gas station in Valle Verde neighborhood to collect barrels of gasoline. Two separate surveillance videos issued by the governor confirmed that two pick-up trucks arrived at the gas station to fill up big containers of gasoline before setting off on Gonzalitos avenue. While driving through the avenue, the second video captured the moment when the convoy headed towards the site.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Attack
The perpetrators arrived at the casino at approximately 3:50 PM in a convoy of four vehicles: a Mini Cooper, a Chevrolet Equinox, a blue GMC and a grey VW Beetle. In the first minute and a half, several armed men, about eight or nine, stormed the casino while some people inside managed to escape. The criminals then ordered the people inside to hurry their way out, but many of them were scared and decided to hide inside the casino. Witnesses claim that one of the gunmen struck the receptionist with his assault rifle before the other triggermen doused the gasoline inside the premise from the tanks they had bought at the gas station.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Attack
The crowd of 150 croupiers and customers, mostly women, stampeded inside the casino from the game area to the bathrooms, stairways, and blocked emergency exits. Some of them reportedly heard gunfire and explosion that they thought were grenade detonations. Some people managed to leave through the main entrance, but after a few minutes this became impossible due to the fire spreading; several others were hurt in the stampede, as panic descended on the scene. All of the 52 victims died from suffocation due to carbon monoxide poisoning because they were hiding in bathrooms and offices after trying to escape from the aggressors. It was later confirmed that the emergency exits in the casino were locked.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Attack
In only three minutes, the perpetrators burned the establishment and managed to flee the scene – only to be captured by the surveillance video. When the emergency crew finally decided to smash down the walls of the casino, they found the corpses littered in huge piles inside the bathrooms, stairs, and game tables. By the next morning, the Mexican authorities confirmed that 52 people had died, while dozens more were in the hospital.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Reactions
The company Atracciones y Emociones Vallarta S.A. de C.V., whose Administration Council consists of Rodrigo Madero Covarrubias, José Francisco Madero Dávila and Ramón Agustín Madero Dávila, denied any relationship with the Casino Royale, as they had previously separated from each other.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Reactions
City mayor Fernando Larrazábal Bretón and Juana María Treviño Torres, president of the Tribunal for Administrative Litigation, blamed each other for the tragedy: Larrazábal blamed the tribunal for permitting the casino to reopen, while Treviño Torres blamed Monterrey Civil Protection for not checking that it had emergency exits.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Reactions
Additionally, magistrate José Alfonso Solís Navarro (who authorized the reopening) resigned his position on August 27.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Reactions
A contingent of 3,000 soldiers and federal police were sent to the city, and the rest of the state was patrolled by armoured units and Black Hawk helicopters for security reasons. Furthermore, the ex-mayor of Monterrey, Adalberto Madero, was detained by the Attorney General and federal forces for a supposed link to the administrative council of the company believed to manage the Casino Royale. President Felipe Calderón declared three days of national mourning.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Reactions
26 relatives of the victimes demanded compensation for the event and for their hospital and funeral expenses to be paid, although the company (through its lawyer Juan Gómez Jaime) denied any responsibility due to the tragedy being out of the company's control. However, the government offered to pay their funeral and legal expenses, educational grants and medical and psychological bills.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Reactions
On November 7 two casinos belonging to the company of Raúl Rocha Cantú (owner of the Royale) were closed: the Montecarlo in Mazatlán, Sinaloa and the Play Win Casino in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur; however, the company Entretenimiento de México has confirmed that Rocha Cantú is no longer a member.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Reactions
A few days after the attack, the narrative song "El Muerto 53" appeared anonymously in order to "reach the voice of the people".


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Suspects
The attack was attributed to organized crime, with the two initially suspected groups being the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas who both claimed control of the area. It was later confirmed to be the latter group. With the help of witness statements, portraits of the attackers were drawn. On August 26, three stolen cars were discovered and found to be those caught on camera as being used during the attack. The Attorney General offered 30 million pesos for information leading to the capture of the suspects.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Suspects
The governor of Nuevo León, Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz, reported that the first five individuals suspected of starting the casino fire were arrested on August 29. The five of them confessed to having participated in the crime which led to 52 deaths, but stated that they had not intended to kill anyone, only wanting to scare the owners of the building because they had refused to pay a weekly fee of 130,000 pesos (roughly US$10,000 to $11,000, Aug 2011) to be allowed to operate. They had decided to attack, but the situation grew out of their control. More gang members were later arrested.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Suspects, Fugitives
On September 14 the Sub-Prosecutor for Regional Control of the Attorney General of Mexico, José Cuitláhuac Salinas Martínez, published a list of 18 people involved in the attack, including the identity and photographs of four Los Zetas leaders. Three of them were later captured, and the last one was shot dead on 4 April 2012.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Suspects, Fugitives
The remainder have only been identified by nicknames and sketch portraits:


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Suspects, Sentenced
All of the arrested were detained until their sentencing. On September 27, the minor Alan Enrique was released from the Juvenile Centre as no evidence was found that he was responsible for any part of the attack, despite having been named as a participant by some of the other arrested individuals, although he was later re-arrested.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Suspects, Sentenced
On October 27, restriction orders were closed on 10 of the 14 who had then been arrested, and the Attorney General of Nuevo León ordered their arrests for homicide and organised criminal activity, having them moved to Topo Chico prison accompanied by a strong security team.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Victims
The majority of the victims were adults, people over the age of 50 and casino employees. Of the 52 people who died during the attack, ten were men and 42 women, including two pregnant women, one of whom was in her seventh month. 45 of the dead were identified (35 women and ten men) and the rest had to be tested in order to determine their identity as they had suffered severe burns. All of them died from toxic fumes, although seven of the corpses were burned. Most of them were from Monterrey, but two were from Tamaulipas. With respect to the ten injured people, three of them were hospitalised in stable condition.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Victims
The victims included Joaquín Martínez, uncle of Silvia Landeros, a well-known television presenter at Multimedios Television, as well as the sister-in-law of ex-footballer Alfredo «Alacrán» Jiménez, whose condition has not been reported.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Victims, Altar
Two months after the attack, family members of the 52 victims came to the scene of the accident to create a memorial with 53 white wooden crosses with the names of the victims, plus one with the word "baby" for the unborn child, as well as leaving a banner asking the president not to forget about the case, referring to the specialist reports allowing the federation to take charge:


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Victims, Altar
Around 50 of the victims' family members joined hands, prayed for the victims and asked for justice. Members of the public also left arrangements of flowers on the pavement outside the casino. And as of 2012, the families have asked the authorities to preserve the casino and keep it intact.


2011 Monterrey casino attack, Discrepancies
Academics and intellectuals disagree strongly about whether or not the Monterrey casino attack was a "terrorist act", a term used by the President of the Republic during a press conference denouncing the killings. Academics define it as a "reprehensible criminal act" and not as an act of terrorism; terrorism has different characteristics, involving ideology and doctrine, such as in the case of ETA or the 2011 attacks in Norway. The criminal acts of drug trafficking and organised crime are not strictly defined in Mexican law, and are usually a form of score-settling between criminal groups, unlike in Colombia where acts of narcoterrorism against the public have a legal definition.


2011 Montgomery mayoral election
The 2011 Montgomery mayoral election took place on August 23, 2011, to elect the Mayor of Montgomery, Alabama. It saw the reelection of incumbent mayor Todd Strange.


2011 Montgomery mayoral election
The election was officially nonpartisan. Had no candidate received a majority of the vote, a runoff election would have been held between the top two candidates.


2011 Montreal Alouettes season
The 2011 Montreal Alouettes season was the 45th season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 57th overall. The Alouettes finished in second place in the East Division with a 10–8 record. The Alouettes attempted to three-peat as Grey Cup champions, after winning back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010, but lost to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Semi-Final game. The Alouettes opened their training camp at Bishop's University in Sherbrooke, Quebec on June 5.


2011 Montreal Alouettes season, Offseason, CFL Draft
The 2011 CFL Draft took place on Sunday, May 8, 2011. The Alouettes had seven selections in the draft, including the eighth overall pick, which they used to select placekicker and punter Brody McKnight. Montreal came into draft day needing a kicker, and traded a 2012 first round pick for Sean Whyte. Because McKnight has one more year of eligibility, he will not be able to join the Alouettes until 2012.


2011 Montreal Alouettes season, Offseason, CFL Draft
Other notables in the draft include Vaughn Martin, who was ranked as the sixth overall prospect, but his draft stock dropped immensely due to the fact that he had already been with the NFL's San Diego Chargers for two years. Should Martin choose to enter the CFL at any point in his career, the Alouettes would hold the rights to sign him.


2011 Montreal Alouettes season, Awards and records, Milestones
On July 15, 2011, quarterback Anthony Calvillo became the CFL's all-time passing touchdown leader with a first-quarter touchdown, passing Damon Allen's previous mark of 394 with his 395th touchdown pass, against Allen's former team, the Toronto Argonauts. The pass was completed to receiver Éric Deslauriers, who recorded his first touchdown reception since 2007.


2011 Montreal Alouettes season, Awards and records, Milestones
On October 10, 2011, quarterback Anthony Calvillo became pro footballs all-time passing leader with a 50-yard touchdown pass to Jamel Richardson, also against the Toronto Argonauts.


2011 Montreal Impact season
The 2011 Montreal Impact season was the 18th season of the franchise. It was the club's final season in the NASL before a new Major League Soccer club of the same name, with the same ownership replaces the Impact for the 2012 season.


2011 Montreal Impact season, Standings, Results summary
Last updated: April 10, 2011Source: Regular season matchesPld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won;  T = Matches tied;  L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference


2011 Montreal Impact season, Current roster, Current roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2011 Montreal Impact season, International caps
Players called for international duty during the 2011 season while under contract with the Montreal Impact.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft
The 2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft took place in two separate incidents during September and October of that year. In both instances, the same thief took a small ancient stone piece that was openly exhibited, without a protective case, and smuggled it out of the museum. One has since been recovered; however, the thief remains unidentified and the whereabouts of the other is not known.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft
On September 3, one day before the anniversary of the 1972 robbery of 18 paintings, a visitor took a sandstone Achaemenid Empire relief. In late October, he returned to take a Roman marble head from its pedestal. The two works were collectively valued at $1.3 million, with the relief accounting for almost all of that amount.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft
The museum did not disclose the theft until February 2012 to avoid compromising the joint investigation by its insurance company and Sureté du Québec's art theft unit. Security camera footage allowed them to obtain a description of the thief; investigators believed he was local. A reward was offered for the return of the works.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft
In 2013, police were led to Simon Metke, an Edmonton man who had bought the Achaemenid piece for CDN$1,400 during a visit to Montreal two years earlier, believing it to possibly be a replica, after it was seen on a wall behind him during a CBC interview unrelated to the case. The museum ultimately declined to buy it back from their insurer and it was put on the market in late 2016. Charges laid against Metke were disposed with a conditional discharge after he pled guilty to possession of stolen property. Metke's story inspired a character in Kevin Smith's 2016 film Yoga Hosers, as well as the film's title. The relief itself was later found to have been taken from Iran illegally, and returned there after being seized from a dealer's wares during a New York art fair.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Thefts
On September 3, 2011, a visitor who came to the museum shortly after it opened removed a 20-by-21-by-3-centimetre (7.9 by 8.3 by 1.2 in) sandstone relief depicting a soldier's head, produced during the Achaemenid Empire, which ruled Persia during the 5th century BCE; it had been donated to the museum in the 1950s by Frederick Cleveland Morgan, heir to a department store fortune, art collector and philanthropist. It was small and secured to the wall it was on only by an anchor, and otherwise unprotected by glass. The museum staff has not been able to determine how it was removed. Coincidentally, the theft occurred on the day before the 39th anniversary of the only other theft from the museum, the 1972 robbery of 18 paintings, all but one of which are still missing, the largest art theft in Canadian history.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Thefts
The thief returned approximately eight weeks later, in late October, at the same time of day. This time he took a 1st-century Roman marble head, approximately the same size, from its pedestal. Like the earlier piece, it was secured there by an anchor, but otherwise unprotected, not even by a glass case.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Investigation
When it discovered the pieces, both of which were part of the museum's permanent collection, missing, the museum called the Sureté du Québec's (SQ) art theft unit, the only one in any Canadian provincial police force, and AXA, its insurance company, which also dispatched a team of art-theft specialists. They investigated the case jointly. After reviewing security camera footage and interviewing museum staff who had been on duty the days of the thefts, they identified a suspect, a man 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm) tall who wore a baseball cap and dark jacket as he walked around the museum. They believed he spoke French and lived in the Montreal area.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Investigation
The museum did not publicly disclose the thefts until January 2012 in order to avoid compromising the investigation. When it did inform the news media, it released a description of the suspect and offered rewards for both the thief's identity and the safe return of the missing items. It put their combined value at $1.3 million, most of which was accounted for by the older, Achaemenid piece, with the Roman head valued at a mere $40,000.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Investigation
John Fossey, an archaeologist, told CTV later that he believed the two pieces had not been stolen to order but simply because they were "small [and] easy to put in the bag." Another expert involved, art-theft investigator Mark Dalrymple, observed that the case was similar to a series of 2004 thefts from the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, which also involved small objects taken by visitors while the museum was open to the public, objects whose return he had secured. He said the museum was preparing photos for dissemination worldwide. "[N]o matter where in the world these pieces go, no one can sell them", he told The Globe and Mail. He advised anyone in possession of the missing art to return it immediately.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Investigation, Sale of relief
Unbeknownst to Dalrymple or any of the other investigators, by the time he made that statement at least one of the missing pieces had already been sold. In November 2011 Simon Metke, a yoga teacher from Edmonton, travelled to Montreal for a visit. A friend of his there had told him that someone he knew was selling what he described as a stone sculpture of a soldier, claiming it was a genuine antiquity. As a result of his own recent spiritual explorations, Metke had developed an interest in ancient cultures, and the friend thought he might be interested in buying the sculpture.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Investigation, Sale of relief
When Metke finally saw the sculpture, actually the Achaemenid relief that had been stolen from the museum a few months earlier, he was at first skeptical. He believed it might actually be a replica, something that he might otherwise find at modern stores that sell home decor. But he appreciated the workmanship that had gone into it.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Investigation, Sale of relief
The seller's asking price was CDN$1,400. According to Metke's friend, the seller was motivated. "This other guy had to pay his child support you know and pay his rent," Metke recalled later. "He edged me on that it was worth a bunch more."


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Investigation, Sale of relief
Still, Metke had some lingering doubts about the item. So he did a Google search on "Are there any Mesopotamian artifacts missing?" After he had satisfied himself from the results that he was not buying something looted or stolen, he bought the item, believing that, with 2012, the last year in the Mayan Calendar, a month away, it was his destiny to acquire the artwork. "It symbolized part of my spiritual journey to me."


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Investigation, Sale of relief
He thought "it would have been kind of fun" to take it to an Antiques Roadshow production, or go to the Middle East himself and have it authenticated. For the time being, he packed the piece in his luggage and flew with it back to Edmonton, where the airline briefly lost the suitcase containing the relief upon his arrival. Once it was located, he took it home and put it in a meditation area he had set up in his living room.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Investigation, Sale of relief
Later he moved it to a shelf in his bedroom, where he put it amid a collection of Star Wars action figures, crystals and stuffed animals. A month after returning to Edmonton, he gave an interview to a CBC News crew for a story unrelated to the artwork he had just purchased. It was, however, visible on the shelf behind him in some shots.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Recovery of relief and arrests
The interview eventually led to a tip to police. In late 2013 they obtained a warrant to search Metke's Edmonton condominium, and in January 2014 executed it. "The sun's coming in through the window, the bougainvillea flowers are glowing, the crystals are making rainbows," recalled Metke.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Recovery of relief and arrests
A team of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) from both Alberta and Quebec, along with the SQ/AXA investigators, quickly located the relief. It was only then that Metke learned it had been stolen, and was indeed an authentic antique artifact 2,500 years old, not a replica. "I don't think he knew it was worth $1.2 million dollars either," he said of the seller. He felt, again, that it was destiny that had brought the relief to him. "[I]t sort of feels like it may have come to me to be protected so that it didn't get destroyed or lost."


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Recovery of relief and arrests
At the time of the arrest, police suggested they had some leads on the identity of the thief. However, as of 2017 no arrests have been made. The whereabouts of the Roman head are also unknown.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Recovery of relief and arrests
Police charged Metke with possession of stolen property over $5,000 in value, possession of the proceeds of a crime, and possessing a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking, after they also found drugs in the residence. Metke's girlfriend faced the former two charges related to the relief as well. Fossey, who was in Edmonton that day as well, flew home to Montreal with the relief that night. "It's a day I'll never forget, flying back with it in a box at my feet," he said later.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Recovery of relief and arrests
The museum, however, would have to consider whether to buy it back from AXA, since once it was recovered it became the insurer's legal property; commonly a buyback clause in the policy allows a museum to do this by returning the money paid. The board said it would meet to consider the possibility. It decided not to, and in 2016 it was offered for sale at the Frieze Art Fair for £2.2 million.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Recovery of relief and arrests, Return of relief to Iran
The relief was eventually purchased by British antiquities dealer Rupert Wace. He, in turn, offered it for sale at The European Fine Art Fair in New York's Park Avenue Armory in October 2017, until it was seized by prosecutors from the New York County District Attorney's office. The Iranian government claimed it had been taken from the ruins of Persepolis without permission in the 1930s, later than dealers assumed, after the government had passed a law severely restricting removals of antiquities from the country. A court soon ordered its return to Iran.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Trial
The Crown later stayed two of the three charges against Metke, and all that it had laid against his girlfriend. In April 2017, he pled guilty to the possession of stolen goods charge. A statement of facts his lawyers agreed on with prosecutors said that while he clearly was unaware the relief had been stolen, he could have done more to assure himself of its provenance. In return the judge gave him a conditional discharge with probation and community service. Both sides described the case as "unique" and "extraordinary".


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Yoga Hosers
At the time of Metke's arrest, American filmmaker Kevin Smith discussed the story on his podcast, SModcast, amused by Metke's description of the bougainvillea and crystals that morning. His co-host, Scott Mosier, imagined how the RCMP might have spoken to Metke, saying "Open up, yoga hoser!" The last two words became a minor catchphrase among their fans.


2011 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts theft, Yoga Hosers
In April, Smith announced he was working on a screenplay called Yoga Hosers. He completed the film in time for the January 2016 Sundance Film Festival. It was not based on Metke's story, but one character in the film, a yoga instructor named Yogi Bayer, was inspired by Metke. Justin Long, who played Bayer, attempted to contact Metke while preparing for the role; Metke did not respond until after Long had shot his scenes.


2011 Montreux Volley Masters
The 2011 Montreux Volley Masters was held in Montreux, Switzerland between 7–12 June 2011. Eight teams participated in this tournament.


2011 Monza GP2 and GP3 Series rounds
The 2011 Italian GP2 Series round was a GP2 Series motor race held on September 10 and 11, 2011 at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy. It was the ninth round of the 2011 GP2 season and the eighth round of the 2011 GP3 season. The race supported the 2011 Italian Grand Prix. This was the last championship round of the season for both series, but GP2 will race a non-championship round in Abu Dhabi.


2011 Monza GP2 and GP3 Series rounds
In GP2 Series, after Romain Grosjean clinched Drivers' Championship in the previous round, the contest for the Teams' title continued as Barwa Addax was only 8 points ahead DAMS in the standings, but the Spanish team won the title after the last race.


2011 Monza GP2 and GP3 Series rounds
In GP3 Series, Lotus ART was crowned Teams' Champion in Belgium, while in the Drivers' standings Valtteri Bottas, who held a five-point lead over his teammate James Calado before the round, with Nigel Melker, Alexander Sims and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs all having mathematically a chance, sealed the title with his victory in Race 1.


2011 Monza Superbike World Championship round
The 2011 Monza Superbike World Championship round was the fourth round of the 2011 Superbike World Championship. It took place on the weekend of May 6–8, 2011 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza located in Monza, Italy.


2011 Moorilla Hobart International
The 2011 Moorilla Hobart International was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 18th edition of the event and was part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour. It took place at the Hobart International Tennis Centre in Hobart, Australia from 7 through 15 January 2011.


2011 Moorilla Hobart International, Entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2011 Moorilla Hobart International, Champions, Doubles
Sara Errani /  Roberta Vinci defeated  Kateryna Bondarenko /  Līga Dekmeijere, 6–3, 7–5


2011 Moorilla Hobart International – Doubles
Chuang Chia-jung and Květa Peschke were the defending champions after they defeated Chan Yung-jan and Monica Niculescu in the 2010 final. However, they chose to not participate this year. 3rd seeds Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci won in the final 6–3, 7–5, against Kateryna Bondarenko and Līga Dekmeijere.


2011 Moorilla Hobart International – Singles
Alona Bondarenko was the defending champion, but chose not to participate this year due to a wrist injury. 6th seed Jarmila Groth won in the final 6–4, 6–3, against Bethanie Mattek-Sands.


2011 Morehead State Eagles football team
The 2011 Morehead State Eagles football team represented Morehead State University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Eagles were led by 18th-year head coach Matt Ballard and played their home games at Jayne Stadium. They are a member of the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 3–8, 2–6 in PFL play to finish the season in a tie for eighth place.


2011 Moremi Air Cessna 208 crash
On 14 October 2011, a Cessna 208 Caravan turboprop passenger aircraft operated by Moremi Air on a domestic flight from Xakanaka camp to Maun, Botswana, crashed and caught fire shortly after take-off, killing eight of the twelve people on board.


2011 Moremi Air Cessna 208 crash
The following investigation concluded that the aircraft suffered a catastrophic engine failure on take-off, compounded by environmental hazards at  Xakanaka, which led to the plane hitting trees and crashing to the ground.