War in Afghanistan: What you see when you only look in the mirror
Shortly before noon Thursday, waiting for a friend to show up for lunch, I flipped on MPR and heard the estimable Kerri Miller interviewing author/journalist Anna Badkhen about her book "The World Is a...
View ArticleThere's hope: Compassion can be learned
With some relatively simple training, people can learn to be more compassionate, and such training increases people’s willingness to redistribute funds altruistically, according to an intriguing new...
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South Dakota gov’s fiscal race-to-the-bottom not a selling point for...
Wry Wing Politics Dear South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard:I’ve been pondering your recent “Dakota Roots” visits to Minnesota’s Mall of America to recruit South Dakota expatriates to return to their...
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Reflections on Minneapolis madams and the city's red-light districts
Right around the corner from the condo complex where I live on Washington Avenue sits a rather elegant three-story brick building. Yes, it's a Midwestern brick box, but, with white brick eyebrows...
View ArticleMinnCan education advocacy group touts many 'wins' in legislative session
The education advocacy group MinnCan says the legislative session brought many wins in its quest for more school funding and education reform.In a note to supporters, Executive Director Daniel Sellers...
View ArticleFormer Historical Society Director Nina Archabal named Schubert Club board...
Nina Archabal, the longtime head of the Minnesota Historical Society, has been named board president of the historic Schubert Club.The Schubert Club, formed in 1882, presents classical music concerts...
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Lt. Col. Mark Weber, top military aide and inspirational author, dies at 41
DOD/Photo by D. Myles CullenLt. Col. Mark WeberLt. Col. Mark Weber, who served as a top military officer and chronicled his fight with cancer in the inspirational book "Tell My Sons," died Thursday. He...
View ArticleMinnesota and Sweden agree to continue joint bioenergy efforts
Minnesota and Sweden will continue to work jointly on bio-energy projects under an agreement signed Friday.Gov. Mark Dayton, stopping in Sweden as part of European economic development trip, signed a...
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AP reporters 'out' Nazi SS commander living in Minneapolis
So who will be the first to say, “He seemed like such a nice old guy"… ? The AP story, broken by a trio of reporters, says: “A top commander of a Nazi SS-led unit accused of burning villages filled...
View ArticleTeaching Board denies Teach for America group variance, wants individual...
Despite the pleas of numerous education advocates, school leaders, a state senator and even a fired-up grandmother, the Minnesota Board of Teaching voted 9-2 Friday to end a licensing arrangement that...
View ArticleMinnesota lawmakers attach provisions to defense policy bill
WASHINGTON — Minnesotans had mixed success amending an annual defense policy bill passed by the U.S. House on Friday. A proposal from Rep. John Kline preventing the Pentagon from dropping certain...
View ArticleMinnesota for Marriage says it spent $200,000 lobbying to fight gay-marriage law
Minnesota for Marriage says it spent $200,000 lobbying against the gay-marriage bill that passed the Legislature this session.The group says the money, spent from Jan. 1 to May 31, was raised soleloy...
View ArticleSt. Paul renames sports fields in honor of late NFL star Stacy Robinson
St. Paul officials will rename a set of sports fields Saturday in honor of local NFL star Stacy Robinson, who died last year of multiple myeloma at age 50.Some former NFL players and Robinson's family...
View ArticleMN Blog Cabin Roundup, 6/14
The politics of dumb infrastructurefrom streets.mn by Nathaniel M. HoodWe have a political situation in the United States where Democrats are too eager to build anything if it creates a job and the...
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Can families be living art? A Father's Day tribute
CC/Flickr/Dimitris AgelakisMy friend's approach to family embodies aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba’s goal of creating an “art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting...
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Ranked-choice voting could restore health to our state's body politic
Dr. Glen NelsonSomething refreshing is happening in the contest to determine who will be the next mayor of Minnesota’s largest city: The candidates are engaged in a discussion about the future of the...
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Bundled services help immigrants move toward the American Dream
Fadumo Shirelle arrived in St. Paul eight years ago, a 17-year-old refugee from Somalia who spoke no English and felt nervous about starting over in a strange land.Now she’s a community organizer with...
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'Invisible' Dick Bancroft chronicled historic American Indian Movement
Courtesy of Borealis Press/Dick BancroftListening to Testimony on Sterilization of Indian Women: The United Nations International NGO Conference on Indigenous Populations and the Land, Geneva,...
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Deadlocked Minneapolis DFLers go home with no mayoral endorsement
In the end, DFL delegates to the Minneapolis city convention decided to go home Saturday without a mayoral endorsement, but they couldn’t even agree on that decision as a group.The last two candidates...
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Future parks in the Twin Cities: Start with downtowns and along Green Line
CC/Flickr/Doug KerrAs both the Twin Cities grow, there is a renewed appreciation for our parks, and a desire to weave green space into the fabric of our community.Now that summer is finally here, most...
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