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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Readers and writers: A sobering look at the vanishing prairie
A sweeping look at the vanishing American prairie and two crime novels set in Minnesota are this week's offerings to our readers. 'Sea of Grass': by Dave Hage and Josephine Marcotty (Random House, $32) Agriculture has altered — and damaged — the very biological and chemical cycles that created the extraordinary prairie in the first place, from the creation of soil to the flow and purity of water, to the ebb of wildlife and the circulating of elements in and out of the atmosphere. It's created intractable pollution problems that endanger human health and cripple other ecosystems, from its damage to insects to the dead zone in the Golf of Mexico. — from 'Sea of Grass' In this timely and important book, subtitled 'The Conquest, Ruin, and Redemption of Nature on the American Prairie,' award-winning former Star Tribune writers Hage and Marcotty explore and explain the environmental crisis caused by the disappearance of thousands of acres of American prairie that once stretched from Montana to Illinois, eastern Minnesota to northern Texas. The North American prairie, they write, is one of Earth's four great temperate grasslands, the others being the steppes of Central Asia, the Pampas of South America, and the veld of southern Africa. It is also one of the most threatened ecosystems on Earth, home to small insects and big grazing mammals. Before the Industrial Revolution took hold in farming, the untouched prairie grasses created a web of roots that could grow as deep as two feet into the ground. When white settlers arrived in the 19th century they brought with them plows that tore up the prairie for the first time. These pioneers used rudimentary plows, but when steel plows became available farmers were able to plant and harvest much more food per acre to feed a growing population. This affected the prairie's biological diversity as rivers were rerouted, synthetic nitrogen became a standard fertilizer and the delicate symbiosis of the prairie was uprooted. Over decades the prairie was converted into some of the richest farmland on Earth, but the country paid a terrible price The authors help us understand what that price means in chapters examining river, dirt, bugs and water. For Minnesotans, the discussion about rivers might be the most important as we learn how the Mississippi picks up fertilizer runoff from rivers that flow into it, growing more polluted as it rolls through the Twin Cities southward until the pollutants create a 'dead zone' of chemicals in the Gulf of Mexico. Now industrial agriculture is plowing up the remaining grasslands at the rate of 1 million acres a year If the sea of grass is to be saved, the authors argue, it will take cooperation between farmers who care about the land, help from the federal government and efforts by eco-conscious consumers. Although we are losing everything from bees to oysters, 'Sea of Grass' ends with hope that comes from people like South Dakota writer and buffalo rancher Dan O'Brien, who sees the great creatures that once roamed the prairie as far as the eye could see as a way to restore the animals' ancestral home. Books about environmental devastation are increasingly common as we watch the natural world we once knew disappear. 'Sea of Grass,' written clearly and with passion, is one of the best. The authors will introduce 'Seas of Grass' during a free program at 7 p.m. Thursday at Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls. 'Rattlesnake Bluff': by Cary J. Griffith (Adventure Publications, $16.95) '..they hadn't anticipated a rattlesnake's denning instincts, the keen skillset of a wolf dog's nose, the remarkable aptitude of a DNR herpetologist, DNA analysis of isolated rattlesnake populations, or the use of implanted chips to track rattlesnake specimens. Or that an apparently forged confession might contain the details of what actually happened. — from 'Rattlesnake Bluff' A rattlesnake found on the seat of a Bobcat at a construction site sends U.S. Fish & Wildlife Special Agent Sam Rivers and his wolf dog Gray into investigating a 23-year-old crime in the fifth book in this appealing series. This is no ordinary rattler; it's an eastern massasauga, an endangered species that doesn't belong in Minnesota although it might have escaped from a Wisconsin research facility where a scientist is implanting snakes to track their movements. Rivers is joined by local DNA personnel as he tries to figure out if he needs to shut down the site where the snake was found, holding up construction of expensive homes. When Gray tracks the scent of two bodies buried in the bluff, everything changes. The readers know how the decayed bodies of a young brother and sister got to their rocky resting place but Sam does not. Meanwhile, Sam's boss in Denver is not happy with him staying in Minnesota and getting behind on paperwork he avoids. The cast includes a mysterious person who called himself Der Furher as a teenager, Sam's fiancee who just wants him to come home, and a woman contractor working hard in a business dominated by men. 'Rattlesnake Bluff' gets more complicated and dangerous as Sam and others get closer to figuring out what the snakes have to do with the building site and learn new details about the night the young siblings were killed when hit by a car. Rivers is a smart guy who knows his flora and fauna as well as his duty to wildlife, even snakes. Readers who can't stand the thought of snakes, even on the page, will be happy to know that the creatures are not described in great detail and one of them is dead. The author, who also writes nature-based nonfiction, grew up roaming the woods, fields and waters of eastern Iowa, where he developed a lifelong love of wild places. 'Payne Avenue': by M.T. Bartone (Modern Prose Press, $13.99) Eddie laughed as he tightened his grip on O's wrist before quickly yanking out the little screwdriver. O screamed as he pulled his mangled hand away from Eddie. He held it gingerly in his other hand, close to his chest. — from 'Payne Avenue' Set in the neighborhoods surrounding St. Paul's Payne Avenue, this is the story of the rise and fall of Eddie Bracchio, a gangster who returns to St. Paul from Brooklyn and sees ways to build a criminal empire while betraying his powerful boss. A wave of new owners brings fresh energy to independent bookselling Readers and writers: Immersion, writing from the heart help non-Native novelist access the culture 12 new books to send restless readers on a summer road trip Literary calendar for week of May 18: 'Weird, Sad and Silent' Readers and writers: Selections for Mental Health Awareness Month Eddie begins slowly, recruiting two teen boys to become his drug dealers. Carefully and sometimes violently, he replaces the neighborhoods' low-level crime bosses and builds a successful illegal business, siphoning money that's rolling in through the books of a restaurant he helps an old woman open. What Eddie wants most, though, he can't have — beautiful Kate De Luca, who's married and has no idea Eddie wants to control and possess her. When Kate suffers a tragedy, the plot becomes hers as she ponders revenge. 'Payne Avenue' is long at 154 pages, which sometimes slows the plot. But the author does a fine job of giving readers a sense of place, with characters moving along the streets that surround Payne Avenue in this tale of a killer whose ambition is his ruin.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Pine City Pride 20 years later: a proclamation about being yourself in rural Minnesota
(Photos courtesy of themncolumn, from "Pine City Pride 2012," Flickr.) Two decades ago, a quiet but radical act took place in Pine City, Minnesota. It didn't involve picket signs, marches or sweeping legislative change. It was a picnic. In a park. With a rainbow flag fluttering from a folding table, a handful of brave souls gathered near the Snake River to celebrate who they were — out loud — for the first time in their rural town. That picnic was the beginning of East Central Minnesota Pride. And, unbeknownst to many at the time, it was the first rural LGBTQ Pride event in the United States. This June, Pine City — population 4,200 and growing — will celebrate the 20th anniversary of that event. In doing so, we celebrate more than a milestone. We honor the legacy of a place that chose community over conformity, compassion over silence, and inclusion over fear. The story of rural Pride didn't begin in a metro center with corporate floats or glitter bombs. It started in a town known more for fishing derbies and Friday fish fries than for progressive firsts. Back in 2005, when rural queerness was still mostly whispered or erased, a small group of LGBTQ locals and allies chose to be visible. Their gathering was met with curiosity, quiet resistance, and eventually, something even more powerful: acceptance. In fact, the event drew enough attention that by 2007, the Star Tribune ran a headline that captured both the controversy and the charm of it all: 'Hot-button issues with potato salad.' The picnic may have seemed simple on the surface, but it challenged deeply held assumptions about who belongs in rural spaces — and how loudly they're allowed to exist. Over time, East Central Minnesota Pride became an anchor — both for LGBTQ residents, and for the whole region. Today, the event features live music, drag performances, speakers and families pushing strollers past booths staffed by churches, businesses and nonprofits. The small town where it began now hosts crowd sizes that crack the thousand mark each year, including people from towns that still don't have a Pride of their own. What Pine City proved is that Pride doesn't require a skyline. It requires courage. And community. And a willingness to believe that small towns can be big-hearted. Don Quaintance, one of the event's founding members, put it best: 'Small-town Pride events are the ones that create the change. It's easy to blend in with 500,000 of your friends at the Twin Cities Pride festival — and another to be one of 500 in Pine City. That takes a good deal of courage.' In many ways, Pine City's embrace of Pride helped shape its evolution. Last year, the town elected Minnesota's only openly gay mayor, Kent Bombard — a lifelong resident who volunteered for the other big event in town, the Pine County Fair — long before running for office. The city continues to grow, becoming more diverse, inclusive and welcoming with each passing year. Of course, it hasn't always been easy. There have been critics, letters to the editor, even threats. But each year the rainbow returns to the town square at Robinson Park, each year families attend together, and each year more younger people see a future for themselves here — without needing to leave home to live authentically. That matters. Because for every rural LGBTQ person who finds support in their hometown, we chip away at the idea that queerness belongs only in cities. We push back against the false choice between authenticity and belonging. And we remind the world that rural America is not a monolith. As someone who grew up in Pine City and has watched this transformation firsthand, I can tell you that the real success of rural Pride isn't measured in crowd size or media mentions. It's measured in conversations between neighbors. In rainbow stickers on truck bumpers. In the kid who doesn't flinch before saying 'my boyfriend' at Walmart. That's where the revolution lives. There are now more than 20 rural and small-town Pride celebrations across Minnesota, and dozens more nationally. Some have grown big and bold; others remain intimate. All of them owe a quiet debt to Pine City. As we gather again on June 7 to celebrate 20 years of rural Pride, we do so with gratitude — for the founders who risked being seen, for the allies who showed up, and for the small-town queers who keep choosing visibility. Because visibility in rural America is powerful. It's political. And it's deeply personal. Pride in Pine City may have started as a picnic, but it became a proclamation: We are here. We've been your neighbors. And we're not going anywhere. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Royce Lewis is Back and Better Than Ever… on Defense
Royce Lewis didn't go north with the Minnesota Twins out of Spring Training. That's because, as Grapefruit League play was wrapping up, he suffered a hamstring strain that cost him 34 regular season games. From there, the start of the Twins season only got worse, as they stumbled out of the games to a 7-15 start. It wasn't until their recent 13-game winning streak that Rocco Baldelli & Co. finally crawled out of that early hole they dug for themselves. Now comfortably back above .500, at 27-22 entering Thursday's off day, Lewis is back in the MN Twins lineup and seemingly getting better with every game that he plays. Advertisement But Royce Lewis has already proven, for the most part, that he can hit big league pitching. It's what he has done to fix his defensive problems at third base that is turning heads, not just inside the fanbase, but in the Twins' dugout as well. Royce Lewis playing great defense for Minnesota Twins…? Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images Royce put in the additional work this offseason, trying to improve arm angles, among other things, to try and improve the throwing errors that have hindered him since arriving in the big leagues. Through 14 regular season games since returning from the injured list, Lewis suddenly looks like a new guy with his glove on his hand. Advertisement One guy who has taken notice of the former No. 1 pick's improvements at the hot corner is Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, who told the Star Tribune's Bobby Nightengale that he and the other coaches have absolutely taken notice of Lewis' increased competency on defense.. 'We've all been really impressed. All of us in the dugout, seeing the way that he's making his initial decisions and his reads — that's where a lot of those plays are made. In the moment after the ball's hit, in the first split-second which direction you're going to go in and how you're going to attack the ball, he's been making a lot of really good decisions.' Rocco Baldelli – Star Tribune Last season, the MN Twins bounced Royce Lewis around the diamond. He didn't like the idea of playing second base. Thus, he was all but handed the hot corner prior to spring training, over Brooks Lee, who had proven to be a much better defender at third base, prior to 2025. Lewis credits both infield coach Ramon Borrego (who Lewis worked with in the minors) and St. Paul manager Toby Gardenhire for helping him get to where he needs to be, especially on defense. Royce says he's so confident in his glove right now that he feels 'like a true shortstop playing third base'. '[They] have really helped me get into a position where I feel comfortable again. I'm happy for it, man. I love being an athlete. I feel like a true shortstop playing third base.' Royce Lewis – Star Tribune Advertisement Minnesota needs Lewis to develop into a plus defender at third base, if their current and future roster makeup is going to settle like the organization believes it will. Defense is something he can contribute even when the bat isn't quite there. Like now, as he tries to find his swing, following a month and a half in the IL. Advanced metrics back up defensive eye test After going hitless in his first five games, Lewis is batting .265 with a .736 OPS in his last nine games. He launched his first home run against Milwaukee, over the weekend, and would have tied the game with his second, had he not been robbed by outfielder Jackson Chourio, later in that contest. But we know Royce will find it offensively. Until then, defense is key. Last season, Royce Lewis was worth -2 DRS (defensive runs saved) at third base (411 innings). In 2023, he finished with a +2 DRS, in roughly the same number of innings. Through just 84 innings in 2025, he's already accumulated +2 DRS. His 1 OAA (outs above average) is impressive too. You don't need advanced metrics to appreciate the way Lewis has flashed the glove since returning from the injured list. Minnesota needs that from him as well considering Brooks Lee is filling in for Carlos Correa at shortstop. Lewis has never played more than 416 innings of defense at any one position during a given season. His injury history has held him back from doing so. If he can remain healthy the rest of the way, Minnesota may have a real asset at the hot corner on their hands.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
5 years after George Floyd's murder: How the media narrative has changed around the killing and the protests that followed
On the evening of May 25, 2020, George Floyd was murdered by police outside a grocery store in Minneapolis. From the outset, the incident became a battle of narratives. The local police initially reported Floyd was experiencing 'distress' and died from a medical incident. A day later, bystander Darnella Frazier uploaded a video that showed the graphic details, including the police's excessive use of force leading up to Floyd's death. Floyd's murder, and Frazier's documentation of it, spawned what by some measures was the largest protest movement in American history. And that, too, became a contest of narratives, this time in the media. A focus on the aftermath of the events in Minneapolis, and elsewhere, were quickly supplanted by stories of lawlessness and violence by protesters. For almost a decade, I've researched the media's coverage of protests, focusing extensively on the reporting of modern-day uprisings against police brutality. Time and time again, colleagues and I have found that the bulk of news coverage of protests against police brutality tends to focus on protesters' violence, disruption or sensational actions. Yet in reading some of the coverage ahead of the fifth anniversary of Floyd's death, I have observed a different media trend. With the benefit of time, what was once a news media frenzy focusing on the violence after Floyd's killing has yielded space for reflection and coverage that legitimizes those who took to the streets. In so doing, these narrative changes provide essential opportunities to understand the complexity of journalism and social movements seen from different moments in time. Quickly after Floyd's murder in 2020, it became clear that subjects such as the role of state violence, the sophistication of demands for change and community grief were less likely to make headlines than things such as rioting and lawlessness. This pattern is part of what scholars call a 'protest paradigm' that explores the relationship between protests, media and the public. The paradigm holds that journalism often works against protest movements hoping to change the status quo. The news media's tendency to emphasize the frivolous, violent or annoying actions of protests rather than the depth of protesters' demands, grievances and agendas negatively shapes public opinion and affects the public's willingness to support the movements behind them. After Floyd's death, those closely following the coverage of conservative media were more likely to be exposed to stories that depicted protests as 'criminal mobs.' But it wasn't just conservative media. On May 31, 2020, the local paper, the Star Tribune, described the governor's 'show of strength' – a term used to describe the massive deployment of the Minnesota National Guard to help quell the 'days of lawless rampage.' Most coverage at the time fit a familiar pattern of delegitimizing the protest movement. Five years later, some delegitimizing news coverage continues to headline. The New York Post, for example, recently published a 13-minute documentary that suggests Minneapolis is still on fire. But a good portion of today's news also presents a different framing. In one five-year anniversary piece, The New York Times described George Floyd Square, the murder-site-turned-place-of-reverance for many activists and local residents, as a 'site of protest, art, grief and remembrance.' Another article in The Minnesota Star Tribune describes preservation efforts of street art and murals made by activists after the murder. Other coverage described the complicated process of demanding change and the path that remains ahead. Of course, these are selective snapshots of the coverage. And some media may shy away from covering the anniversary at all. But from my standpoint as a media scholar, the coverage that does exist has gone from being dominated by an initial focus on the violent aspects of protest to, in the main, a more reflective look at the meaning — rather than the spectacle — of the unrest. That legitimizing trend over time isn't an isolated phenomenon. My colleagues Rachel Mourão and George Sylvie and I found something similar in previous research looking at the protests that followed the killings of Trayvon Martin in Florida in 2012 and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. In our analysis of the protests following Brown's death, we observed that the first weeks of coverage focused more on protesters, delegitimizing frames and episodic news – that is, the disruption, destruction and arrests. But we saw a dramatic change by the third and fourth weeks of coverage. With the passing of time, more legitimizing frames emerged, describing the protest's substance and demands, and more thematic and in-depth reporting became apparent. We observed a similar trend when we looked out even further from the triggering events. After the trial of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch leader charged and then acquitted over the deaths of Martin, and the grand jury verdict not to indict police officer Darren Wilson over the death of Brown, news coverage of protests was more contextual and thematic. The coverage provided more space and voice to 'nonofficial' sources such as protesters and family members. The protest paradigm's persistence may be a function of journalistic bias − the adage of 'if it bleeds, it leads' talks to the immediate reporting imperative of prioritizing violence and spectacle over issues and meaning. But it can also be a consequence of how journalism operates to inform the public. When uprisings against police brutality first begin, everything is new to the journalist and the public. The initial coverage tends to reflect this newsness and emphasizes breaking news and official narratives − which are often easier to obtain than the statements of protest groups. Police departments, for example, have well-established media relations departments with preexisting relationships with journalists. These initial reports also tend to feature information that would have the biggest impact on wider communities − such as blocked highways and potential property destruction − than just the aggrieved community. This translates to more coverage generally in the aftermath of a big event − and that reporting is more likely to delegitimize protests. These are the first drafts of history, and they are typically incomplete. But five years later in the case of George Floyd and protests of his death, coverage looks more complete and complex. That complexity brings more balance, from my perspective. What journalists write years later are no longer the first drafts of history reported with limited perspectives. In these subsequent drafts, journalists have a little more time to think, learn and breathe. Immediacy takes a back burner, and journalists have had more time to collect information. And it is in these collections of subsequent drafts that the protesters and social movements get a fairer shake. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Danielle K. Brown, Michigan State University Read more: Riot or resistance? How media frames unrest in Minneapolis will shape public's view of protest Media coverage of campus protests tends to focus on the spectacle, rather than the substance Corroboree 2000, 25 years on: the march for Indigenous reconciliation has left a complicated legacy Danielle K. Brown receives funding from Lumina Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Police Chief Brian O'Hara under scrutiny over comments on Minneapolis to New York Post
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara is under scrutiny over comments he gave to a national newspaper about the city ahead of the fifth anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. The article, which featured in the conservative tabloid New York Post, proclaims Minneapolis as "still broken, divided and suffering" five years on from Floyd's killing by MPD officer Derek Chauvin, and sees O'Hara criticize the "detached, bourgeois liberal mentality" he believes is prevalent in the city. The Post states O'Hara was accustomed to a "very Democratic city" after his previous role in Newark, but "nothing prepared him for the ultra-liberal orthodoxy he encountered in Minneapolis." 'Here it's very, very ideological and a lot of times it's like reality and facts can't get through the filter. It's a very detached, bourgeois liberal mentality … It's bizarre," O'Hara is quoted as saying. The comment was met with criticism from some leaders in Minneapolis, including City Council President Elliott Payne, who told the Star Tribune: "No matter how people develop their core values, one should have a deeper understanding of the diverse perspectives of our community before engaging in conversations with New York tabloids." Ward 9 council member Jason Chavez – whose ward includes the location where Floyd was killed – also criticized O'Hara in the Star Tribune, calling his comments "counterproductive and condescending." When asked to clarify Chief O'Hara's comments in more detail, Minneapolis Police Department spokesman Sgt. Garrett Parten issued the following statement on Sunday: 'As the chief has said previously, policing in the city has become overly politicized, making it difficult to even discuss the need for effective and adequately resourced police without it being viewed through a rigid ideological lens. That's the disconnect — not with residents — but with political narratives that overshadow the real and urgent safety concerns residents are living with every day." Bring Me The News asked a series follow-up questions to MPD in response to the above statement. We sought further clarity on the "political narratives" to which O'Hara is referring, and also asking what specific talking points does O'Hara wish were not viewed through a "rigid ideological lens." We also asked whether O'Hara, who earns $280,000 annually and is the third highest-paid City of Minneapolis employee, considers Mayor Jacob Frey among those with a "bourgeois liberal mentality." It's possible that the mentality that O'Hara cites could refer to the more progressive Democrats voters have elected to serve on Minneapolis City Council and in the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, though this wasn't made clear in his comments to the Post or in the statement from the press office that followed. O'Hara has on several occasions been at odds with progressive councilors and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty – whose office has at times focused on intervention and rehabilitation over incarceration, particularly concerning younger offenders. But O'Hara has worked closely with Frey, a centrist Democrat, since joining the department in November 2022. Frey's office gained additional powers when voters approved a "strong mayor" mode of governance in 2021, shifting administrative power away from the council. While the city council is the legislative body and has discretionary powers over the city budget, it is Frey who now has power over the administration and oversight of all city departments, veto power over council legislation, and is in control over the city's police department (which he also had prior to the strong mayor model was implemented). Frey has pushed – mostly successfully – for major funding boosts to Minneapolis Police Department, to the point that the city's police officers are now among the highest paid in the nation. This follows a major exodus of police officers taking early retirement and filing disability claims amid the backlash towards city police in the wake of Floyd's murder and the 2020 riots. While O'Hara continues to butt heads with the "liberal orthodoxy" referred to in the New York Post piece, supporters of MPD have consistently scored victories in the political battle sparked by Floyd's murder. In the years that have followed, greater powers have been conferred to the mayor's office, police funding has been significantly boosted, and the effort to replace MPD with a new Department of Public Safety failed in a public vote. The policing budget in Minneapolis has risen to just under $230 million in 2025, compared to $180 million in 2022. The New York Post article also quotes Royce White, who is running as a Republican for Tina Smith's soon-to-be-vacant U.S. Senate seat, who claims the majority of protesters who took part in the riots and civil unrest that followed Floyd's murder were flown in or bused in from outside the Twin Cities.
