Star Tribune

Even Paul Bunyan, the mythic Minnesota lumberjack, couldn't have defended the barrage of comments and condolences my home state brought on lately. With the Minnesota Vikings' heartbreaking overtime loss to...

Last week, a group of seven citizens decided the image of Sacajawea should succeed that of Susan B. Anthony on the face of the new dollar coin. They were the...

I was 16 when my father left. That year there was no Christmas tree, no turkey dinner or presents. My mother worked two jobs as a cleaning lady. I sold...

Last night this old house heard a noise it hasn't heard in a long time; the soft wailing of an open soul. I first heard it as I worked at...

Two days after Fred's son died, his neighbor invited him to the first Promise Keepers rally held in Minneapolis. Fred accepted the invitation on the spot. He needed someone to...

I used to be one of those bootlegging, trunk stuffing, Wisconsin-border-running illegal firecracker smugglers. But no more. No more lugging cherry bombs across the border for me. I've seen the...

I received only one sympathy card after my sister's death. It was from a colleague I barely know. He wrote, "I don't know how I would cope with such a...

The manger scene under my Christmas tree is nearly 50 years old. Baby Jesus' head needs gluing and Joseph's plaster beard is scuffed white. But my little Mary still is...

I first noticed her discontent at our Women's Retreat last October. There was a quiet change in her, a subtle restlessness behind her tears during the opening service. During our...

On my left sat an attorney for a utility who described himself as "a Clinton fan." On the aisle was a retired farmer who addressed all the state officials by...