Minnesota: 50 things to like about the North Star State

January 24, 2026

In recent weeks Minnesota has made national headlines, and it’s caused negative impressions among many people who’ve never visited our state. I want to respond by listing everything I can think of that’s good about it. I can’t do that because it would take the entire editorial page. I’ll settle for listing 50 of the most famous things. For starters we have Twins, Vikings, Wild, Timberwolves and Lynx. We have the Mayo Clinic, Fort Snelling, Minnehaha Falls, and the Pillsbury Dough Boy. Then there’s Red Wing Shoes, the Watkins spice factory in Winona, and the Schwan Food ...

What’s missing from ICE conversation? Dialogue

January 22, 2026

Right now, Minnesota is in the national spotlight, and not for good reasons. First, because our state government failed to stop massive fraud. Then because federal immigration enforcement drew national attention, protests, and tragedy. These operations removed dangerous criminals from our streets, including people convicted of violent crimes who were in the country illegally. They also resulted in the death of Renee Good. Depending on who you ask, you’ll hear two very different stories. Some say Good acted on a moral obligation to oppose federal actions. Others say an ICE officer ...

The purse

January 20, 2026

Astronomers tell us that somewhere out in the vastness of space there are curious objects known as black holes. Formed during the collapse of super-huge stars, these things are so massive and their gravity so intense that nothing — not even light or Harry Houdini — can escape the clutches of their immense gravity. When I first heard about black holes, I got that funny feeling called déjà vu. This is because I thought that they were describing my wife’s purse. If women are an enigma wrapped in a mystery, then their purses fall into the realm of the unknowable. As any married ...

Anniversary of Star Trek brings back basement memories

January 17, 2026

Sometimes I’m surprised by parade units in the Tournament of Roses Parade and Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. It might be a band from the Upper Midwest, a new giant balloon, a colorful float or some other attraction. There’s usually at least one surprise each year. Earlier this month the Rose Parade included a float commemorating one of my favorite childhood television shows. It’s the 60th anniversary of Star Trek, 60 years since the Enterprise first appeared on television screens. I was a big fan of Star Trek reruns in the late 1970s. I was a Trekkie. I had the Enterprise play ...

Limiting how we are treated

January 14, 2026

What are our personal rules that determine how we want other people to interact with us, and to treat us? What are the boundaries that we expect other people to recognize, accept, and respect? We all have those personal rules but we do not always think about them or put them into words. These rules are a big part of who we are, and they determine what we want and expect from other people. They determine what we will accept and tolerate from the people we encounter in our life. We tend to react when the boundaries we set are violated. There are also internal boundaries, or rules, ...

Passing on chance of glory

January 13, 2026

I recently stopped at the post office to mail a few packets. This is something that would normally take only a few minutes, but it consumed nearly half an hour and caused my wife to suffer some undue alarm. It wasn’t the post office’s fault. As I approached its exit, a vaguely familiar face hovered before me. It took a moment for the memory synapses to click. “Mr. Schrader?” I asked. “Is that you?” It was. Mel Schrader taught science class when I was in seventh grade. We chatted amiably for several minutes when a particular memory percolated up. “I remember in ...