Recent content from Jim Foster
Expect another year of roster troubles from the Wild. Here's why.
Long-term deals for veterans and the ongoing aftershocks of the Parise and Suter contracts will limit what the Wild can do in 2024-25. Here's why.
Twins having surprise struggle with one impact of baseball rule changes
Shorter games and more hits are good. But all of the rule changes designed to pick up the pace of baseball appear to have an unexpected consequence that the Twins need to fix.
9 charts explain Vikings' stunning turnaround from last season
Last year, the Vikings lost one close game after another. Why are they winning those games this season? The data shows that there are reasons up and down the roster.
Doug Woog named Hockey Legacy Award recipient
The late Gophers coach was honored for his years of service to hockey.
Remembering the epic Minnesota Duluth-Bowling Green four-overtime NCAA hockey final
The Bulldogs and Falcons meet in the NCAA tournament on Saturday. Thirty-five years ago, they played the longest title game ever. The Star Tribune's Jim Foster, a UMD student reporter at the time, recalls the classic game.
A closer look at those not in church
They trend toward young and white, but the religiously unaffiliated cross all incomes and education levels.
White Bear Lake levels over the years
White Bear Lake's water levels have fluctuated over the years. The in the 1980s coincided with a drought. A judge found in 2017 that groundwater pumping was a cause of the more recent declines.
Status of state "red flag" laws
Nine states have passed legislation enabling local police to take firearms from people who are determined to be a danger to themselves or others.
Child protection reports rise
Child protection reports in Hennepin County surpassed 20,000 in 2016, the highest total in recent history.
Are hate crime numbers telling the whole story?
Participation by Minnesota law enforcement agencies in the FBI's annual tally of hate crimes has been patchy in the last decade – dipping to less than half of all agencies in some years. Last year, at 319, was the highest since 2007.
Walsh done in by inaccuracy
Blair Walsh was released as Vikings kicker after his field goal and extra-point percentages declined this season on the heels of his infamous missed field goal in the 2015 playoffs.
How independent expenditures are being spent
Here is how independent political organizations are spending money for or against Minnesota House and Senate candidates, broken down by the affiliation of the groups spending the money and whether it was targeted to a House or Senate candidate:
The biggest spenders
Political organizations that have spent the most this cycle, not including transfers made to other political organizations:
Real wages in Big Macs
Measured in Big Macs Per Hour, U.S. workers are paid more than workers anywhere, except Japan.
Top prices for Ryder Cup rentals
Homeowners near Chaska try to cash in on Ryder Cup, renting their homes out for $1000s of dollars a night. Here is a sampling from one online service.
Charity care costs deciline
Charity care spending across 10 large hospital systems in Minnesota has declined $43 million since health insurance coverage expanded in 2014 with the federal health law.
Penn-Plymouth transformation
The map below illustrates the changes expected to occur at Penn and Plymouth Avenues under the plan outlined by Hennepin County this week.
Opioid-related deaths
Opioid-related deaths in Minnesota rose 8 percent in 2015, with the largest number of deaths occurring outstate.
Train collides with propane tanker truck in northwestern Minnesota
A freight train collided with a propane tanker truck, igniting a fire and prompting the evacuation of the town of Callaway in northwestern Minnesota.
New Route 494 suburb-to-suburb express bus route is suspended
Demonstration Route 494 will make its last run on April 4 after operating for just three months, the Suburban Transit Association said.
More than a butter company
Founded as a Minnesota cooperative nearly a century ago, Land O'Lakes has major businesses in dairy food production, livestock feed, and crop supplies and consulting.
Entry-level home buyers facing dwindling options
The supply of least-expensive homes is falling dramatically, while upper-bracket listings are on the rise.
What Woodbury could save
Better controls on automatic sprinklers in one suburb alone could yield hundreds of millions of gallons in water savings in one year, a study found.
Low points: Joe Mauer's numbers from a career-worst season in 2015
Joe Mauer in 2015 had career-worst statistics in several key offensive categories. Here's a look:
C.H. Robinson moves along
Transportation firm C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. has seen net revenue grow by 38.9 percent and net income grow by 18.1 percent in the past five years.
Elder abuse cases, by the numbers
Reports made to the new Minnesota Elder Abuse Hotline. Financial exploitation is broken down by legally recognized fiduciaries, such as a conservator or financial advisor, and those who are not (i.e. relatives or strangers).
Court tightens oversight on conservators
Minnesota has established an award-winning system to audit the way court-appointed conservators handle the finances of people with dementia and other issues that prevent them from managing their own affairs -- a need that's projected to grow substantially as the population ages.
Language and education barriers
Education and the ability to speak English are key factors in landing a good job, and data show that these are potentially key reasons why Somalis in Minnesota have lower incomes.
Downturn for Famous Dave's
Famous Dave's of America stock has fallen to a nearly six-year low after the company disclosed that it had violated its debt covenants.
I-35 Express is running wild
Injuries and salary cap concerns have forced the Wild to make 30 transactions involving 10 players assigned to or recalled from its Iowa farm team. Four of the players made their NHL debuts after being recalled, while on four occasions the recalled player didn't play before being reassigned to Iowa.
Shuttered Duluth business to get new life
Jeff Foster, owner of Foster Trucking, has purchased a large Duluth bayfront industrial site that he hopes to revive into a functioning manufacturing facility.
Minnesota River crossing issues
All of the five major Minnesota River crossings that serve the southwest metro are expected to experience daily traffic increases in the next two decades, adding to congestion that's already causing headaches for commuters.
Falling gas prices
Gas prices in Minnesota are heading below $2 per gallon for the first time since February. Average prices in Rochester, Minn., already are below $2, though the statewide average is a dime higher.
Tragic site
Listed on the Register of Historic Places, the site of the mine disaster is hard to find: across Milford Lake, known as Foley Lake in 1924.
Hwy. 10 Construction in Anoka County
The Armstrong Boulevard interchange construction is likely to be the first of several projects along heavily used Hwy. 10
Hotel exterior panel collapse
Exterior panels on the front of the La Quinta Inn & Suites in Bloomington near Hwy. 100 and I-494 collapsed, forcing the hotel to close.
Slumping attendance
Average attendance for Twins games at Target Field has fallen 29.6 percent since it opened in 2010. The team is in the midst of its first winning record since that first year.
Proposed Grandview development site
Edina is closing in on a final plan for its controversial Grandview development. The city has tossed two of the final four proposals and is down to two contenders. Council was expected to select one this week but decided to study the last two further before making a decision.
Booklyn Center Little League diamond
The Brooklyn Center Little League diamond has become an illegal dump site. Thousands of pounds of concrete and what appears to be construction debris has been dumped on the property owned by the nonprofit youth baseball league that serves 150 girls and boys.
Walking Grid 54
About a handful of St. Paul and Metro Transit police officers have started to "walk the beat" in the area of Payne Avenue and Arcade Street on the East Side of St. Paul to proactively have positive contacts with kids, adults and business owners in an effort to build community.
Looking for research funding
University of Minnesota academics are turning to businesses and other sources of private funding as federal funding for research declines.
Crude oil by rail
More than half of the East Coast's crude oil arrived by rail in February, mostly from the Midwest.
Crude oil by rail
More than half of the East Coast's crude oil arrived by rail in February, mostly from the Midwest.
Stemmer Ridge Road project
The City of Prior Lake has plans for development on an approximately 900-lot annexation area in Spring Lake Township. But that development needs utilities, and there's still a missing piece at Stemmer Ridge Road that the city isn't sure how to pay for.
More older adults in shelters
People ages 38 to 47 made up the largest percentage of visitors to Higher Ground Shelter in Minneapolis in 2006. By 2012, that shifted to people between 48 and 57.
Cedar Rapids' speed trap
The vast majority of citations issued on the interstate in Cedar Rapids were issued by the two sets of speed cameras at J Avenue, just north of downtown. The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) has ruled that there is no safety rationale for the J Avenue cameras in the northbound lanes, and they should be removed. The DOT also has ruled that the J Avenue cameras in the southbound lanes should be moved back to give drivers more time to react to a lower speed limit.
Deal activity rose in the 1st quarter
U.S. mergers and acquisitions and equity-capital raising upticked in the first quarter from the same period of 2014. There were 2,593 purchases or sales of companies, continuing a brisk trend since first-quarter 2010. And a post-recession record 269 companies raised $71.5 million in equity capital through IPOs and follow-on public sales of stock.
Cedar Rapids' Speed Trap
The vast majority of citations issued on the interstate in Cedar Rapids were issued by the two sets of speed cameras at J Avenue, just north of downtown. The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) has ruled that there is no safety rationale for the J Avenue cameras in the northbound lanes, and they should be removed. The DOT also has ruled that the J Avenue cameras in the southbound lanes should be moved back to give drivers more time to react to a lower speed limit.
Oil price slump
North Dakota still produces more than a million barrels of oil a day, even though the price of oil has been cut in half and there are half as many oil drilling rigs at work.
The "West Loop"
Despite its proximity to both downtown and North Loop, the area surrounding the proposed soccer stadium remains largely underutilized. Architects at UrbanWorks have theorized about possible future improvements.
Graphic: St. Croix River Bridge modifications
The St. Croix River Bridge and associated highway modifications.
Home sales spring upward
Twin Cities home sales and median sale prices in March have reached their highest levels in almost a decade
St. Paul bicycle plan
St. Paul's new bike plan would more than double the city's 153 miles of bikeways in the next few decades
Coastal cuisine
The Norwegian Hurtigruten cruise line stops at various ports along the country's west coast, where it takes on food from local producers.
News Graphic: Wages on a slow growth path
Wages in Minnesota and the United States, adjusted for inflation, have barely risen since the turn of the millennia.
