Laura Yuen
Columnist
Minnesota LifeLaura Yuen writes opinion and reported pieces exploring parenting, gender, family and relationships, with special attention on women and underrepresented communities. She looks for the deeper resonance of a story, to humanize it, and make it universal.
Before joining the Star Tribune in 2021, Laura spent 13 years at MPR News, most recently as editor of a team covering race, class, communities and education. She also reported for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader. Her column writing has earned national honors from the National Headliner Awards and the Society for Features Journalism. At MPR, her investigative reporting on the company’s handling of allegations against Garrison Keillor received some of journalism’s highest awards for ethics.
She gravitates toward telling stories that answer good questions, that make people laugh or cry, and expand on the truths and nuances of life that often go beyond the daily headlines.
To follow her work by email, subscribe to Laura's newsletter at startribune.com/yuenalert.
Latest from Laura Yuen
Yuen: ICE keeps knocking on her door. Her neighbor keeps standing watch.
President Trump wants Americans to believe Minnesotans resent our immigrant neighbors. A friendship on a quiet suburban street tells a different story.
December 16, 2025
Yuen: Yes, someone really sawed the head off that roadkill deer
“Is this normal?” a Twin Cities suburban mom asked after noticing the grotesque sight of a decapitated buck with her three kids.
December 11, 2025
Yuen: Has Trump actually ever met a Somali Minnesotan?
The president’s comments about Somali Americans aren’t just racist. They’re wildly disconnected from the reality.
December 4, 2025
Yuen: How can you tell if something’s been written by ChatGPT? Let’s delve.
What we gain — and lose — when we outsource so much of our writing to AI.
November 25, 2025
What’s it like to use Waymo? We rode in a driverless car — and would try it again.
The driverless ride-sharing company is expanding to Minneapolis. Here’s how it works and what it’s like.
November 21, 2025
Yuen: Before Minnesota became a Hmong magnet, one family led the way
Fifty years after arriving as Minnesota’s first Hmong refugees, the Hawj family’s story reveals how this community reshaped the culture, politics and imagination of a state.
November 21, 2025
Yuen: They said ‘6-7’ — and somehow, so did I
How a nonsense phrase from Gen Alpha snuck into our adult vocabularies.
November 7, 2025
Yuen: Why everyone’s finally talking about menopause — and why it’s about time
A new conference in Minneapolis invites speaker Dr. Sharon Malone, who says menopause can be the best time of a woman’s life.
November 3, 2025
Whatever happened to Minneapolis’ Zombie Pub Crawl?
A huge festival that set world records in attendance seemed to have its own apocalypse.
October 24, 2025
Yuen: Her leg is gone after a hit-and-run. Will the driver turn himself in?
Weeks after the crash that changed her life, motorcyclist Andrea Lee is asking not for revenge, but for the man who hit her to come forward.
October 24, 2025
Yuen: Why is that horse dressed like a magic carpet? Meet the woman behind the costumes.
A Stillwater mom’s Halloween-themed horse posts aren’t just for laughs. They support a mission to help kids experience the magic of horses, free of charge.
October 17, 2025
Yuen: The classroom distraction no one wants to talk about
We took phones out of classrooms — and handed kids something just as addictive.
October 12, 2025
