Recent content from Jennifer Brooks
Brooks: Serving up cobbler and community in downtown Mpls.
Come for the cobbler, stay for community at Lutunji's Palate.
Brooks: Downtown Minneapolis isn't what it was — but that's OK
Planner and dreamers say "tremendous opportunities" could emerge after the latest pandemic.
Brooks: When the clocks sprang forward, the weary cows laid back down
Cows have just as much of a mental clock as we do, a dairy farmer said, so a time change "really messes with them."
Brooks: It was a nice ride while it lasted for Twin Cities ridesharing bikes
Nice Ride rolling away, but the memories linger
Brooks: St. Paul libraries, home of the brave readers
There, a community gathers to read about things that can be hard to talk about — like mental health.
Brooks shares Deputy Ali's American dream: Building trust by showing up for people
Raised in a community with little trust for law enforcement, a new Ramsey County deputy works to earn that trust.
Brooks: Sizing up Minnesota's place on the unbanned book list
Libraries are a treasure. Not everyone treasures them.
Brooks: The Dakotas are a drag
Lawmakers in both Dakotas are working hard to turn their states into that dreary town from the movie "Footloose."
Brooks: Winter brings out the best in Minnesota because it brings out the best Minnesotans
Things to remember when a winter wonderland feels more like a "wonder why we live here" land.
Brooks: Lake Harriet Band Shell's new color pits the blue vs. the gray
Neighbors watch closely as Minneapolis Park and Rec works to restore a local landmark.
Brooks: The long road to clear sidewalks in Minneapolis
Minneapolis residents have been asking for 80 years why their city plows the streets, but leaves sidewalk snow removal to property owners.
Brooks: Antivaxxers try out some new losing election slogans at State Capitol
Extremists rally against vaccines and/or the prospect of ever winning another statewide election.
Brooks: Minneapolis shelter went the extra mile to give this Grinch a home
The city animal shelter went from high-kill to no-kill, just in time to save its angriest, fluffiest kitten.
Brooks: Minneapolis congregation mobilizes to give kids of color dolls that look like them
Diverse dolls, collected by a north Minneapolis church, will help make the season bright.
Brooks: Big help for entrepreneurs' big dreams
St. Thomas business students offer their consulting services to community entrepreneurs.
Brooks: Want to run or roll around the Vikings stadium? It'll cost you
Higher prices, high snowdrifts won't keep fans from a Winter Warm-Up ritual.
Brooks: Lake Street mall businesses held on for us. They're hoping we show up for them this season
Stores were gleaming on Black Friday, owners hoping to attract shoppers to their wares.
Brooks: After the Bataan Death March, a life of gratitude
A mother's letter to a son who survived overflows with thanksgiving, as does the memoir he later wrote.
Brooks: Twitter, Twitter burning bright
Live-tweeting the last days of Twitter. Or just another weird day on Twitter. With Twitter, it's hard to tell.
Brooks: A love note to the election workers
Running an election has never been harder — or more important.
Brooks: Affordable housing in Marcy-Holmes? Not in our backyards, neighbors say
Fraternity Row worries that affordable housing next door will bring down the neighborhood.
Brooks: Heal Mpls eatery nourishing the North Side
One of the newest restaurants in north Minneapolis is all about herbs, eats and love.
Brooks: Last year he yelled at the district. Now he wants to join its board.
The wannabe public servant called the district's leaders, including its Black superintendent, "Power-Monkeys"
Brooks: As prices rise, hunger reaches deep into affluent suburbs
The rising cost of everything is driving more families to food shelves than the COVID-19 pandemic ever did.
Brooks: Picking up the pieces at the Survivors of Sexual Violence Memorial
For the second time, a vandal has attacked a space set aside for grief and healing
Brooks: A birthday story for George Floyd
The little girl who witnessed George Floyd's murder shares a story of healing and resilience
Brooks: Fire crews stand ready in parched Minnesota
DNR issues a red flag warning for drought-stricken stretches of the state as fire season looms.
Brooks: Jack Jablonski gives Minnesota another gift
When someone comes out to you, say "thank you," says a school equity coordinator.
Brooks: He made his corner of the world just a bit better
For 45 years, Andy Martin devoted his life to improving the lives of children in the Twin Cities.
History repeating: A cruel hoax Minnesota has seen before
The immigrants tricked into traveling to Martha's Vineyard echo the cruel "Reverse Freedom Ride" hoax of 1962 that lured Black families from the segregated South to Minnesota with false promises of jobs, housing and Christmas dinner with Hubert Humphrey
Brooks: A bipartisan love story in a divided America
A reminder that there are more things that bring Americans together than tear them apart
For some families, going back to school means going back to lunchroom debt
Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid surveyed school lunchroom policies now that the state has banned lunch shaming for students who owe money for their meals.
Brooks: Love is in the air at the Minnesota State Fair
An Arizona couple joined a long list of couples whose marriages got their start at summer's end.
Brooks: The Great Minnesota Get-Together gets great again
On the happy, sunny, crowded State Fairgrounds, Minnesotans remember what they like about this place
Brooks: Hate has crept out of shadows, but communities are pushing back
Racists have been stuffing hate mail into baggies weighted down with corn and hurling them at houses across the metro, like the world's worst game of cornhole.
Brooks: Adieu to 'I do' at the Mall of America
After 28 years and 8,000 marriages, the megamall's wedding chapel is closing its doors.
Brooks: Beloved Twin Cities businesses are making a comeback, thanks to you
Fans have donated to save a St. Paul diner and an independent Minneapolis bookstore.
Brooks: Going the distance at Hiawatha Golf Course in Minneapolis
At the Junior Bronze tournament, generations reflect on the historic public golf course's history, and its uncertain future.
Brooks: Competing fundraisers offer snapshot of a Mpls. tragedy
In the traumatic aftermath of yet another Minneapolis police shooting, two online fundraisers became an online scorecard.
Brooks: Minnesota businesses chew over new edibles law
This was going be a big summer for Minnesota medical marijuana. This was going to be the summer the state finally let them sell edibles.
Brooks: The battle for reproductive rights moves to the front register
A Wisconsin Walgreens clerk doesn't want to sell you sinners a condom.
Brooks: 47 cats rescued from hot car will find new homes; maybe their human will too someday
The felines were rescued in mid-June from an overheated SUV where they had been living with their owner at a Chisago County rest stop.
Brooks: Brandons are ready to go reclaim their name
NASCAR racer Brandon Brown — of "Let's Go Brandon" fame — is ready to reclaim his good name, with the help of a 9-year-old Brandon from Minnesota.
Brooks: As Roe ruling loomed, Woodbury school shied away from play about pregnancy
School officials nix a play about pregnant teens for fear of "the current political climate."
Brooks: In pipeline from prison to law, she marks a first in the nation
Mitchell Hamline Law School is the first in the country to enroll a student who is still imprisoned
Brooks: A restaurant, an angry customer and a reminder about being kind to the ones who showed up
Community rallies around the Lynhall after reports of a customer's threat to "destroy" it on social media.
Brooks: South Dakota versus the abortion ban
South Dakota found out that total abortion bans aren't what the majority of voters want.
Brooks: In a twist, 'Let's Go Brandon' helps a Minnesota boy let go of his fears
A sign meant to make someone feel bad accidentally made one little boy feel pretty good.
Brooks: Vandals don't silence Survivors Memorial at Boom Island Park in Minneapolis
With thousands of dollars donated to repair the damage, the memorial is proving as resilient as the survivors it was created to celebrate and console.
Brooks: A downtown Minneapolis bakery's first week has the bitter and the sweet
A grand opening, a break-in and a small Minneapolis bakery's first week in business.
Department of Corrections to open tattoo parlor at Stillwater prison
Minnesota prisons are getting into the tattoo businesses
Brooks: Walter Mondale's urn rich in family and history
Made by Stillwater potter Warren MacKenzie, the urn once held the ashes of Mondale's wife, Joan
Brooks: A young author checks herself into the library
Delighted librarians have turned Forest Lake fourth-grader's debut novel into de facto e-book.
Jennifer Brooks: Oh say can you see a better flag for Minnesota
Legislature gets serious about finding a state flag with less nudity and racism.
Brooks: The art of protesting the Russian Embassy
A Minnesota-born artist put his support for Ukraine into his art, then put his art where Russia's diplomats can't miss it
Brooks: A scaled-back Minnesota fishing opener tries to preserve the traditions that matter
Has Minnesota become the sort of place where political divisions mean we can't even fish together?
Brooks: Minneapolis, St. Paul volunteers give the gift of comfort food
United Way drive collects culturally-specific pantry staples
Brooks: Spring cleaning in the Camden neighborhood of Minneapolis
A north Minneapolis entrepreneur working toward the future takes out the trash.
Brooks: Closing time at Deb's Place means the end to a longtime gathering spot
In the last days of the Maplewood Perkins, regulars returned to share a few meals and memories.
Brooks: For these Minnesotans, some jobs are worth striking for
While some quit in search of better jobs, others stay to try to improve conditions at the jobs they have.
Brooks: Cheatham Avenue leads Minneapolis into its future
A street once named after the founder of the Minnesota Eugenics Society now honors Minneapolis' first Black fire captain
Brooks: Minnesota teacher who fled Kyiv bears witness for Ukraine
Class continues for Ruth Karnowski of Little Falls, who is working now from Slovakia for the sake of some of the war's littlest refugees.
Brooks: Sen. David Tomassoni won't battle ALS alone
Lawmakers, scientists and celebrities unite to fight a disease that has taken some of Minnesota's favorite Minnesotans
Brooks: Park Board takes another swing at Hiawatha golf course
Preservationists and pro golfers rally around the Hiawatha golf course
Brooks: Solar garden powering and empowering north Minneapolis
For neighbors in north Minneapolis, a solar garden represents more than just a chance for cheaper electric bills
Brooks: The COVID pandemic and Edina's broken hearts
At a time when many are eager to move on from COVID, Edina remembers.
Brooks: For lawmaker, a shooting by police hits home
Rep. Esther Agbaje was home when SWAT team opened fire in her apartment building
Brooks: Downtown boosters work on 'Reanimating Minneapolis'
Downtown Minneapolis shifts from trying to get through COVID to learning to live with it
Brooks: Minnesota's irreplaceable replacement teachers
Substitute teachers hold Minnesota schools together as the pandemic tears everything apart.
Brooks: Once upon an Ojibwe story time in Duluth
The St. Louis County Historical Society and Ojibwe authors open a new storytelling chapter.
Brooks: North Minneapolis community finds a way to get COVID tests, residents living again
When there weren't enough COVID tests to go around in north Minneapolis, a community rallied.
Brooks: A fitting final resting place among pioneers and soldiers in Minneapolis
Longtime volunteer Jack Ferman's last wish was to be buried at Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery.
