Curious Minnesota
Listen: How did Minnesota become one of the most racially inequitable states?
By almost any measure of social and economic well-being — unemployment, poverty, home ownership — the black-white gap in Minnesota is larger than the black-white gap elsewhere in the country. What are the origins of the disparities?
Curious Minnesota
Where did the terms 'outstate' and 'Greater Minnesota' originate?
A reader wonders: Where are "instate" and "Lesser Minnesota" located?
Curious Minnesota
Why do tiny cities like Lauderdale, Landfall and Falcon Heights exist?
Over the years, Minneapolis and St. Paul have had to make room for smaller cities that yearned for their own identities.
Curious Minnesota
Why do gas prices vary so much around Minnesota?
A Curious Minnesota reader wanted to know why gas prices are so different across the state — sometimes by nearly $1 in the metro compared to other areas.
Curious Minnesota
![Protest continued on Sunday at the 35w Bridge and University Ave. in Minneapolis. ] CARLOS GONZALEZ • cgonzalez@startribune.com – Minneapolis, MN](https://chorus.stimg.co/21677233/08_1011088574_08CGFLOYD060120_59067526.jpg?h=91&w=145&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Listen: What does 'reforming' the Minneapolis Police Department mean?
The death of George Floyd in police custody has cast an international spotlight on Minneapolis and spurred nationwide discussions about police reform. Host Eric Roper talks with reporter Andy Mannix about past attempts and what "reform" might look like.
Curious Minnesota
Which state has the best claim to Paul Bunyan?
The earliest reliable account a logging-camp tale was from — brace yourself, Minnesotans — Wisconsin. But Minnesota figures prominently in Paul Bunyan's journey after that.
Curious Minnesota
How do food scraps get recycled in Minnesota — and how good are we at it?
Residents can now recycle food scraps at the curb in more than 40 cities, either in an organics bin or special bags tossed in the trash.
Curious Minnesota
![Patrons left Surly on Saturday, August 1, 2015. ] Aaron Lavinsky ¥ aaron.lavinsky@startribune.com Restaurant review: Surly Brewing's casual beer hall](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/MZVOQDYMULLWEBJK4RYIM2UDUE.jpg?h=91&w=145&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
How many Minn. breweries existed before the microbrewery boom?
The state's history of beermaking is filled with milestones, but now brewers face an uncertain future.
Curious Minnesota
Listen: Why do so many Fortune 500 companies call Minnesota home?
Minnesota has more than its fair share of big companies that got started here with next to nothing — in a Minneapolis garage (Medtronic), a Roseau metalworking job shop (Polaris) and a stereo components store in St. Paul (Best Buy).
Curious Minnesota
Why was the career of Minnesota's first congresswoman cut short?
The state's first U.S. congresswoman took office in 1955, holding the seat for four years before a scandal disrupted her career trajectory.
Curious Minnesota
Why are Minnesota's pro teams named after the state, not a city?
While most pro teams are named after the cities they are based in, each of Minnesota's six teams uses the state name — the Twins, Vikings, Wild, Timberwolves, Lynx and United. Blame the Twin Cities.
Curious Minnesota
Curious Minnesota
Where does 'uff da' come from, and why do Minnesotans say it?
It's the most common of peculiar Minnesotan phrases. Some of us can't stop saying it. Many of us have no idea where it came from.
Local
With far less traffic, why can't MnDOT make road projects go 24/7?
Traffic has dropped by 50 percent or more since the coronavirus shut down schools and many businesses, and that has many wondering why the state Department of Transportation isn't speeding up road construction.
Curious Minnesota
Why is Minnesota more liberal than its neighboring states?
The answer is a mix of history, culture and shifting demographics.
Curious Minnesota
![Waste water churns in aeration tanks. ] Mark Vancleave - mark.vancleave@startribune.com * The Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment plant in St. Paul whic](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/UDK3H6QB5BGUQUTCUKJL6UPRUA.jpg?h=91&w=145&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
When you flush a toilet in the Twin Cities, where does everything go?
Most maps of the Twin Cities feature highways and bridges that connect our region. But few show another grid that is even more crucial to daily life.
Curious Minnesota
Listen: Why is Uptown south of downtown in Minneapolis?
"Uptown" is the name for the district around Hennepin Avenue and Lake Street, but that's a relatively recent phenomenon. Eric Roper gets to the bottom of the story behind the Uptown name.
Curious Minnesota
Was Minnesota home to nuclear missiles during the Cold War?
A reader wanted to know if it was true that the farmlands of Minnesota were once home to dozens of nuclear-tipped missiles.
Curious Minnesota
Your top questions about Minnesota lakes answered
If Minnesotans love one thing, it's their lakes. We did some research to answer your five most frequent questions about Minnesota's cherished bodies of water.
Curious Minnesota
Why does Minnesota have one of highest rates of volunteering in the country?
Minnesotans penchant for helping others goes beyond "Minnesota Nice."
Coronavirus
Pandemic prep: Here's what you need to know
As the novel coronavirus spreads across the world, we asked readers what they want to know about the pandemic. Host Eric Roper talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters Jeremy Olson and Glenn Howatt to answer your most pressing questions.
Curious Minnesota
What's the truth behind Minnesota's Kensington Runestone?
After Swedish immigrant Olof Öhman said he unearthed the rock on his farm in Kensington in 1898, it immediately became a subject of fascination.
Curious Minnesota
Why do electric-vehicle owners pay a surcharge in Minnesota?
Because EV owners aren't gas guzzlers, they don't pay state and federal gas taxes that help maintain roads and bridges. Yet they still use the state's crumbling road system.
Curious Minnesota
Why can't Minneapolis and St. Paul play nice?
It turns out Minneapolis and St. Paul's neighborly competition goes back more than a century.
Curious Minnesota
Are Minnesota's day-care costs really the highest in the nation?
Policy experts agree that child care is expensive here. But averages can be misleading, they say, and Minnesota may not be the outlier so often portrayed.
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Curious Minnesota
Curious Minnesota, a Star Tribune community-driven reporting project, puts readers' inquiries at the center of our newsroom's reporting.
