Staff Directory 6370573

Pamela Miller

Night Metro Editor | Newsroom
Phone: 612-673-4290

Pam Miller is one of two night metro editors for the Star Tribune. In her 30 years at the paper, she has also worked as a copy editor, reporter and West Metro Team editor.


Miller previously worked at the Duluth News Tribune and the Anchorage Daily News. She lives in Old Frontenac, Minn.
Recent content from Pamela Miller
Margaret Renkl

Our back yards are the world, essayist Margaret Renkl reminds us

NONFICTION: Her gentle, powerful voice is just right for these times, and she's coming for Talking Volumes.
Scott_Chaskey

Review: 'Soil and Spirit,' by Scott Chaskey

NONFICTION: Scott Chaskey claims a place for humanity in the messy, intricate web of life.
Wendell Berry

Review: 'How it Went,' by Wendell Berry

FICTION: In the novel "How it Went," an American literary legend explores a familiar theme — what is lost when small agrarian communities fade and fold.
Barbara Kingsolver

Review: 'Demon Copperhead,' by Barbara Kingsolver

FICTION: Barbara Kingsolver's latest, and best, re-creates "David Copperfield" in America's Appalachians.
Richard Terrill

Review: 'Essentially: Essays,' by: Richard Terrill

NONFICTION: Cranky and wise, Minnesota essayist salutes the things that matter most.
Barry Babcock

Review: 'Teachers in the Forest,' by Barry Babcock

NONFICTION: Barry Babcock's inspirations include an Ojibwe spiritual leader and wolves.
Thomas Keneally

Review: 'The Dickens Boy,' by Thomas Keneally

At 16, Charles Dickens' son immigrated to Australia. What became of him there will transfix readers in this novel by the author of "Schindler's List."
“When Ghosts Come Home” by Wiley Cash

Don't Miss: 'When Ghosts Come Home,' by Wiley Cash

Let's face it, some states are more evocative than others — take North Carolina. So many Americans of all ethnicities have ties to its cities…
Merganser, illustration from “Within These Woods” by Timothy Goodwin. Riverfeet Press

Review: 'Within These Woods,' by Timothy Goodwin

NONFICTION: Essays celebrate the joy and connections to be found in the deep woods.
Apple Valley man's death was caused by home fireworks, police say

Apple Valley man's death was caused by home fireworks, police say

Police received a call just after 10 a.m. Sunday that the man was lying deceased in a back yard on Gavotte Avenue.
First responders worked at the scene of a fatal Green Line-vehicle crash Sunday afternoon in St. Paul. One person died and another was gravely injured

One killed, one critically hurt when Green Line train hits vehicle

One person was killed and a second was critically injured Sunday afternoon when a Green Line light-rail train struck a vehicle that was on the…
Steven Wingate

Review: 'The Leave-Takers,' by Steven Wingate

FICTION: Amid much death, a troubled couple create a life worth fighting for.
Andromeda Romano-Lax

Review: 'Annie and the Wolves,' by Andromeda Romano-Lax

FICTION: A historian's quest to understand Annie Oakley's reference to "wolves" leads to wild adventures, including time travel.
A Minneapolis Police Department squad car.

Suspect arrested in serial vandalism to elderly woman's Minneapolis home

Outraged detectives eagerly volunteered to work on the case, a police spokesman said.
Fireflies in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Radim Schreiber

Review: 'World of Wonders' by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

NONFICTION; In beautifully illustrated essays, poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil writes of exotic flora and fauna and her family, and why they are all of one piece.
Lin Enger photo by Kathy Enger

Review: 'American Gospel' by Lin Enger

FICTION: Lin Enger's tale of a prophet, his prodigal son and a runaway actress is set in Minnesota.
A great blue heron flew out of range of a pursuing coyote on Pickerel Lake in Lilydale in April 2018.

Why do Minnesota coyotes howl when trains go by?

Nope, it's not just a coincidence: Coyotes are compelled to let out a wail – and science explains why.
Said Sharif Maye

Suspect in Minneapolis hit-run death arrested as he tries to flee country

Said Maye was wanted in the Aug. 24 death of Idris Yussuf, which occurred after a dispute at a Minneapolis bar.
A Minneapolis police officer injured in August's unrest in downtown Minneapolis.

Man charged with hurling trash can lid, injuring Minneapolis police sergeant during riot

The 28-year-old man allegedly hurled a 15-pound trash can lid at the officer, knocking him unconscious.
Sue Miller

Review: 'Monogamy,' by Sue Miller

FICTION: A widow struggles with her late husband's secrets.
Wolf stories channel Ojibwe legends.

Review: "The Wolf's Trail," by Thomas D. Peacock

Fiction: An aged wolf's ancient narrative creates a startlingly contemporary map.
The new addition to Frontenac State Park features bluffside views of New Frontenac, and farther south toward Lake City, Lake Pepin and western Wiscons

Frontenac State Park grows in acreage and beauty

Old bison farm is now public land thanks to Park & Trails Council.
Kestrel Wright played his French horn at the Old Frontenac, Minn., rest stop. Residents say his music fits right in with birdsong and the wind.

French horn player's forest practice beguiles Minnesota village

Kestrel Wright doesn't want to bother anyone. But his music has captivated passersby.
A tornado was caught in action near Dalton, Minn., in Otter Tail County, Wednesday evening.

Tornadoes kill one, leave wide path of damage in west-central Minnesota

Several homes and farmsteads were destroyed or severely damaged by the back-to-back twisters that hit the rural area.
Heather Lende

Review: 'Of Bears and Ballots,' by Heather Lende

NONFICTION: Heather Lende weathered a nasty recall fight, advocating for the common good in all its messy glory.
Gail Caldwell

Review: 'Bright Precious Thing,' by Gail Caldwell

NONFICTION: Caldwell's fourth memoir celebrates the complicated, rich journey of a lifelong single woman.

One of four swimmers rescued from Minneapolis lakes dies

Sheriff warns beachgoers to be extra cautious.
Young woman in a graveyard.

Review: 'Night. Sleep. Death. The Stars.' by Joyce Carol Oates

FICTION: In Joyce Carol Oates' latest novel, a family struggles after its patriarch's death.
North Memorial Health Hospital in Robbinsdale.

2 men fatally shot in Minneapolis in separate incidents

Both died of apparent gunshot wounds on Thursday night. One victim's body was found in a car parked near North Memorial Health Hospital.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

Minnesota BCA investigating death of suspect who had been held in Maplewood police car

There was no physical altercation between the man and the arresting officer, the BCA said. The suspect told the officer he had ingested drugs.
Friday night's cold and possible frost were just the start of a weekend full of unseasonable weather.

Despite weekend cold, rain and snow, fire danger high across much of Minnesota

The driest area is from the Twin Cities north to the Canadian border.
Joan Frank

Review: 'Where You're All Going' by Joan Frank

FICTION: Characters in four novellas are compelling, but rarely likable.
Marcus R. Johnson

3 teens arrested in shooting death of St. Paul man

Marcus Rashon Johnson died late Saturday on the city's East Side.
Waseca police officer Arik Matson with his daughters, Audrina and Maklynn, before his injury.

Wounded Waseca officer sitting up, but faces more surgery, family says

The outpouring of support continues for Arik Matson, who was shot in the head Jan. 6 while pursuing a suspect.
Isabel Allende

Review: 'A Long Petal of the Sea,' by Isabel Allende

FICTION: A family's flight from the bloody Spanish Civil War to a new life in Chile forms the arc of this powerful novel.
Barry ZeVan, the flamboyant retired Twin Cities weatherman, in the studio after a taping of his Retro Weather show.

Old-school forecaster 'Barry ZeVan the Weather Man' dies at 82

The Minnesota forecasting and broadcasting star worked at KSTP and KARE in the 1970s and '80s.
Louis Jenkins during a poetry reading at St. Paul's University Club in 2014.

Poetry master who took inspiration from Minnesota winter, Louis Jenkins dies at 77

Often associated with Duluth, Jenkins had worked as a librarian, truck driver and commercial fisherman while publishing.
Minnesota state Rep. Diane Loeffler, who has died at age 66, had represented northeast Minneapolis in the Legislature since 2004.

Minnesota DFL Rep. Diane Loeffler dies of cancer at 66

She had represented northeast Minneapolis in the Legislature since 2004.
Cowboy looking at his land.

Review: 'Wyoming,' by J.P. Gritton

FICTION: This debut novel's genius lies in its humanization of a man with serious flaws.
Dan Goff of Woodbury was out boating with his family on Wednesday when they spotted this eagle in the St. Croix River.

Seen on the St. Croix: The eagle has landed ... on something big

Dan and Andie Goff of Woodbury had just motored their boat from the Afton Marina when they spotted something startling.
A home in Barron, Wis., and the surrounding trees were damaged after a strong afternoon thunderstorm moved through the area Friday.

Heavy rain, high wind from storm lash western Wisconsin

The worst damage occurred around Turtle Lake, Wis. No injuries were reported, but trees were downed and roofs were shredded. The St. Croix Casino Turtle Lake complex was evacuated, according to witnesses and the Barron County sheriff.
Isak Aden was killed during a standoff with police in Eagan on July 2.

Minnesota BCA identifies officers who fired at man in fatal Eagan standoff

Isak Aden threatened a woman with a handgun and refused to drop his weapon in a four-hour encounter, the agency said.
A cedar waxwing provides a lesson in “Late Migrations.” Jim Williams • Special to the Star Tribune

Review: 'Late Migrations,' by Margaret Renkl

NONFICTION: Observations from the natural world help a thoughtful writer navigate grief.
Joyce Carol Oates

Review: 'My Life as a Rat,' by Joyce Carol Oates

FICTION: After telling police that her brothers killed a black teenager, Violet Kerrigan is cast alone into a bewildering life.
Molly DektarPhoto by Julian Gewirtz

Review: 'The Ash Family' by Molly Dektar

Fiction: A young woman finds danger at a commune in North Carolina's mountains.
People in Anoka walked through the whiteout conditions as the storm arrived Wednesday morning in the Twin Cities. The winds will be whipping more this

From drizzle to blizzard: Another Minnesota winter weekend roars in

The metro area is sandwiched in a slightly less dire weather zone between blizzard and winter storm warning zones.

Inmate dies after falling ill at St. Louis County jail

Authorities are investigating the death of a 32-year-old man this week in the St. Louis County jail in Duluth. Kenneth Kyle Beaupre collapsed in the…
Keaton Larson

Stillwater officer who fatally shot 22-year-old man won't be charged

Keaton Larson was suicidal and charged the officer with a knife, investigators found.
Collin McCullough spilled just a few drops of his coffee when he slipped on the ice while checking out one of the pond hockey rinks with Nick Lazenby,

1-2 winter punch is coming: Up to 8" of snow, then extreme cold

For once, the Twin Cities is right smack in the middle of the winter storm warning zone, starting Sunday afternoon and running into Monday.
Warm weather brought a ice kiter to Bde Maka Ska as temp soared into the 40s Friday in MInneapolis.

Friday's metro high plows through old record of 41 to 47

A January thaw gave Minnesota the strange luster of spring, and the mild weather is expected to continue through the weekend.
Cast Iron Skillets pans on Rustic Wood Table

Review: 'All the Wild Hungers,' by Karen Babine

NONFICTION: Minnesotan Karen Babine meditates on cancer, cooking and family in this unusual memoir.
Northern Minnesota gets more than foot of snow; metro mostly spared

Northern Minnesota gets more than foot of snow; metro mostly spared

Rain closes ski resorts, causes crashes, including one that killed 1 and injured 9.
Barbara Kingsolver Photo by Steven Hopp

Review: 'Unsheltered,' by Barbara Kingsolver

FICTION: Two families — one modern, one in the 1870s — watch their American dreams crumble.
Family photo: LaDonna Redmond and her son, Wade, who died this week.

Second death is linked to Minneapolis homeless encampment

Wade Redmond, 20, had "a family and a home," but was drawn to the camp.
Therese Marie Mailhot

Review: 'Heart Berries,' by Terese Marie Mailhot

NONFICTION: A strange and powerful memoir of abuse and mental illness.

One of 2 victims in Mpls. alley crash is identified

A 40-year-old Minneapolis man has been identified as one of two people killed in a violent two-vehicle crash in a north Minneapolis alley Friday evening.
Patricia Hampl

Review: 'The Art of the Wasted Day,' by Patricia Hampl

NONFICTION: "The job of being human," writes Patricia Hampl, "is not figuring things out, but getting lost in thought."
MINNEAPOLIS/USA - July 23: Entrance to the campus of the University of Minnesota. The University of Minnesota is a university in Minneapolis and St. P

Closure of popular University of Minnesota child care center postponed

Kaler says it will still close eventually, but that parents' protests have been heard.
John Banville

REVIEW: 'Mrs. Osmond,' by John Banville

FICTION: Not only does author John Banville resurrect the original's characters, he flawlessly channels the great writer's ornate style.

Hwy. 61 bridge's closure means 27-mile detour on North Shore

Northeastern Minnesota residents and Labor Day weekenders will encounter a major delay and detour along heavily traveled Hwy. 61 northeast of Duluth today — and perhaps longer.
Depressed child sitting at weargered sidewalk. Fine noise applied.

REVIEW: 'My Absolute Darling,' by Gabriel Tallent

FICTION: Gabriel Tallent's debut novel is brilliant and terrifying, told in expansive, wild and bold prose.
Some of the damage to a black family’s home in Delano.

Delano takes on racism with public event tonight; Dayton, targeted family meet

The community is coming together to express support for a black family whose home was burglarized and vandalized with racist slurs.
Ivory-billed woodpecker

Review: 'Flock Together: A Love Affair With Extinct Birds,' by B.J. Hollars

NONFICTION: A birder writes of his fascination with extinct species.
Joe Starita Photo by Bruce Thorson

Review: 'A Warrior of the People,' by Joe Starita

NONFICTION: A layered, nuanced portrait of this country's first American Indian doctor.
A partial translation of the Schaghen Letter, the earliest document of the so-called purchase of Manhattan from the Lenape, reads, "They have purchase

Review: 'The Turtle's Beating Heart,' by Denise Low

NONFICTION: An American Indian grandfather's melancholy silence hid personal and broader stories.
“Dog Years,” by Melissa Yancy

REVIEW: 'Dog Years,' by Melissa Yancy

FICTION: In "Dog Years," defenses grow high against foreshortened lives and dreams.
Anne Raeff Photo by Dennis Hearne

Review: 'The Jungle Around Us,' by Anne Raeff

FICTION: This prizewinning collection features stories that are complex and tough.
October 6, 1973: DFL mayoral candidate Al Hofstede campaigned on W. Broadway in north Minneapolis.

Albert Hofstede, former mayor of Minneapolis, dies at 75

He served as the city's youngest mayor in the 1970s.
A walleye is netted, caught on the Twin Pines Resort boat at sunset Wednesday, July 29, 2015, during an evening excursion on Lake Mille Lacs.

Lake Mille Lacs catch-and-release walleye season will end Sept. 6

Local Ojibwe bands had expressed displeasure with Dayton's decision earlier this month to allow the season to continue even though a quota had been surpassed.
Lori Ostlund and the hardcover edition of "After the Parade."

Review: 'After the Parade,' by Lori Ostlund

FICTION: The secrets to almost everything about this intense novel's protagonist lie in his Minnesota origins.
Hill

St. Paul man charged in shooting death at house party

Brandon Alexander is accused of killing a 19-year-old man after a fight.
"Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube," by Blair Braverman

Review: 'Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube,' by Blair Braverman

NONFICTION: A young adventurer finds cold and deprivation easier to bear than misogyny.
The Rev. Bradley Baldwin, priest of the Church of St. Gerard, accepted a request Tuesday to take the leave from his order, the Franciscan Friars, acco

Brooklyn Park priest on leave pending Pennsylvania investigation

The Rev. Bradley Baldwin of St. Gerard's questioned, but has not been charged.
Olivia Laing

Review: 'The Lonely City,' by Olivia Laing

NONFICTION: Olivia Laing's genre-bending "The Lonely City" explores the links between loneliness and art.
Book review: 'The Japanese Lover,' by Isabel Allende: Sweet, but insubstantial

Book review: 'The Japanese Lover,' by Isabel Allende: Sweet, but insubstantial

FICTION: The sentimental story of a California woman's lifelong passion reads more like a soap opera than grand drama.