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It happened on a summer morning's round of garage sales, picking up things for our newly acquired cabin on Kelly Lake in Faribault. I rounded a corner and ran smack into what I thought was another customer. My eyes traveled up to his face for my "excuse me" when I realized, OMG, that it was Bud Grant (obituary and other coverage, March 12).

I was so shocked I left without purchasing anything. But I told my husband, Chris, who I had never suspected of idolatry or an affinity for garage sales. The next day he took a vacation day from work and went to Bud's sale, buying some Vikings gear and a deer skull. He asked Bud if he could tell his wife that he had shot this deer. "No," came the answer, "but you can tell her it died on my land." Now the skull wears a Vikings hat and has pride of place in our cabin's porch. Requiescat in pace, Coach Grant.

Judy Canney, Bloomington

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My husband and I bought some shelving from a menswear shop in Dinkytown after that store closed. After we'd paid for our shelves and finished carrying out, Frank asked if they'd found any forgotten treasures as they were looking through boxes. They had indeed. Bud Grant was one of the male models for the store's advertising campaign, and they still had all the stills. (He looked great in those photos, too!)

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I remember Bud Grant as the influential Minnesotan who opined that treaty rights for Indigenous people to fish in Mille Lacs were outmoded and should be ignored. Not always a shining example of Minnesota Nice.

Elaine Frankowski, Minneapolis

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I'm sure there will be lots of stories about Minnesota's own Bud Grant. He had a good long life. I have my own story. He was a serious man about hunting and sometimes stopped by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Years ago, when I worked at the main DNR headquarters in St. Paul, I was a bit late for an important meeting on the top floor. I was standing close to the main floor elevator, impatiently waiting for it to open. When it did, there was Bud Grant, also close to the door, trying to leave. I blurted out, shocked to be so close to an icon "Oh, it's you!" As he passed me by, he said with a Mona Lisa smile, "Unfortunately."

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I take umbrage to the Star Tribune Editorial Board's remarks about the passing of Bud Grant ("Bud Grant: A north country icon," March 12.) The board did say some nice things about him, but then brought up that he was white and that this community is made up of a growing number of Africans, Hispanics and Asian people. My inference was that we shouldn't memorialize a person of Bud's stature because of his European background and the fact he had no Black assistant coaches on his staff of teams he coached.

Back then there wasn't a plethora of assistants that pro football teams have now — maybe 10 or 12 assistants on Grant's staff, compared with 20 to 30 assistants they have now on contemporary NFL rosters.

The editorial's statement reeks of wokeness, like everything written in your radically left-wing newspaper. Can't you let the passing of a true Minnesota hero just fade away gracefully and not put a divisive spin on it?

Larry Auge, Burnsville

Thank you, Bud Grant.

Thank you for the countless memories you gave us on the athletic fields. Thank you for being a leader advocating for the environment and for using and preserving our natural resources. Thank you for your love of nature. Thank you for showing us how to balance fame with family and stressing the importance of family values. Thank you for your common sense thoughts. Thank you for partaking in innocent practical jokes. Thank you for your good sense of humor. Thank you for your respect of your fellow man and showing us how to treat people with dignity. Thank you for your annual garage sales. Thank you for being friends with Sid Hartman.

To the Grant family, thank you for sharing your dad with us. Bud seemed like he could have been a grandfather or uncle to all of us. He was truly a man among men.

Jerry Jacobson Jr., St Louis Park

Peter M. Leschak ("Better world might start with less cruelty to animals," March 12) asked: "Is contemporary research meticulously confirming what we already feel, already know?" regarding the sentience of other species. The answer is "yes."

Neurophysiologist Christof Koch, one of the authors of the Declaration, subsequently wrote that "the principle of sentience is a clarion call to act in both the private and the public spheres." He is now a vegetarian.

Pete Joria, Winona

The March 12 front-page article "Scrutiny puts mission at risk" discusses the services and life coaching provided at pregnancy centers that are mostly donor-funded. Gov. Tim Walz's budget proposal would cut state money to the 33 sites that receive it. Testimonials from clients describe how they could get ultrasounds, access to food and diapers, and emotional support as they make their choices. They note that a culture of life, like adoption, is discussed. Abortion is guaranteed in Minnesota, but these centers give women more options. It seems fair enough to send funds to organizations that truly support women well beyond a delivery date.

Barbara Schweiger, Mendota Heights

The problem with the March 12 letter "EV charging: The math as I see it" is that the writer left out a very important piece of information. He mentions his car charges at night. Well, what about everyone else's car, assuming many more will be charging? Does he think that the rates will be stagnant?

The reality is that the math does not work. We will be the "cold California" with rolling blackouts. That is the inconvenient truth.