Recent content from Richard Chin
ChloeAlexa Landry, movie projectionist and transgender advocate, dies at 80
ChloeAlexa Lawrencia Landry led a richly varied life that ranged from operating movie projectors at the Walker Art Center to making pizzas in Bogota, Colombia.A…
For American birders seeking rare owls, Minnesota in winter is a hot destination
Birders from around the country flock to Minnesota in winter. Local guides help them spot elusive owls and other rarities.
Which superhero should we call if the Suez Canal gets plugged again?
If only we could have unplugged the Suez Canal just by calling a superhero. But which one?
Minneapolis restaurants offer takeout food without a side of guilt for using wasteful containers
To-go meals often result in a pile of empty containers. A Minneapolis trio hopes to trim the trash.
Get your rhymes ready: it's time to enter the Star Tribune's limerick contest
We're looking for something humorous or amusing that comments on our hoped-for emergence from the pandemic and a return to normalcy.
Sparky speaks: A Q&A with Minnesota's most famous sea lion
An iconic Minnesota performer will soon be on the stage again.
Quiz: What have you given up in your pandemic year?
Can you remember the last time you got dressed up or shook hands? Take our quiz on pandemic living and see how you compare with other Minnesotans.
Why should Minnesotans run in wool socks and no shoes? Ask the Finns
A Star Tribune reporter tried villasukkajuoksu and didn't get frostbite.
Shoreview trivia buff wins our presidential library gift shop trivia contest
Congrats to the winner of our POTUS trivia quiz.
Test your knowledge of some of these unusual presidential souvenirs
In honor of Presidents' Day, we rounded up our favorite items available at presidential library gift shops around the country and turned them into a little quiz on iconic moments in presidential history. Play along for a chance to win some of the cool and quirky souvenirs pictured here.
These Minnesota portrayers have become president, if only for hire
Being commander in chief means more than dressing up to political cosplayers, who study history, memorize speeches and take pride in their portrayals.
Retired Minnesota school psychologist and shy Swedish schoolgirl bond over a book
A lot of learning goes on when you read aloud with a child, even if you're doing that reading isolated by a pandemic and separated by an ocean.
![Nick Diesslin tossed some practice pizzas. ] GLEN STUBBE • glen.stubbe@startribune.com Wednesday, January 6, 2021 Nick Diesslin’s 15](https://chorus.stimg.co/22230042/ows_1e3ae2b6_91f2_4b6b_808f_1203a3900b2a.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Minnesota pizza dough thrower is one of the best in world at 'pizza acrobatics'
A Maplewood "pizza acrobat" makes, delivers, throws pizza with the best in the competitive world sport.
One person arrested in fatal Brooklyn Park shooting
Brooklyn Park police arrested a suspect following a fatal shooting Saturday night.Officers were called to a residence in the 3800 block of 83rd Ave. N.…
Man shot several times in Richfield dies of his wounds
Witnesses reported seeing a passenger car with two male occupants fleeing the area, according to police.
Watch the funny, touching and wacky videos from our Save 2020 Contest
The responses to our video contest touched the heart and the funny bone.
Our suggestions on how to celebrate solstice outdoors
The winter solstice can be a good time to gaze at the skies, glide on skis or listen for owls.
The Cathedral of St. Paul is becoming a holy drive-in theater
A sound-and-light show telling the Nativity story will be projected on the cathedral facade for three nights this month.
2020 has been a bad year, but here's why it's not the worst
This is a year many of us would like to forget. But it's far from the worst.
Leonard 'Skeets' Langley, champion accordion player and music teacher, dies at 77
Langley started playing the accordion when he was 6. By the time he was 11, he was playing professionally.
Robert Green, who escaped segregated South for high-tech job in Minnesota, dies at 90
In the 1950s, when Robert Green and his wife Roslyn were thinking about moving north from Biloxi, Miss., they considered New Jersey or Minnesota. They…
See the winners of our 2020 Halloween Pet Costume Contest
Presenting all the adorable, wacky and weird pet costumes your heart desires.
Creepy doll contests: The spooky historical dolls terrifying Minnesotans this Halloween
Two Minnesota organizations are using dolls to induce the creeps this Halloween.
Pandemic has not stopped U of M Marching Band
Divided into two bands, playing instruments inside of special bags, the University of Minnesota Marching Band masks up and keeps marching.
Minnetonka company recalls frozen meat products
More than 20,000 pounds of frozen hot dish and sloppy joe products recalled because of lack of inspections.
Construction accident kills one person, injures another near Litchfield
A concrete boom truck tipped over on two people.
Twin Cities Halloween attractions switch to drive-through, drive-in or virtual haunts
Concern about coronavirus has led to the cancellation of some local haunts. But others have decided that the horror show must go on, with adjustments.
Dress your pets! It's time for the Star Tribune Halloween Pet Costume Contest
For some scary good fun, upload your best images of your adorable pets by Oct. 21.
Who will take care of Fido when you're gone? Minnesotans put trust in trusts
In addition to writing wills, Minnesotans are now setting up trusts to care for pets ranging from dogs and horses to parrots and raccoons.
COVID-19 pandemic has more people writing their wills
There's nothing like a deadly pandemic to make you aware of your mortality.
Who won the Star Tribune Amateur Talent Contest?
Let's have a hand for the best of our talent contest competitors.
Daniel Novak Jr., who photographed everything from war to weddings, dies at age 96
When he got back to the Twin Cities, he started the Novak Photo Studio on Broadway in Minneapolis in addition to owning a studio on Nicollet Mall.
Meet Minnesota's subculture of treasure hunters and treasure hiders
The pandemic has ignited an already thriving treasure hunting hotbed in the Twin Cities.
Minnesotans named Karen say they're OK, despite the meme
On social media, Karen has morphed into a general-purpose epithet. What does Karen think about all this? She's trying to have a sense of humor about it.
Got lake weeds? Maybe scuba divers are your solution
Divers do combat with aquatic weeds in this niche business.
Which pandemic pastimes have staying power?
Our guide to the most interesting, fun and productive ways we've been spending our time.
Dayton mayor pleads guilty to mishandling of festival funds
Tim McNeil was charged with felony theft by swindle, but he says he forgot to file paperwork.
5 more die of virus in state; hospitalizations decline
Sunday's numbers showed 519 new cases in Minnesota. Residents of long-term care and assisted-living facilities accounted for all of the newly announced deaths.
Watch: Minnesota squirrels turn a squirrel-repelling bird feeder into an amusement ride
A Mahtomedi resident thought he had a way to keep squirrels from raiding his feeders, but the crafty rodents are just taking him for a ride.
Meet the Baron of Bubble, the maker of car-sized floating art
Larry Ripp is one entertainer whose act is literally good, clean fun.
How to protect against COVID-19 when someone gets too close
Humming a tune may help you deal with close encounters of the COVID kind.
Bored with running, biking or hiking? Try some of these outdoor activities
Not all outdoor pursuits involve getting on a crowded path. Here are suggestions for things to do in the parks, in the woods and on the water.
Roseville is hoping to lure visitors with 658-pound roses
St. Paul had Snoopy statues. Buffalo has its bison. Roseville is going for roses.
How about this as a gift? A singing telegram from a Broadway star
Thanks to the pandemic, now you can book a star from Broadway or opera to sing just for you.
An 8-year-old St. Paul girl is taking her neighborhood on a space walk
She put up laminated signs to demonstrate the relative distance between the sun and the planets.
Mushrooms that smell like Fruity Pebbles and other forest finds by a St. Paul forager
Forager Tim Clemens knows how to live off the land, and he can teach others how, too.
You're witnessing history: Minnesota archivists call for help documenting the pandemic
Archivists are asking for blog posts, photos, signs, even T-shirts to capture pandemic history as it's happening.
In this time of the virus corona: Here are the winners of the Star Tribune limerick contest
There once was a winner ...
You may be ready for your videoconferencing close-up, but is your makeshift office?
You may be ready for your videoconferencing close-up, but is your makeshift office?
North Oaks council member attends meeting from his hot tub
This suburban city council member is all wet.
Minneapolis woman collected thousands of bras — then gave them away to women in shelters
Annie Richman amassed about 4,000 bras over the past seven years. And gave them all away.
Trying to stay fit during the shutdown? These Twin Cities gyms, judo studios and gear shops want to help
Fitness buffs and the businesses that cater to them are finding a way to connect amid COVID-19.
Minnesota preppers ready 'for far more than what is coming down the pike right now'
They've been stockpiling and planning for disaster for years. Now they're prepared to cope without fully stocked grocery stores, tap water and electricity.
Enter the heroes: Ordinary Minnesotans do extraordinary things
The COVID-19 crisis has many Minnesotans rushing to help friends, neighbors and strangers.
Stressed out by coronavirus? Here are 7 simple things you can do right now to relax
From gum to gratitude, here are some novel ideas of how to improve your mood despite the COVID-19 outbreak.
A Minnesotan drives a rocket sled across a frozen lake. What could go wrong?
An Orono business owner's quest: to become the fastest man on ice.
There's a reason why you're so freaked out by the coronavirus
As the number of cases and the number of places being infected by the novel coronavirus grows, everyone from Wall Street to the man on the street seems rattled.
Minnesotans may have never won it all in pro football, but they have in pro foosball
At the height of table soccer's popularity, a couple of teenagers from the Iron Range were the reigning champs.
Barbara Naughton, WWII refugee who became dementia care nurse, dies at 74
Barbara Naughton was born into a world ripped apart by war, a conflict that had already taken the life of her father and all of…
Sleep cages and ice baths: The extreme lifestyle of local biohackers
Can you engineer a better human? These folks are trying to find out by experimenting on themselves.
Meet the people who think soaking in a frozen Minneapolis lake is the secret to good health
The popular "biohack" cold-water immersion is gaining ground with Twin Cities residents and some scientists.
Can you make a living as a ventriloquist? This St. Paul man can speak to that
Decades after a St. Paul man started making dummies talk, ventriloquism is cool again.
What happens when a ski jumper takes a camera to the top of the hill?
A skier and photographer captures the unique culture of ski jumping in the Midwest.
Sex harassment complaint prompts co-founder to quit St. Paul's TU Dance
TU Dance's Uri Sands faces sex allegation; co-founder Toni Pierce-Sands stays on.
Where to find the last old-school Mold-A-Rama souvenir vending machine in Minnesota
Beloved souvenir vending machines make Minnesota a destination for collectors.
Rest in peace, ye merry gentlemen: Horror isn't just for Halloween anymore
The Twin Cities haunted house known as the Haunted Basement has created a holiday-themed nightmare before Christmas show this December.
Ingrid Maslow, who survived the Holocaust thanks to nuns and her own resourcefulness, dies at 86
Maslow learned her State Fair prize-winning needlepoint skills from the nuns who sheltered her from the Nazis.
As historic storm halts travel in Duluth, metro area gets soaked and wind-chilled
Heavy snow forecast for North Shore while wintry mix plagued Twin Cities.
Beard oil, hot sauce, sex toys: The advent calendar gets weird
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: 25 pieces of beef jerky.
$1.45M Mpls. home designed by team behind Swedish Institute's 'Castle'
The duo behind the American Swedish Institute "Castle" also designed this Lowry Hill house.
Mpls. man resurrects a storied folk instrument: The cigar box guitar
In the hands of Gipson Shoemaker III, the simple wooden box becomes a musical instrument worth hundreds of dollars and capable of producing a raw, gritty and authentic sound.
A Minneapolis distillery brings a scrappy new form of bike racing to Minnesota
British-style racing with brakeless bikes ups the Anglophile ante at Royal Foundry Craft Spirits.
Twin Cities seen as 'one of the premier places to make board games in the world'
The Twin Cities has become a hotbed for board games, from design and development to hard-core players.
Is your pet ready for Halloween? See the winners of the Star Tribune Pet Costume Contest
The winners in our Halloween Pet Costume Contest ranged from the elaborate to the adorably goofy.
Meet the pro wrestler moonlighting as a Minnesota paranormal investigator
In his citizen history project, Minnesota's Famous Dead, Bryan Dorn locates and photographs the most notable Twin Cities grave sites.
