Staff Directory 6370581

Richard Chin

Reporter | Features
Phone: 612-673-1775

Richard Chin is a feature reporter with the Star Tribune in Minneapolis. He has been a longtime Twin Cities-based journalist who has covered crime, courts, transportation, outdoor recreation and human interest stories.


As a feature reporter, Richard Chin has flown on the Goodyear Blimp, driven the Wienermobile, sunk to the bottom of a lake in a one-man submarine, worn a giant urine specimen cup costume as a mascot for a health care company, rode a vintage Puch at the Sturgis of mopeds and was mistakenly arrested by police hunting for a serial killer. He also spent six weeks in Baghdad during the Iraq war and was a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University.
Recent content from Richard Chin
A rack of Nice Ride bikes in northeast Minneapolis in a past year.

Get a cheap ride: Old Nice Ride bikes on sale for $50 apiece

But only 50 will be available.
Cole Miska fires his full automatic blaster as he rushes forward during a “territories” game at a Minnesota Nerf community outing Saturday, April

Who's playing with pricey, souped-up, super-fast Nerf blasters? Adults

Members of Minnesota's Nerf community collect and modify toys so that they can shoot a foam dart at more than 100 miles per hour.
The Minnesota State Band in 1907 on the steps of the State Capitol.

Minnesota's state band — one of the last in the country — celebrates 125 years

The Minnesota State Band will give a free anniversary concert.
Cassie Anderson chose a Michael Kors set after winning during Designer Purse & Gun Bingo in Glencoe, Minn.

Gun and purse bingo fundraisers grow in popularity in Minnesota

The bingo events have taken in thousands of dollars for nonprofit organizations, cancer research, town festivals, hunting teams and more.
The celebrated cart king of Mount Eden Prairie.

When will those huge piles of snow melt? Try June

Our particularly long and snowy winter has resulted in particularly big and ugly snow piles, like the massive mound at the Eden Prairie Center topped…
Mount Eden Prairie during, winter of 2022-2023.

When will the snow and ice melt away? It could be a while

The remnants of the biggest piles might last until June.
Fred Case

From juvenile delinquent to rock and roll photographer

Minnesotan Fred Case was a colorful counterculture character and had the pictures to prove it.
This shopping cart was briefly king of the snow hill.

The image that captures our long, long winter in Minnesota

Prank or performance art piece, it's attracted a lot of social media love.
Which is Minnesota's most famous animal? Dan Patch? Babe the Blue Ox? The Hamm's bear?

Which is Minnesota's most famous animal? Dan Patch? Babe the Blue Ox? The Hamm's bear?

Candidates for the title of Minnesota's most famous finned, furry or four-legged fauna range from aquatic creatures to woodland rodents to cool campus cats.
Utepils Brewing employees Delta Brown, left, and Jordan Weller hot poke a “Springbok” beer in Minneapolis.

The ancient tradition of 'beer poking' is surging in popularity in Minnesota

Sticking a red hot poker into your favorite brew yields "the beer equivalent of s'mores."
It’s the end of the road for the 1/3 scale model of the Star Wars Millennium Falcon starship built at Leonardo’s Basement in Minneapolis.

A massive Minneapolis model of the Millennium Falcon is fated for destruction

The nonprofit workspace Leonardo's Basement has to move, and its massive, kid-built starship is too big and heavy to come along.
Ande Quercus standing near the entrance of long tunnel they dug in a mound of snow blocking a St. Paul sidewalk.

When their St. Paul sidewalk was blocked by a mountain of snow, they dug a tunnel

Instead of a pedestrian bridge, they made a pedestrian snow tunnel.
Our shovel tester, Dave Peters.

A Minnesota field guide to snow shovels: Which one's best?

Here's how to pick the right shovel, from the classic to the crack-jumper, back-saver or the plow.
One of the earliest color photos of the St. Paul Winter Carnival captures the January 1940 parade.

Earliest color photos of St. Paul Winter Carnival make their way back to Minnesota

Pre-Kodachrome photos from 1940 reveal a bygone spectacle.
Joseph Sobota looks at artifacts Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022 inside Carver County Historical Society in Waconia, Minn. ] ALEX KORMANN • alex.kormann@st

Why you should go to a Minnesota county museum, says man who has been to (nearly) all

Where else can you encounter everything from a woolly mammoth tusk to a UNIVAC computer?
Wet, heavy snow can lead to numerous injuries, from falls to heart attacks.

How to keep your body and house safe during the heavy snow

Drive slower and lift with your legs.
The kitchen appliance you’ve been missing: the Cheetos duster

New Cheetos Duster lets you add that unique flavor (and color) to all your food

Instead of licking Cheetos dust off your fingers, you could be sprinkling it on your food.
What the Dickens? Researchers say Scrooge-like transformations can happen in real life

What the Dickens? Researchers say Scrooge-like transformations can happen in real life

Sudden, enduring change for the better may not be humbug.
One of the sick bald eagles under care at the University of Minnesota Raptor Center.

Bald eagles believed to have been poisoned near Inver Grove Heights landfill

The University of Minnesota Raptor Center is caring for 10 sick eagles in critical condition.
Thomas George Neadle was a lifelong pipe organ player, providing hymns and showtunes alike.

Thomas George Neadle, who played the pipe organ for worshipers and moviegoers, dies at 80

Neadle took up the pipe organ as a teenager and never gave it up.
Giblets included.

What are turkey giblets and gizzards, and what are you supposed to do with them?

And why are they gift-wrapped in paper or plastic like something of value?
Emily Ford with her sled dog, Diggins, on a break during their journey on skis across the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

It's a wild life: Meet the latest generation of Minnesota's adventurers

They're young, diverse and up for a challenge.
A sauna village and ice water immersion will be part of this year’s Great Northern festival.

Great Northern winter festival will be celebration of art and outdoors

The Great Northern announces a lineup that ranges from art installations to cold-water immersion.
First-place winners Cinnamon and Sammy.

A Howl-aween treat: Winners of the Star Tribune Halloween Pet Costume Contest

We've got a spooktacular lineup of cuteness.
A copy of the last printed Minnesota Daily in the collection of the Minnesota Historical Society from March 2020.

The Minnesota Daily ends regular print publication after 120 years

The U-M student publication is seeing growth in digital readership.
Chance York, star of “Outside Chance,” filming an episode on the Hiawatha Golf Course in Minneapolis.

TPT's new show encourages diverse communities to try outdoor adventures

Host Chance York, a rapper and yoga instructor, is an athletic everyman willing to try anything.
Film discovered in a camera after 80 years reveals a surprise — and a Minnesota mystery

Film discovered in a camera after 80 years reveals a surprise — and a Minnesota mystery

A photographer wants to reunite a forgotten photograph with the family of a sailor.
A new communal bathhouse is opening in Minneapolis.

Need a new place to relax? The Twin Cities is getting a communal bath house

This is a place where you can have a traditional schvitz and a soak.
Louie, a cat with 156,000 Instagram followers (@sophielovestuna), was a 2019 winner in the Star Tribune Halloween Pet Contest.

The Star Tribune Halloween Pet Costume Contest is back

We're looking for Howl-oween's best-dressed pets.
A downed tree from last night’s storm lay in the streets on the corner of 4th and Kennard near Harding High School in St. Paul, Minn., on Sunday, Au

Severe weather cancels State Fair grandstand show, knocks out power

The Minnesota State Fair shut down rides on the Mighty Midway and Adventure Park, canceled the grandstand concert, closed the free stages and told guests…
Info Booth Ladies Kristen Donaldson, Kathy Riewe and Margie McCarron in their info booth at the fair.

Think you know the Minnesota State Fair? The Info Booth Ladies know it all.

You've got questions about the Great Minnesota Get-Together. They've heard them all.
Ellen Hicks

Born with severe disabilities, Ellen Hicks led full and happy life

She was a ward of the state all of her life, but she was always surrounded by people who loved and valued her.
If you’re sad while waiting for your stump to be removed, you can do something about it.

Lost a tree? Here's how to beautify the stump

You might have to live with that tree stump for a while, so why not make something of it?
Bill Childs with Siama Matuzungidi and Dallas Johnson, foreground, while he was recording them Sunday afternoon, July 17, 2022 in his St. Paul basemen

St. Paul lawyer hosts 'indie music for indie kids' radio show from his basement

Bill Childs has hosted the syndicated weekly show "Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child" for nearly 17 years.
Illustration by Shannon Kirkpatrick

Summer bucket list? There's still plenty of sweet fun left before it's over

Here are 12 activities to make the most of the warm weather before it's too late.
J.R. Franklin, 8, had ice cream June 14 at Conny’s Creamy Cone in St. Paul.

What really beats the heat? We separate the myths from the reality

Does drinking hot coffee, wearing seersucker or firing up the swamp cooler really work?
Robin Schwartzman celebrates her “hole in one” as her husband, Tom Loftus, looks on during a game of mini-golf at Walker Art Center in Minneapolis

Pair for the course: Mpls. couple are big-time when it comes to mini-golf

They design mini-golf holes, review mini-courses around the country and are serious mini-golf competitors.
Just a few of the 1,500 pipes that are part of the pipe organ Charles Harder installed in his Mountain Lake, Minn., home.

Think your piano is grand? These Minnesotans make room for massive pipe organs in their homes

If you want to rattle the windows, nothing beats "the king of instruments."
This April 2022 handout photograph provided by RR Auction shows cockroaches which were fed moon dust from the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, which were pulle

NASA to auction house: We want our cockroaches back

The sale of the historic Minnesota moon dust cockroaches is put on hold.
Just because you’re a dog doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the pool at the country club.

Give your dog its day with these pampering Minnesota experiences

From pool parties to portraits, here's how Minnesotans are treating their pooches.
We do start to lose daylight once summer solstice passes, but Minnesotans shouldn’t fret about that yet.

Tuesday is the longest day of the year. Don't get all Minnesotan and start counting down to winter.

Uh-oh, the days are getting shorter from this point on.
Not icky. They’re historic. These cockroach carcasses were part of an experiment involving the first lunar material brought to Earth by man.

You can buy moon dust from 1969's Apollo 11 landing — eaten by cockroaches

NASA asked a University of Minnesota professor to conduct an experiment, and now the contents of the bugs' stomachs is up for auction.
Hollis Schwartz, 97, holds up a photo of when he served in the Army during WWII at his home in Chaska May 19.

These three Minnesotans, among the last of the World War II vets, are a fading link to history

The last of the Greatest Generation are the ultimate survivors.
Jessie Diggins and Wade Poplawski are getting married on a farm on Sunday.

Olympian and Afton native Jessie Diggins getting married on Sunday

The Olympic medalist and World Cup champion in cross country skiing will be marrying her longtime boyfriend on a farm in the Twin Cities area.
Abortion rights protesters rallied Saturday, May 14, in St. Paul.

Hundreds rally in St. Paul as part of wave of abortion rights protests

Planned Parenthood gathering seeks to call attention to U.S. Supreme Court's expected move to reverse landmark decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
Bride Kelsey Goth gives her 1-year old Cockapoo Winston a kiss on the mouth as she’s held by professional pet attendant Maggie Van Remortel before G

Whom to call if your dog needs a date to your wedding

Pet wedding attendants help your best friend be a part of the big event.
A ghost ad for Gluek’s Beer in Minneapolis featured in the book “Fading Ads of the Twin Cities.”

Fading 'ghost ads' of the Twin Cities are preserved in a new book

Decades-old messages painted on brick walls touting pop, beer, banks and farm implements are an evocative, bygone part of the urban landscape.
Mpls.St.Paul magazine is 50 years old.

50 years of Mpls.St.Paul magazine

The magazine presents a retrospective of its coverage over the decades.
More office workers will become part of the new hybrid workforce.

Becoming a hybrid worker? Here are some suggestions on how to do it

Being in the office only one day of the week won't be the same as the old Monday through Friday grind.
Osmo Vänskä did not take the Minnesota Orchestra on tour to Antarctica, as was announced on April 1, 2019.

Did Minnesota Orchestra conductor really ink $75 million deal to work for Netflix?

Announcement about Osmo Vänskä's plans for streaming shows about Finnish folk legends is another April Fool's Day surprise.
You can test ride a Harley-Davidson e-bike at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

A convention just for e-bikes wheels into Twin Cities

You can test-ride electric bicycles, including one sold under the Harley-Davidson brand.
Jessie Diggins reacts during the Women’s Cross-Country 10K Classic during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the National Cross-Country Skiing Cent

Welcome home celebration set for cross-country skiing champ Jessie Diggins

The public is invited to the event on April 2 in Afton.
Artist Linda Christensen carved Laura Grimm’s bust out of a solid block of butter in the Dairy Building at the 2018 Minnesota State Fair. ] ANTHONY

Butter carver confessional: A memoir of the longtime Minnesota State Fair butter sculptor

Linda Christensen carved Big Bird and David Letterman, was on a first-name basis with plenty of princesses and was courted by reality TV.
Jane Becker Nelson Director, Flaten Art Museum, St. Olaf College, with some of the World War II propaganda posters that are part of exhibit at the col

For the first time in 70 years, Nazi propaganda posters on display at St. Olaf museum

The exhibit deals with the ethical questions arising from conserving these wartime artifacts.
Homeowner Alan Peters turned over the signed toilet tank lid to plumber Otto Johnson’s descendant, granddaughter Lynda Bornhoeft, of Big Lake, Thurs

How amateur sleuths solved the mystery of 100-year-old south Minneapolis toilet cover

Plumber Otto Johnson took pride in his work. Homeowner Alan Peters wanted it remembered.
Kermit the Frog (AP Photo/Copyright-Jim Henson Productions, Inc.)

From Green Bay to Green Day, celebrate St. Patrick's Day with our quiz about all things green

This multiple-choice test about our favorite hue at this time of year won't leave you jaded.
Carlos Mendoza

Discouraged from using his Latino name as a pop star, Minneapolis barber never stopped making music

Carlos Mendoza became a Marine, a barber and business owner and Twin Cities musician — all under his own name.
Sally Franson in Stockholm on her way to meet family members for the first time.

A Minnesotan who knew little about her Scandinavian roots won a Swedish reality TV show

Minneapolis writer Sally Franson won small screen fame and a priceless connection to family.
Schnitzel. It’s just one of the many names Minnesotans think of as fun to say. Try it.

Succotash, hubbub and plankton: They're among the words Minnesotans love to say

From blather to bituminous, readers share the words that tickle their ears and minds.
Dr. Michael Joyner poses for a photo in the courtyard of Mayo Clinic Hospital, Saint Marys Campus in Rochester. ] LEILA NAVIDI • leila.navidi@startr

How a Mayo Clinic human performance expert watches the Winter Olympics

A doctor and sports expert savors the athleticism and artistry in the world-best performances on snow and ice.
Illustrations by Alenka Sottler from “The Original Bambi: The Story of a Life in the Forest,” by Felix Salten published by Princeton University Pr

Original 'Bambi' was not a children's story, says a Minnesota folklore expert

The novel on which the Disney movie was based dealt with loss, loneliness and racism.
How did we become so sarcastic?

How did we become so sarcastic?

We're so awash in sarcasm that researchers and government agencies are studying it. While it may make us sound smart, it's a tricky way to communicate.
The CDC COVID-19 record card you get with your vaccine is too large to fit in your wallet, yet small enough to be easily misplaced.

How to carry and display your vaccine card

There are several options to for your "plague passport."
Want a low-stress new year’s resolution? Start by vowing to know what day it is.

Want to make a New Year's promise you can keep? Try these 11 Low Effort Resolutions

Need an emotional boost as we head into what could be another tough year? Make a resolution you know you can achieve.
Air Force Lt. Col. Anil Menon, a doctor and a Minneapolis native, was recently selected by NASA as one of their new astronaut candidates.

A high flier from Minnesota is on the path to space

Minneapolis native Anil Menon is a doctor, pilot and an Air Force officer. Now he's going to be an astronaut.
Harry Nordstrom

Harry Nordstrom, longtime Carleton College music professor, dies

He was an accomplished violinist who taught generations of students
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas with this festive DIY wreath made from Post-it Notes.

The lazy person's humorous guide to last-minute DIY Christmas gifts

How to save Christmas even if you're a cheap, lazy, inept procrastinator.
Zumbrota resident Alan Seaver with a few of the more than 350 typewriters in his collection.

Minnesota's typewriter fans are still clacking after all these years

The beloved mechanical devices were the original word processors.
St. Paul children’s author Nancy Loewen, left, and friend Linda Hayen have produced a book based on Hayen’s deceased daughter’s idea of an all-i

Minnesota mom turns deceased daughter's kindness into children's book

"The Everybody Club" has this message: "Include everyone, learn and you'll have fun."
The Free Blockbuster video sharing box outside of Heroic Goods and Games in Minneapolis.

Dust off the VCR: Free video lending libraries hit the Twin Cities

Lending boxes called Free Blockbuster are sprouting up in the Twin Cities for people to share DVDs, VHS tapes and nostalgic movie nights.
Get ready to say 'awwww': Winners of the annual Halloween pet costume contest

Get ready to say 'awwww': Winners of the annual Halloween pet costume contest

These cute pets have tricks and treats.
The WeCroak app sends reminders to your phone that you’re going to die.

Make yourself happy by reminding yourself you're going to die

The ancient tradition of thinking about one's mortality comes to the digital age.
Can you craft a very scary pet costume for our Halloween contest?

Submissions for Pet Costume Contest due today

Dress up your pet, snap a photo and enter now
It doesn’t take much more than a little creativity to win the Star Tribune’s pet costume contest

Pet Costume Contest closes soon

Submissions for the annual Halloween treat are due
Enter the Star Tribune Halloween Pet Costume Contest soon

Countdown to the Pet Contest

Don't miss the deadline. Dress your pet now.