Recent content from Jennifer Brooks
Brooks: Minnesota Legislature unites to help a soap maker and her celebrated bear fat soap
How one Hinckley soap maker and her local rep helped change state law. Maybe there's soap for us all.
Brooks: On Mondays in Minneapolis, Northern Fire Dynamic plays with fire
The fire performance troupe will stage a free performance in Powderhorn Park on June 10.
Brooks: Check out this dog, literally! Minneapolis Animal Control is lending out pups to help reduce kennel stress.
Minneapolis hopes taking adoptable dogs on day trips will help dogs and humans alike.
Brooks: Trump felony convictions reveal Minnesota GOP's lack of conviction
In the space of a news cycle, MNGOP pivots from screaming for the resignation of a Democrat accused of a felony to "Vote Trump."
Brooks: That Minnesota 'snow' was cottonwood seeds, Sir Charles. Bring ya antihistamines!
In which the screams of millions of relieved Wolves fans blow the fluffy seeds off the trees and baffle Charles Barkley.
Brooks: A sad end of an ERA in Minnesota as legislative session closed
A century on, Minnesotans pick themselves up from the legislative wreckage and prepare to try, try again to pass an Equal Rights Amendment.
Laser loon lives: The second life of Minnesota state flag(s)
Residents have flocked to online and brick-and-mortar shops to buy whichever design says "Minnesota" to them.
Brooks: No funding, no lab, no problem for dogged University of Minnesota student inventors
Undergrads spent six years building a new medical device to treat Raynaud's.
Brooks: Kristi Noem's puppy tale reads even worse in print
The only thing worse than puppy killing excerpts? Puppy killing in full detail.
Brooks: Kristi Noem's tale of killing her dog backfires
Noem shoots, Noem scores few fans for her approach to dog training.
Brooks: Only you can prevent wildfires, Minnesota
DNR firefighters are hoping Minnesotans take care as fire season comes early.
Brooks: Minnesota state senator's burglary arrest puts private family drama in the election year spotlight
Public waits to learn more after state Sen. Nicole Mitchell was arrested in a relative's home.
An Isanti wedding venue closed without warning. Now these couples have 'nowhere to go.'
Community rallies to help after the Circle B wedding venue closed without warning or refunds.
Brooks: A tale of 124 hoarded Minnesota cats has at least a hundred happy endings
As animal abuse cases soar, Minnesotans trek to the Animal Humane Society to offer neglected animals loving new homes.
Brooks: The end of the line for Minneapolis' longest-serving bus driver and the start of a new adventure
Veteran Metro Transit bus driver Melanie Benson bids a fond farewell to the job she loved.
Brooks: If Uber and Lyft let Minnesota down, maybe Metro Transit will pick us up
Minneapolis' hottest new rideshare: The bus.
Brooks: During Doors Open Minneapolis, you could play DJ along Nicollet Mall
Roller skating, chess, therapy dogs, festivals and more fun events are aimed at bringing folks downtown.
Brooks: Beware these (innocent) April Fools' Day jokes
Maybe the dogs are all getting promotions today. Or maybe it's the first day of April.
Brooks: Kwest for Kwik Trip's bagged milk ends with moo-ving realization
The end of a squishy era, as Kwik Trip prepares to discontinue beloved bagged beverage.
Brooks: NBC's fast-moving Ronna McDaniel flap shows defending U.S. democracy worth the hassle
Faced with petitions, withering criticism and a near-revolt in the news division, network quickly changed course on its decision to hire former RNC chair.
Brooks: Billionaire pees in Duluth's Cheerios
In which Kathy Cargill tries to buy up Park Point, insults the neighbors, ignores questions and withholds pickleball from Duluth.
Brooks: Once a year, the homeless speak and the politicians listen
At Homeless Day on the Hill, a chance to hear stories like Sandra Johnson's.
Brooks: Poll finds America more eager to protect kids from TikTok than school shootings
Where "won't someone think of the children?" meets "thoughts and prayers."
Brooks: Why Kamala Harris' visit to a Minnesota abortion clinic is so important
Everyday rights we have taken for granted are being stripped or attacked.
Brooks: The tooth, and nothing but the tooth: S.D. Gov. Noem posts ad for out-of-state dentist
In a stunning setback to the SoDak dentalverse, governor brags about outsourcing her veneers.
Brooks: What would Goodhue County do? Pick up trash along the Mississippi River. And so can you.
This year's Mighty Mississippi Cleanup Challenge runs from April 15 to May 15.
Brooks: Sen. Katie Britt's State of the Union performance Makes America Uncomfortable Again
Writing this from the kitchen where I, a woman, apparently belong?
Minnesota deputy paddles to the rescue after dog crashes through lake ice
Chisago County Sheriff's video shows dramatic kayak rescue of Honey the collie.
Brooks: Shirtless politician plunges into icy lake to prove to Wisconsin he's got what it takes
Nobody said running for a U.S. Senate seat in Wisconsin would be easy.
Brooks: As Burnsville grieves shooting victims, its neighbors stand watch
Police officers and firefighters from across the metro area volunteered to patrol as a community mourns.
Brooks: Wash your Big Ten fingers before you share a bowl of chips on game day
Minneapolis PSA: Beware the norovirus.
Brooks: After homelessness and heartache, Minneapolis Animal Control reunites a family
Here's a tail with a happy ending.
Brooks: Three Burnsville first responders join toll of domestic violence
We lose so many to domestic violence — police and paramedics included.
Caitlin Clark, the pride of Iowa, is the buzz of social media
Everyone's talking about Caitlin Clark, who will be playing in Minneapolis at the end of the month and again in March.
New frostbite drug could save Minnesota lives and limbs
Days like this remind us all of winter's bite.
Brooks: Land of 10,000 Valentine pitches
A peek inside the Star Tribune mail bag on Valentine's Day.
Brooks: Poles from Lake Street upgrades turn sidewalks into Uptown obstacle course
Welcome to Uptown! Look out for the poles.
Who are you rooting for on this Superb Owl Sunday? Who? Who?
The University of Minnesota's Raptor Center comes to the rescue of threatened birds.
Fond Minnesota memories went up in smoke when Lutsen Lodge burned
Minnesotans with their own Lutsen memories mourn the North Shore getaway after a devastating fire.
Brooks: Need some Minnesota Nice for that burn? Sen. Tina Smith roasts Dean Phillips
The congressman's longshot presidential bid is drawing scorn from one-time allies in the Democratic Party.
Desperately seeking Elmo: Internet searches spike for the little Muppet who was 'just checking in'
Elmo got a little more than he bargained for from X users after a mental health check.
Brooks: From Taylor Drift to Beyonsleigh, here are MnDOT's new snowplow names
It's me. Hi. I'm the snowplow, it's me.
Brooks: Minnesota braces for election year misinformation
Minnesota voters expect the best. As AI-generated disinformation spreads, election officials prepare for the worst.
Brooks: Incarcerated counselors draw on their own experiences to help others through recovery
"It took coming to prison to learn about integrity, empathy," said one graduate of the peer support program.
Brooks: Grieving firefighters give to the St. Paul family they worked to save
A devastating house fire broke hearts around the world.
Brooks: Grab some fabric and let's felt our feelings about 2023
Maybe the real 2023 was the laser loons we met along the way.
Brooks: Good things come to those who shop downtown Minneapolis
In a year without a Holidazzle, downtown's biggest boosters work to give shoppers a reason to visit.
Brooks: Community welcomes formerly homeless home to south Minneapolis
Church members provide housewarming, heartwarming gifts for neighbors transitioning out of homelessness
Brooks: Minneapolis neighbors want to determine the Third Precinct's second act
The neighborhoods around the charred and abandoned police station want a say in what comes next.
Brooks: Minnesota crop artists may be able to put a little mustard on it
The Minnesota Crop Improvement Association is improving the state's crops and maybe its crop art.
Brooks: One Minnesotan's quest to stop food waste and help hungry neighbors
A St. Thomas student saw food going to waste and set out to do something about it.
Brooks: Land of 10,000 flags (and loons with laser eyes)
Minnesota offers 2,123 answers to the question: How hard can it be to design a new state flag?
Brooks: Sweet sorrow as a tight labor market hits Minnesota right in the caramel apple
Two family businesses, Abdallah Candies and Pine Tree Apple Orchard, adapt to an economy that keeps trying to upset the apple cart.
Brooks: Line of women in blaze orange highlights push to diversify sport
Eager to encourage new hunters, the Minnesota DNR rolls out the welcome mat.
Brooks: Election season pits Minnesota mom against TikTok attacks
As more Minnesotans get their election information from social media, opponents target not just the message, but the messenger.
Brooks: Minneapolis takes the first swing at the worst Kmart
Living the Minneapolis dream, current and former city officials take a ceremonial swing at the big box that blocks Nicollet.
Brooks: Bats are more than spooky Halloween decor at this weekend's Minnesota Bat Festival
The tooth, and nothing but the tooth, about the Minnesotans who help bats — including the ones in need of a good bat dentist.
Brooks: Meet the folks who are 'part of the solution' to keep Lake Street vibrant
Three years ago, suburban Rotary clubs came to help small businesses recover. They're still here.
Brooks: Minnesota prison resource fairs pave the way for what comes next
At a prison resource fair, life after prison starts with support and connections inside
Happy Homer Hankyversary: The scrap of fabric that holds all our hopes and dreams turns 36
How a newspaper promotion became a tradition
Brooks: New campaign encourages schools to teach about Minnesota tribes with their own stories
When the Understand Native Minnesota campaign offered teachers a free collection of Dakota tales, the first 10,000 copies were snapped up in a matter of hours.
Brooks: Family mourns another life lost on the mean streets of Minnesota
As Annalee Wright fought for her life in the hospital, her family found the presents she'd wrapped and the cake she'd ordered for her son's 11th birthday.
She paved the way for disabled children. Now Hammer School founder finally has a gravestone
Alvina Hammer Rutzen believed everyone had a right to a real home and a full life, surrounded by people who care.
Brooks: One last party signals the end of an era for Open Streets Minneapolis
Minneapolis is parting ways with the group that opened the streets for a decade of summertime fun.
Brooks: In Carlton County, a battle over green cemeteries spirals to affect the whole state
Plans for a cemetery where Minnesotans could be buried without coffins and chemicals sparks a bitter NIMBY fight and a statewide moratorium on new green cemeteries.
Brooks: Al Quie, the Hernandez family and the lasting legacy of kindness
Decades before diversity, equity or inclusion were the norm, a young Al Quie invited a Mexican American pastor to tiny Nerstrand, Minn.
Brooks: The two-man bucket brigade working to save Lake Harriet's trees
Drought is killing newly planted trees in Minneapolis. For years, two neighbors stepped up with buckets to help.
Brooks: Minnesota's crop art community rocked by upcoming ban on popular seed at State Fair
Seeds of controversy as yellow mustard is banned from future crop art competitions.
Brooks: How the DNR lures the crowds to its well-stocked fish pond at the Minnesota State Fair
Meet the stars and gars of the Minnesota DNR's State Fair fish pond
Brooks: Summer is sweet at the Minneapolis Farmers Market
Under the overpass, the Minneapolis Farmers Market blooms where it was planted.
Brooks: Minnesota State Fair works to make Mighty Midway mighty fun for visitors with autism
The Great Minnesota Get-Together gets even greater with accommodations for visitors with special needs.
Brooks: A northeast Minneapolis plot puts the community back in community gardens
In community gardens or their own back yards, Minnesotans are growing produce to give away.