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Readers and writers: The latest from John Sandford, a trailblazer at the U, and more

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 11:10:07 GMT

Letty comes alive, something is in the basement, college freshmen tell stories, and a look at one of the first University of Minnesota Black athletes, all recommended this week just for you.“Dark Angel”: by John Sandford (Putnam, $29.99)‘ ‘Attagirl,’ Cartwright said, raising a finger to the waiter. ‘Nothing quite as exciting as getting drunk on your ass while angry and in possession of a dangerous weapon. Says so right in in the Second Amendment, I  think.’‘I am not that angry,’ Letty said.‘Yes, you are. You have been since birth. All us Ladies are angry.’ ” — From “Dark Angel”The “Ladies” are members of the Washington Ladies Peace-Maker Society, which is not a group of tea-drinking socialites. It’s a secret group of women in Washington, most of whom work for government agencies, who meet monthly to test their shooting skills and talk about their favorite guns. A few of them a...

Sunday Bulletin Board: Life on the hill: not-so-tough (maybe not-so-safe) sledding!

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 11:10:07 GMT

The Permanent Family RecordKID IN A MIRROR: “I grew up in a small Minnesota town. The town is on a hill overlooking the Minnesota River.“One Christmas, in the early 1950s, my older brother received a new sled with a steel frame and runners and wooden slats. He willingly shared it with my younger sister and me.“The most fun was when we all piled on our stomachs — my brother, me, and my sister on top. We started at the alley above our house. Off we went! We barreled through our yard, a quick look left and right as we crossed Third Street and onto our neighbor’s property. Jumped a mogul and passed their outhouse. Pee-yew! On we went through their yard, across another alley and into another yard, where some older boys pelted us with snowballs from behind a retaining wall. We finally ended our run before crossing Second Street. A two-minute ride that felt timeless!“I often wonder if our mother, who was in the house, was aware of our adventure.”Dept. of Neat ...

John Phelan: Exempt Social Security from state income tax? Good politics. Bad policy.

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 11:10:07 GMT

Milton Friedman once said, “I am in favor of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for any excuse, for any reason, whenever it’s possible.” As much as it pains me to disagree with one of the greatest social scientists of the last century, it is possible for a tax cut to leave the tax system in worse shape. The current proposal to exempt Social Security income from state income taxation is a case in point.Economically speaking, the best tax system levies low rates on broad bases. Exemptions and credits go against this and ought to be used sparingly, if at all. So, if Minnesota state government is going to tax individuals’ incomes, why should it exempt income from Social Security?The only answer I’ve really had to this question is that this income was already “taxed” when the individual’s Social Security was withheld from their paycheck and that it is being taxed a second time when Social Security pays out and the state government taxes that.But this isn’t true.R...

MN Legislature: Proposed paid leave program comes with big startup costs, generous benefits

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 11:10:07 GMT

Minnesota Democrats’ ambitious two-year budget plan — with $17.9 billion in new spending — includes the creation of a paid family and medical leave program that has hefty startup costs.The joint budget targets announced by Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party leaders include nearly $670 million to kick-start the benefit program. But a fiscal analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Budget Office found getting the program up and running could cost as much as $1.7 billion.The high costs are largely to allow the state to begin paying benefits around the same time it starts collecting revenue from a new 0.7 percent payroll tax. The tax on wages could be split between workers and employees.The state Department of Employment and Economic Development would have to hire more than 400 workers by 2026 to administer the program, which proponents say would look a lot like Minnesota’s unemployment system. Only about 24 percent of workers currently have access to paid leave and 13...

Skywatch: The big cat of spring is chasing the dogs of winter out of the sky

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 11:10:07 GMT

Happy springtime! Winter, or at least the astronomical winter of 2022-23, is history. The vernal equinox took place last Monday. From now until late June, the sun will make longer and higher arcs from east to west across the sky as it crosses into the northern half of the sky for the first time since last September. Summer won’t be long.Even though it’s spring, Orion and the rest of the winter constellations still shine brightly in the southwestern sky. The big guy himself has three bright stars in a row that make up the hermit hunter’s belt. Orion’s brightest star is Rigel, marking Orion’s left knee, and Betelgeuse at the other corner marks Orion’s armpit. Betelgeuse is an Arabic name that roughly translates in English to “armpit of the great one.” Betelgeuse is a very significant star astronomically. It’s a super red giant star that sometimes bulges out to nearly a billion miles in diameter.On the southern and western side of O...

Literary pick: Three new children’s books

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 11:10:07 GMT

Laura Purdie SalasThe snow is melting, leaving behind water and more water. It’s the perfect time of year for three new books from Minneapolis children’s author Laura Purdie Salas, all connected by water. They are: “Zap! Clap! Boom!,”  “Finding Family: The Duckling Raised by Loons,” and a board book, “Puddle Song!”Purdie Salas, who’s written more than 130 books for the kiddos, will launch her new trio at a spring storytime at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 1, at Red Balloon Bookshop, 891 Grand Ave., St. Paul.  She promises “singing, storming, moving and reading.” After the program, she will sign books.Here’s a peek inside their covers.“Zap! Clap! Boom!”: This dynamic introduction to weather focuses on the life cycle of a thunderstorm that begins “no rain yet. It’s just a threat -/ a rising cloud,  a towering plume, then… ”  The text follows as the weather changes from a blue-sky d...

Ask Amy: Hot babe seeks same, and friends are over it

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 11:10:07 GMT

Dear Amy: Over the last two decades my partner and I have helped a friend through several abusive relationships, rehab, and financial issues. Now, not unlike her history of addiction, she’s suddenly “found God” to the extreme.She carries a Bible, goes to Bible study, and her Facebook posts are all about God.She says she wants to move on from her past and yet she then posts: “In search of a Hot Christian Man, because I am a Hot Christian woman.”Yes, she is definitely a “babe” (and she dresses like one), but I’ve suggested a milder route in her search for purity.She disagrees, and says that I just don’t get it.Maybe I don’t get it, but if she got a job and dialed God back a few notches, I think “Hot Man” would find her.While entertaining, after more than 20 years we’re getting tired of the drama.Any thoughts on where God is going with this?Is this another addiction running its course?— SpiritualDear Spiritual: As healthy as m...

Bridge: March 26, 2023

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 11:10:07 GMT

Unlucky Louie came to me in the club lounge with another tale of self-inflicted woe.“A two-way guess for a missing queen is a 50-50 proposition, isn’t it?” Louie asked.I nodded cautiously. An expert declarer will guess right at least 75 percent of the time. Clues or “table feel” will point his way.“I’m in a slump,” Louie said. “I couldn’t locate a missing queen if I were armed with a search warrant. I’m going wrong every time.”Louie made me look at one deal. He had been declarer at four hearts. West led the K-A and a third club, and luckily for Louie, his queen won the third trick.“I forced out the ace of trumps,” Louie told me, “and West led a diamond. Dummy’s queen won, and I drew trumps, but I still had to guess the queen of spades. Naturally, I led a spade to dummy’s ten, playing the opening bidder for the queen … and East won. I would do better if I just finessed in the d...

Horoscopes March 26, 2023: Kenny Chesney, trust your instincts

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 11:10:07 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Keira Knightley, 38; Kenny Chesney, 55; Martin Short, 73; Steven Tyler, 75.Steven Tyler (Evan Agostini/Associated Press archives) Happy Birthday: The pendulum swings, and it’s your turn to play. Choose your tools wisely, and make kindness, consideration and honesty your preferences. Work diligently toward your goal, but don’t present or display your progress prematurely. If you want to make an impact, using the element of surprise works best. Trust your instincts, follow your heart and turn your actions into a springboard for success. Your numbers are 5, 17, 21, 28, 30, 34, 47.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Things will start piling up if you aren’t savvy in handling money, people and prospects. Be on guard to make a move, change direction or start anew at the snap of a finger. Know your worth, set high standards and finish what you start. 4 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Get everything in place before you start something new. How you ...

After Tide of Memoirs From Americans, an Iraqi Journalist Offers Inside Account of War’s Destruction

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 11:10:07 GMT

American journalists and soldiers have published countless memoirs about their experiences in the Iraq War. But a new book by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad provides a radically different perspective: that of an ordinary Iraqi who witnessed firsthand the decimation of his country.“The occupation was bound to collapse and fail,” Abdul-Ahad writes of the U.S. invasion in his remarkable memoir, “A Stranger in My Own City: Travels in the Middle East’s Long War.” As Abdul-Ahad goes on to explain, “A nation can’t be bombed, humiliated and sanctioned, then bombed again, and then told to become a democracy.”Abdul-Ahad is among a generation of Iraqi writers and journalists who lived through the conflict and, two decades later, are finally being heard. What he has to say not only confronts the self-serving narratives of the war’s supporters and revisionists, but also bitterly confronts how the Iraqi people were used as pawns in a war that was launched in their name.“We were all merely potential coll...