'It was gut-wrenching. The theater program has been the place where I felt most at home on campus, more so than any other group I've ever been a part of.' - Ella Goette, CSS junior

College of St. Scholastica to stop producing theater: duluthnewstribune.com/lifestyle/arts…

I’m a little belated in acknowledging this, but thank you to Minnesota Newspaper Association for honoring my Duluth News Tribune reporting with three awards in this year’s Better Newspaper Contest! jaygabler.com/2022-23-better…

Thanks to Jay Gabler for an obit that made me smile. Jay wrote about the Polka Politician, Florian Chmielewski, who led what Jay calls the 'Partridge Family of Polka' in addition to serving as a Mn state senator. Good read!
duluthnewstribune.com/lifestyle/arts…

Thanks to Patty Chmielewski for sharing her memories and photos as a member of what I took the liberty of calling 'the Partridge Family of polka.'

Polka great Florian Chmielewski dead at 97: duluthnewstribune.com/lifestyle/arts…

Is it just us, or does every family lose the teaspoons and then feel obligated to eat with the serving spoons until they get lost too and you can start over from scratch?

Are babies everywhere issued drops of vitamin D, or just in Minnesota?

Back on the Duluth News Tribune beat after a happy 12-week leave! If you sent one of the 7,695 emails I missed while I was away, I may take a day or two to respond.

Me, a new parent, before starting daycare:
I'm going to use EVERY MINUTE of daycare time for PAID, PROFESSIONAL WORK! I need to be absolutely sure not to waste any of this time!

Me, four days in:
Hm, if I kick off work an hour early I can finish watching 'Mr. Mom' before pickup

Gorgeous grifters seducing billionaires? Just another day in Duluth!

…or, the premise of Wendy Heard’s delicious thriller about two wily women who get in over their heads with a suspiciously sympathetic tech bro. Thanks Random House Group for the free book.

There will always be room in the Top 40 for songs that sound like a bunch of British guys shouting in harmony at the bottom of a well.

“The Living Force,” by John Jackson Miller 🔜 C2E2 Writers Block Table 2, is an engaging new novel coinciding with the 25th anniversary of The Phantom Menace — a story of the Episode I era Jedi Council doing battle with space pirates. Sabers up!

Thanks Random House Group for the free book.

This biography of a WWII Soviet spy is fascinating for:
🕵🏻‍♀️ The human story of a woman caught up in the winds of war
🕵🏻‍♀️ The details of mid-century spycraft
🕵🏻‍♀️ The evocation of a world of shifting alliances and good intentions gone awry

Thanks Crown Publishing for the free book.

If there’s such a thing as a utopian dystopia, it’s the universe of M(all the vowels)h’s new novel, which imagines what it would take to bring about a more equitable society — as seen through the lens of a bleak world inspired by our own.

Thank you Random House Group for the free book.

The game’s imprint is so vast, it’s hard to believe there was a time when Dungeons & Dragons seemed like a has-been. A history of the game has been reissued and updated in honor of D&D's 50th anniversary.

Simon & Schuster Audio thetangential.com/2024/03/19/aud…

Absolutely perfect that the first place I heard Billy Joel’s new single was on the radio at the dentist’s office.

If you’re looking for a pure blackout page-turner of a dystopian thriller with a wintry setting, you can stop scrolling right now and catch “The Drift.” #RandomHousePartner Random House Group

#TheHighRepublic continues to demonstrate that Star Wars doesn’t need a silver screen for epic adventures. Despite the ominous cover art, George Mann’s latest is less about Marchion Ro than the people struggling to escape his yoke. Thank you Random House Group for the free book.

At every design meeting for something intended to be used by babies, there's got to be one person who says, 'Okay, but what if we found a way to attach some kind of accessory that requires three AA batteries?'