From Al to Avista

In 1982 I wrote the “good-bye” story for the old Minneapolis Star when it ceased publication and was folded into the morning Tribune. Mike Finney, the gentlemanly and thoughtful managing editor at the time, asked me to do the story, he said, “because everyone else around here is a mess.”
What he didn’t know was that I [...]

Better Than Dangerous

So now that Michele Bachmann has (again) bitten her foot off on national television, all attention turns to the momentum building behind the campaign of Elwin Tinklenberg, her DFL rival.  I think that’s wonderful.  I really do.
But given the fact that Mr. Tinklenberg, a former Methodist minister and mayor of Blaine (with no engineering background) [...]

Par for the course

For some of the best — and most disturbing — local writing to be found these days, follow this link:  http://media.startribune.com/smedia/2007/04/12/21/pplawsuit.source.prod_affiliate.2.pdf
 This should take you to a PDF copy of the lawsuit filed by the Pioneer Press April 12 against The Star Tribune, Newspaper of the Western Milky Way and Leveraged Buyout Mistress of Avista Capital [...]

U.S. Bancorp — shame on you!

Choice.  Just choice.
A bit old, but let us today linger for a moment on a story printed in the Pioneer Press on February 28 by banking and finance reporter Nicole Garrison-Sprenger, noting the fact that the “short interest” in the stock of U.S. Bancorp had nearly doubled between mid-January and mid-February — to 37.5 million  from [...]

An Open Letter to Nancy Barnes

Dear Nancy,
Good interview in Sunday’s paper (Opinion Exchange, page 2).  Your answers to Kate Parry’s questions were thoughtful and encouraging, and good responses to the many questions people have about the future direction of our local paper, The Star Tribune.  I only hope they weren’t overly optimistic.
Of all the executive editors the paper has had [...]