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Isabel Saavedra-Weis: 4 lessons I learned reporting on racial reparations in St. Paul

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:11:34 GMT

While many activists have been talking about reparations for years, the term caught fire in 2020 during the racial uprising following George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis.In some cities, including St. Paul, the conversation about reparations caught fire in local government. In 2021, the city of St. Paul launched a trial committee focusing on reparations for American descendants of chattel slavery. This year, that committee became a permanent commission, appointing 11 people to advise the mayor and city council on how to best approach reparations in St. Paul.For the past 10 weeks, I’ve been reporting on reparations in St. Paul, both in and out of the government. My goal was not to convince anyone of anything, but rather to expose more people to the discussions happening in the city around the topic.Here are the four lessons I learned on the job:Lesson 1: Paying reparations doesn’t look like one thingBefore taking on this project, I had only really known reparations as the 40 acres an...

Minnesota’s getting $540M from opioid settlements. Here’s how east-metro cities are spending it.

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:11:34 GMT

Cottage Grove Parks Superintendent Jim Fohrman carries a naloxone kit in the center console of his city-owned Ford Ranger pickup.Fohrman, who has worked for the city for 27 years, hasn’t had to save someone from an opioid overdose yet, “but it’s nice to know I have it in case I come across something,” he said. He’s one of about 150 city employees who have been trained this year on how to use opioid-overdose prevention medication.“I have it with me at all times,” Fohrman said. “I figure it would take about 30 to 45 seconds to rip it open and have (the syringe) ready to go. That’s really what it comes down to: You can help save someone’s life, or you can stand back and watch. I would prefer to do what I can.”Cottage Grove has been a leader in the response to the opioid crisis, and city staff are poised to do even more as settlement funds from pharmaceutical companies that made and sold opioid painkillers are paid out.The city of almost 40,000 people is one of more than a d...

Ask Amy: Disinherited son’s money goes to care-giving daughter

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:11:34 GMT

Dear Amy: Two years ago, my father-in-law called to inform his son (my husband) that he was being disinherited because, in my father-in-law’s words, “We don’t need his inheritance.”He stated that his daughter who lives with him and takes full-time care of him would receive his money.Seven years ago, we moved away from the area to be closer to our grandkids.Prior to our move we fully participated in both of my husband’s parents’ care and occasionally helped to support his sister. This was beneficial for her, as she did not have a job or a home.Admittedly, she does need his money (and we don’t), but I cannot get over the hurt of being cut out. Two years later, it still bothers me.Any advice?— Sad D-I-LDear Sad: The word “disinherited” takes on a particular meaning because it sounds as if your husband was due to inherit part of the estate, and now he is being denied because of some specific behavior on his part — or because the relationship with his father has deteriorated....

Word Game: Sept. 3, 2023

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:11:34 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — LEAVING (LEAVING: LEEV-ing: Failing to include or take along.)Average mark 39 wordsTime limit 50 minutesCan you find 48 or more words in LEAVING?TODAY’S WORD — LEAVING lain lane lave laving lean lien linage line ling live liven elan evil agile alien align alive angel angle anile anvil vain vale vane vang veal vegan veil vein venal venial vial vile vine ingle nail naive nave navel gain gale gave gavel genial give given glean glenTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.Contac...

Bridge: Sept. 3, 2023

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:11:34 GMT

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” — Lewis Carroll“How many times have you bid to the best contract,” a club player asked me, “while having no idea what you were doing?”He showed me today’s deal.“In a penny game, my partner and I got to 6NT. I opened two clubs and jumped to 3NT to show 25 to 27 points, balanced. He next bid four clubs. He thought that was Stayman; I thought it was the Gerber ace-asking convention, so I replied four diamonds, showing, I thought, all four aces. We still landed on our feet; he bid 6NT.”“I believe many pairs would treat a bid of four clubs as Gerber,” I said, “and four diamonds as Stayman. It’s a matter of partnership agreement. Did you make your slam?”“We ran out of luck in the play,” my friend said ruefully. “West led the queen of diamonds. I won with the ace, unblocked my A-Q of spades, led a club to dum...

Los bajos niveles de agua revelan huellas de dinosaurios que datan de 110 millones de años

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:11:34 GMT

(CNN) — Mientras Texas atravesaba un calor récord este verano y una creciente sequía hacía bajar los niveles de agua, un grupo de voluntarios descubrió algo algo magnífico: nuevas huellas de dinosaurios gigantes que se cree que datan de hace unos 110 millones de años.Paul Baker, gerente de la tienda del Parque Estatal Dinosaur Valley, dijo a CNN que “nunca antes había visto tantas huellas de dinosaurios”.“Es emocionante ver algo que nadie más ha visto; En cierto modo, es casi como una búsqueda del tesoro”, dijo Baker, quien ayuda a limpiar y mapear las huellas de dinosaurios en el parque. “Pensé que había visto todas las huellas de dinosaurios que existen, pero en los últimos dos años, con las sequías que hemos tenido y el arduo trabajo de nuestros voluntarios, es simplemente una vista increíble”.El Parque Estatal Dinosaur Valley, aproximadamente a una hora y media al sur de Dallas, alberga una gran cantidad de huellas de dinosaurios impresas por sauróp...

Italy makes Basketball World Cup quarterfinals for 1st time in 25 years

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:11:34 GMT

For the first time in 25 years, Italy is going to the quarterfinals of the Basketball World Cup.Stefano Tonut and Giampaolo Ricci each scored 15 points and Italy reached the World Cup quarterfinals with a 73-57 win over Puerto Rico on Sunday in Manila, the final day of second-round play at FIBA’s biggest tournament.Italy (4-1) will play either the U.S. or Lithuania in Tuesday’s quarterfinals in Manila. The Italians are assured of their best World Cup finish since placing sixth in 1998. They were ninth in 2006, 10th in 2019 and didn’t qualify in 2002, 2010 and 2014.Simone Fontecchio added 12 points and 12 rebounds for Italy, and Luigi Datome scored 11. Italy used a 15-0 run in the first quarter to take some control, wound up losing that lead in the third quarter, rallied to take a slight edge into the final period and pulled away from there.Tremont Waters scored 13 points and had nine assists for Puerto Rico (3-2), and Jordan Howard scored 11. Puerto Rico was bidding for its fi...

Death under investigation at Burning Man as flooding strands thousands at Nevada festival site

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:11:34 GMT

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Authorities in Nevada were investigating a death at the site of the Burning Man festival where thousands of attendees remained stranded Saturday night as flooding from storms swept through the Nevada desert.Organizers closed vehicular access to the counterculture festival and attendees trudged through mud, many barefoot or wearing plastic bags on their feet. The revelers were urged to shelter in place and conserve food, water and other supplies.The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said the death happened during the event but offered few details as the investigation continued, including the identity of the deceased person or the suspected cause of death, KNSD-TV reported.Vehicle gates will not open for the remainder of the event, which began on Aug. 27 and was scheduled to end Monday, according to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the Black Rock Desert where the festival is being held.More than one-half inch of rain is believed to have fallen on Fri...

DC-based nonprofit raises awareness of meat packing injuries ahead of Labor Day

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:11:34 GMT

About 26,600 nonfatal injuries in the meat and poultry industry alone were reported in 2021, according to a D.C.-based nonprofit.Sustainable Earth Eating is spreading awareness of these injuries as Americans buy food produced by agricultural workers to celebrate Labor Day.“Your dinner might be costing someone an arm and a leg,” the nonprofit said in a news release.The nonprofit listed a number of reasons for this high injury rate in a news release, including how meat factories work 24/7 shifts.Undocumented workers who work in the industry may avoid reporting hazardous conditions over fears they could lose their jobs or be deported, according to a report by the Economic Policy Institute that uses data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.The meat and poultry industry is one of the most dangerous industries, according to the nonprofit, but the agricultural sector is incredibly dangerous overall.From 2015 to 2020, there were 573 fatalities in the sector an...

En Japón, a los jóvenes les cuesta tanto tener citas que sus padres lo hacen por ellos

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:11:34 GMT

(CNN) — Es una calurosa tarde de verano en la ciudad japonesa de Osaka, donde un grupo de alrededor de 60 hombres y mujeres se han reunido para una sesión de “omiai”, o emparejamiento, para encontrar el amor verdadero.Se mezclan, saltando de un extremo a otro de la sala de conferencias del edificio de la Cámara de Comercio de Sakai mientras evalúan posibles coincidencias y la competencia.Pero este no es un evento cualquiera de citas rápidas.Pocos de los participantes hablan de sus aficiones, películas o restaurantes favoritos, o incluso de ellos mismos. Están hablando de sus hijos adultos, todavía solteros, a quienes esperan emparejar y casar.Una mujer, de unos 60 años, habla con orgullo de su hijo de 34 años, maestro de escuela primaria pública. Un hombre de unos 80 años habla afectuosamente de su hijo de 49 años, con vocación profesional, que trabaja como controlador en una empresa eléctrica.Cada uno de los padres ha desembolsado 14.000 yenes (US$ 96) para asistir a este eve...