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Skywatch: Get a stellar start to your day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:36 GMT

This week in Skywatch I want to share the joy of stargazing in the early morning hours. I was a regular super early riser for many years, but not by choice. Before I retired over three years ago, I was a morning radio broadcaster at WCCO Radio In Minneapolis and had to be out of bed a little after 3 a.m. As brutal as that was, one of the great things about it is that if clouds didn’t get in the way, I could start my day with the stars. This time of year, it’s really a treat because the morning stars are dazzling and bright, especially in the southern half of the sky.  That’s because those stars make up the great winter constellations, the same stars and constellations we see in the early evening skies in early January. I lovingly call this part of the sky “Orion and his Gang.”(Mike Lynch)Even if you don’t know many constellations, chances are you recognize Orion the Hunter. It’s the one that resembles an hourglass or a cockeyed bowtie. Its hallmar...

On its 40th anniversary, Kowalski’s remains committed to being a civic-minded neighborhood grocer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:36 GMT

Officially, Kris Kowalski Christiansen is the chief executive officer of the grocery store her parents, Mary Anne and Jim Kowalski, started 40 years ago in St. Paul.But still. Even after years in the role, something about that title doesn’t feel quite right.“We never viewed ourselves as chain, or corporate,” she said. “(Mom) and Dad always taught us, we’re a neighborhood grocer. We just stayed small in how we viewed ourselves.”That neighborhood ethos — spending time in their own stores, not growing too fast, prioritizing a business’s civic role in the community — is partly what’s kept Kowalski’s Markets around for four decades, Kris and Mary Anne said. The business now has 11 stores around the Twin Cities.The Kowalski family buys their groceries there, too, of course.“We’re consumers,” Kris said. “We just want to bring an experience to people that we would want to have.”“A common-sense neighborhood kind of thing”Growing up in St. Paul, Jim Kowalski and then-Mary Anne Oase were “neig...

Is the Lexington haunted? That mystery among local Halloween events

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:36 GMT

Halloween rolls around again, and this year is chock-full of events for young and old to enjoy. Whether it’s wholesome family fun or something a little more spine-tingling for adults, these events are sure to invite one into the spirit of the spooky season.Twin Cities Paranormal Society Cocktail Party: Reminisce and drink over the Twin Cities Paranormal Society’s spooky adventures Oct. 27, 28 and 30 at The Lexington restaurant in St. Paul. On Oct. 30, the party will be joined by paranormal investigator Dave Schrader, host of the podcast The Paranormal 60, who will reveal the findings of his overnight investigation of The Lexington itself. Tickets available at opentable.com/r/the-lexington-saint-paul.Minnesota Jack-O Lantern Spectacular: Through Nov. 4, the Minnesota Zoo invites families to walk its pumpkin-lined trail. This year’s theme is “Seasons of the Year” with pumpkins carved by artists. Ticket prices range from $18-24 for adults and $14-20 for children...

It’s been a century of learning and friendship for the Friday Study Club in Stillwater

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:36 GMT

Gerrie Granquist researched and gave presentations on many topics as a member of the Friday Study Club in Stillwater.Her most memorable report — one she spent months researching — was on Simone de Beauvoir, Jean Paul Sartre and existentialism.“I didn’t understand it then, and I still don’t,” Granquist, 89, of Stillwater, said last week during a panel discussion on the club’s history.Granquist joined the Friday Study Club in 1967, but stopped attending after she took a job at Stillwater Junior High School. But “once you’re a member, you’re always a member,” she told the group gathered at the Stillwater Public Library.The Friday Study Club was founded as a branch of the Delphian Society, a national organization that promoted women’s education in the arts, literature and history. According to its charter, it was “organized in the interest of social progress, higher education and personal improvement.”The club has about 25 active members and has met at least once a mon...

What you need to know: 2023 Dakota County education levy referendums

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:36 GMT

Many Dakota County voters will be asked on Nov. 7 to consider giving more money to public schools.The Farmington, Hastings, Inver Grove Heights, Lakeville and West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan school districts are asking for additional funding.Here’s a rundown of what will be on the ballot next month, why the funds are needed and, if passed, how the levy referendums could impact homeowners.FarmingtonFarmington Area Public Schools is proposing to revoke the district’s existing operating levy and replace it with a new one following a budget reduction for the 2023-24 school year and a projected deficit of $3.5 million for the 2024-25 school year.The district will ask voters to consider replacing the current operating levy of $677 per student to $1,239.92 per student for taxes payable in 2024, which will provide $9 million annually for the first three years, with $5 million coming from the current levy and $4 million from the new levy. The question then asks voters to approve an addit...

Literary calendar for week of Oct. 22

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:36 GMT

C.M. ALONGI: Minnesotan discusses her science fiction debut “Citadel.” Alongi is best known for her CaFae Latte TikTok series about a cafe run by fairies. “Citadel” is the only human city on an alien planet, ruled by the tides that bring both deadly danger and much-needed resources. The Flooded Forest is ruled by demons from Hell and Citadel must kill every one of them. 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave., St. Paul.BRITNEY CELEBRATION: It’s Britney, B**** is the theme of a celebration of rock star Britney Spears’ memoir “The Woman in Me,” with a reading and conversation with Chris Stedman and Kara Nesvig. 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, SubText Books, 6 W. Fifth St., St. Paul.CURTIS CHIN: Award-winning filmmaker and activist, co-founder and first executive director of New York’s Asian American Writers’ workshop discusses his debut memoir, “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Res...

New Minnesota law cracks down on organized retail theft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:36 GMT

Charlie Anderson went from St. Paul patrol to investigative police work in 2011 and, as he followed up on shoplifting reports, he realized some weren’t as simple as a person slipping merchandise into their pocket and walking out the door.“There’s something else going on here,” he thought.As he talked to other law enforcement and retailers, he said his eyes were opened “to this world” of organized retail theft, Anderson said.Organized retail theft — stealing to sell goods to other people — isn’t a new problem, but it’s in the public eye more. Target recently announced it was closing nine stores in four states (none in Minnesota), saying that theft and organized retail crime have threatened the safety of its workers and customers.Charlie Anderson (Courtesy photo)Anderson’s experiences more than a decade ago led him to start an organized retail crime association that grew into a statewide nonprofit, and he and others in the field ha...

Ask Amy: Holiday in Europe might involve a rental

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:36 GMT

Dear Amy: Our son’s mother and father-in-law, who live in Europe, have repeatedly invited us to stay at their house, including over the upcoming holidays.We are considering going, and told them so.Then I got a text from my daughter-in-law with an Airbnb listing where she said we could stay to be “away from the mayhem.”Amy, mayhem is part of the holiday experience! (And by the way, this Airbnb property is already booked over the holidays).We think this might be a dis-invite, but don’t know how to formulate a response.We are on good terms with everyone and want to keep it that way.As the parents of two sons, I feel like we need to “hear” from our daughter-in-law.What do you think?— Holiday HousedDear Housed: “Mayhem is part of the holiday experience,” while true, is not necessarily a selling point — certainly for anyone contemplating hosting for a presumably long-ish overseas stay.Your daughter-in-law might be trying to deftly discourage...

Mientras se avecina una incursión terrestre, la gran pregunta sigue siendo: ¿Cuál es el plan de Israel para Gaza?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:36 GMT

(CNN) — Tal y Zak no tienen idea de cuánto tiempo estarán desplegados en lo que los israelíes llaman “la envoltura de Gaza”, el área en el sur de Israel que fue atacada por terroristas de Hamas hace dos semanas.Podrían ser semanas, podrían ser meses, dijeron. “Es igual para todos. Nadie lo sabe”, dijo Zak a CNN en un campamento militar no lejos de la frontera con Gaza. Los dos jóvenes soldados, cuyos apellidos CNN no revela por razones de seguridad, sirven en una unidad de artillería de las Fuerzas de Defensa de Israel (FDI) que fue trasladada a la zona después de que militantes de Hamas mataran a 1.400 personas y secuestraran a unas 200 el 7 de octubre.Su unidad es parte de una acumulación masiva de tropas y material militar israelíes en la frontera de Gaza. Además de su fuerza regular, las FDI también convocaron a 300.000 reservistas que se presentaron en sus bases en cuestión de horas. En todo Israel, las carreteras cercanas a las principales bases están llenas de miles y m...

Philippines says a coast guard ship and supply boat were rammed by Chinese vessels at disputed shoal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:36 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Chinese coast guard ship and an accompanying vessel rammed a Philippine coast guard ship and a military-run supply boat Sunday off a contested shoal, Philippine officials said, in an encounter that heightened fears of an armed conflict in the disputed South China Sea.A top Philippine security official told The Associated Press there were no injuries among the Filipino crew members and an assessment of the damage to both vessels was underway. The official said that the two incidents near Second Thomas Shoal, where China has repeatedly tried to isolate a Philippine marine outpost, could have been worse if the vessels were not able to maneuver rapidly away from the Chinese ships. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to a lack of authority to publicly discuss the matter. China’s sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea, including over islands closer to Philippine shore, have raised tensions and brought in the United States, a long...