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Readers and writers: Plan a fall of reading with Minnesota writers and publishers

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 15:50:14 GMT

Here we go. A first look at a new season of books by Minnesota authors/publishers. It’s a dandy, with mysteries, memoir, autobiography, good representation from Native authors and much more. (This list does not include reviewed books; it’s a clip-and-save reminder for readers about what’s in the pipeline. Information about forthcoming books provided by publishers.)September and late AugustFiction(Courtesy of Mariner Books)“A Council of Dolls”: by Mona Susan Power (Marine Books) — St. Paul-based author of the widely praised and popular “The Grass Dancer” and two other novels gives us a story spanning three generations of Dakota women told in part through the stories of the dolls they carried, moving from mid-century Chicago to the windswept ancestral lands of the Dakota and the brutal Indian boarding schools. Power is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.“Discernment”: by Roy Close (Beaver’s Pond Press) ...

Good Samaritan, Sanford Health drop assisted-living residents from Roseville’s Heritage Place

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 15:50:14 GMT

In late August, Thomas Reiter received the kind of news dreaded by every adult child of an elderly parent. His 97-year-old father, Tony, a former Ramsey County land commissioner, would be forced to move out of an assisted-living facility in Roseville as it would be transitioning exclusively to independent living.Reiter had 60 days, he learned, to find his nearly century-old dad, a World War II naval veteran, new housing.The given explanation that Reiter, of Afton, received in an Aug. 24 letter from management boiled down to staffing, or a lack thereof:“The senior care industry, including our location in Roseville, faces challenges that have worsened following the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve experienced persistent challenges maintaining a full team of caregivers for assisted living services.”Reiter was furious. Heritage Place of Roseville, operated by the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, had been a comfortable fit, at first, for his father, who relied on its skil...

Panel to probe allegations of a toxic workplace at Minnesota veterans homes

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 15:50:14 GMT

There is growing evidence that allegations of a toxic workplace extend beyond the Minnesota Veterans Home in Hastings and the state Department of Veterans Affairs has been slow to address them.New complaints have surfaced since workers first spoke publicly about problems in March. Altogether, at least a dozen current and former caregivers have filed official complaints with state and federal agencies over their treatment by superiors.They contend that their workplaces have a toxic atmosphere where bullying, intimidation and reprisal are common. This poor treatment of staff, they say, can lead to inadequate care and even endanger veterans.Next week, a special panel created by the Legislature to probe the level of care provided to veterans at the state’s two assisted-living-style homes — called domiciliaries — is required to hold its first meeting. In addition, state lawmakers hope the panel will look deeper at allegations of toxic work environments at state Departme...

Literary calendar for week of Sept. 10

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 15:50:14 GMT

C.M. ALONGI: Graduate of Hastings High School and Hamline University introduces her debut adult sci fi novel “Citadel,” about the only city on a planet, which has a holy mission to exterminate demons from the Flooded Forest. When a 19-year-old nonverbal, autistic woman meets one of the “demons,” she realizes these are not vicious animals, or unholy, but sentient people. She embarks on a hazardous journey into the Flooded Forest where she faces flesh-eating predators, telekinetic zealot-warriors and demons of her own past. What the author didn’t reveal to anyone, until her five-figure contract was signed, is that her mother is bestselling Minnesota author MaryJanice Davidson. 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12, SubText Books, 6 W. Fifth St., St. Paul.Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison introduces his new book, “Break the Wheel: Ending the Cycle of Police Violence,” Sept. 19, 2023 at Magers & Quinn Booksellers in Minneapolis. (Courtesy of Hache...

Skywatch: The celestial teapot is steaming

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 15:50:14 GMT

(Mike Lynch)Right around 9 p.m., when evening twilight has faded, cast your eyes toward the low southern sky, and without too much difficulty, you’ll see a teapot hanging diagonally by its handle. A distinct triangle of three bright stars makes up the spout on the lower right side, and a trapezoid of four stars on the upper left makes up the handle. A single star marks the top of the teapot between and above the handle and the pot. This celestial teapot is more formally known as Sagittarius the Archer. By the way, I love the star’s name on the upper left corner of the handle. It’s Nunki, pronounced nun-key. It’s a star 228 light years, or 1,300 trillion miles, away. If you put Nunki side by side with our sun, it would be over 3,000 times brighter than our sun, with over four times the diameter of our home star.According to Greek and Roman lore, the constellation Sagittarius is supposed to outline a half-man-half-horse flinging an arrow to the west. With a bit...

Ask Amy: Close cousin determines DNA disclosure

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 15:50:14 GMT

Dear Amy: I am very close with my first cousin “Landon.”Landon is a robust and healthy older man. Unbeknownst to him, we are not actually cousins, in fact, we’re not related at all.Years ago, I asked Landon to submit a DNA sample with the results coming to me, the family historian.That sample revealed that his mother’s husband was not Landon’s biological father.I should note that Landon always had a strained relationship with his “father,” and I remember him as a difficult man.I’m an amateur genealogist and have been able to identify his biological father and relatives.Those still living are a short drive from Landon’s house.Even though he is quite proud of our family history (there’s nothing notable about our tree), he’s paid no attention to the DNA results, assuming they only prove what he’s long believed to be true.I’ve gone to great lengths to protect his privacy while using public databases to research his biological family. But Landon’s children or grandchildren could test the...

Bridge: Sept. 10, 2023

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 15:50:14 GMT

“I bid the fourth and final diamond.” — a player whose partner had bid clubs four times while he had bid diamonds.It’s typical of newer players that when they hold a hand they find attractive, they may grab the auction and not let go, like a toddler clutching a favorite toy.In today’s deal, the first four calls were fine, as was South’s second-round jump to three hearts. But West’s three spades was questionable; North should have doubled for plus 500. When he passed, South’s four hearts could be explained only by “I’m-declaring-come-what-may” syndrome.West led the king of spades, and South took dummy’s ace and let the nine of trumps ride. West took the king and got out with his last trump. South next led the king of clubs, but West won and returned a club. Then South lost a diamond to West’s king and another club. Down one.Players often get carried away with strong hands — and he who overbids is like...

Word Game: Sept. 10, 2023

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 15:50:14 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — GARDENIA (GARDENIA: gar-DEEN-yuh: A shrub with fragrant white flowers.)Average mark 52 wordsTime limit 60 minutesCan you find 67 or more words in GARDENIA?TODAY’S WORD — GARDENIA gain gainer gander garden gear gird gnar grad grade grain grand grid grin grind adage again agar aged agenda ager aide aired anger area arena aria arid radian rage raid rain rang range rani read reading regain reign rein rend ride ridge rind ring dang danger dare daring darn dean dear deign dine diner ding dinge dire dirge drag drain drainage dreg earn engird nadir near ideaTo 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 ...

Ashton Kutcher y Mila Kunis dicen que son “conscientes” de que sus cartas de apoyo a Danny Masterson causaron dolor

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 15:50:14 GMT

(CNN) — Ashton Kutcher y Mila Kunis compartieron un video en el que dicen que son “conscientes del dolor” que causaron al escribir cartas en apoyo a Danny Masterson antes de su sentencia por violación.Kunis y Kutcher, quienes coprotagonizaron con Masterson la serie “That ’70s Show”, estuvieron entre las casi 50 personas que abogaron por indulgencia para el actor antes de que fuera sentenciado el jueves a 30 años de prisión a cadena perpetua por violar a dos mujeres en 2003.Masterson ha mantenido su inocencia y planea apelar su caso.Danny Masterson, estrella de “That ’70s Show” recibe una condena de 30 años de prisión a cadena perpetua por violaciónEn su video compartido en Instagram este sábado, Kutcher dijo que la familia de Masterson les pidió que escribieran cartas caracterizadas que describieran a “la persona que conocíamos durante 25 años para que el juez pudiera tomar eso en plena consideración en relación con la sentencia”...

West goes easy on Russia to save the G20

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 15:50:14 GMT

NEW DELHI — G20 leaders wrapped up two days of high-level talks in India accomplishing what they had set out to achieve — a final summit declaration that all sides could endorse. But many were left asking — at what cost?As the ink dried on the 35-page summit communiqué hashed out over weeks of negotiations by the world’s most influential countries, G20 members were battling a chorus of criticism about the omission of any specific reference to Russia’s role as aggressor in the war on Ukraine.  The G20 had “nothing to be proud of” when it came to the failure to denounce Russia specifically in the joint statement i New Delhi, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko. Svitlana Romanko, founder and director of the pro-Ukraine group Razom We Stand, called the communiqué “weak” and “cowardly by not even mentioning Russia or its ongoing war crimes.”But Western officials defended the result, with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak touting the do...