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Forget Taco Tuesday, my daughter-in-law and I recently discovered something even more fun: Tea Tuesday.

There is a Buddhist practice I used to struggle with: the instruction to look at every person as if they were once your mother – someone who, in another life, cared for you completely, asking nothing in return. I couldn’t get there. My own mother chose her religion over me. The idea of universal maternal love felt like a cruelty. Then Stanley arrived, and I finally understood it from the other side.

Shortly after we started Northwest Passages more than eight years ago, a longtime subscriber noticed we showed a list of donors on the big video board of those who helped us keep improving and growing the series. From the very first Northwest Passages event, we were blown away by the generosity and support of those who came to our budding bibliophile bonanzas.

There’s a profound statement in Chapter 6 of the “Rule of St. Benedict,” which I recently posted on social media: “Let us follow the Prophet’s counsel: ‘I said, I have resolved to keep watch over my ways that I may never sin with my tongue.

When two columnists pick the same topic and their columns run consecutively, the universe might be trying to tell you something.

Editor’s note: This is an occasional letter Paul has been writing – since 1997 – to his now young-adult grandchildren.

Although he didn't get the nomination, the Rev. Jesse Jackson thrilled on the 1988 campaign trail and at the convention.

We are deep into the purge now.

I admit it.

There were 15 of us on the ride for Alex Pretti. We gathered in Moscow, Idaho, on a chilly afternoon, some faces familiar, others new. We should have had a banner with his name on it – something to wave at passing cars, an invitation for other cyclists to join us. But we didn’t plan that far ahead. The call had gone out across the country: Ride for Alex. He was one of us, a cyclist, and he died on a Minneapolis street with federal bullets in his body.

Washington has a long history of protestors at the Capitol openly carrying all manner of firearms. Even though that was banned in 2021, the law still allows protestors who have a concealed carry permit to be armed.

The Winter Olympics – my favorite sporting event(s) of all, any where on the planet, ever – begin this week, taking place in and around Cortina-Milan, Italy.

Reflecting on the increasing tension and animosity in Minnesota and across the nation, I’ve wondered what can be done to bridge the societal gaps in connection.

Proposed constitutional amendment would remove the limts on how long a legislative session lasts.

Obituaries not only offer snapshots of our community, but they often include bits of wisdom, sound advice and flashes of humor.

Only three chaotic and fearful days after Renee Good was killed by an ICE agent in a Minneapolis residential neighborhood, we sat with about 150 other folks in a local church sanctuary for a hastily organized peace vigil. Area clergy invited us to speak of our fears (there were many), our sadness (again, many) and our hopes (not as many). We agreed: ICE OUT NOW!

Just because the U.S. Mint is no longer making pennies, we don't need to round off purchases.