Articles
What to do when ambushed — from left or right
ROBIN WASHINGTON: So you’re walking down the street minding your own business and thinking about — oh, I don’t know, your spouse? Job? Maybe you left the coffee maker on? — when somebody with a flip camera pops up asking if you support Obama’s immigration policy. And if you do, does that mean you disagree with the business entity definition in Alabama’s HB 56?
RELATED CONTENT20 under 40: From the editor 
I’ll admit it. We let the judges cheat a little in selecting this year’s 20 under 40 awardees.
RELATED CONTENTRobin Washington column: Excuse me, but is this the black opera conference?
In December 1995, in an attempt to erase the legacy of stage-door bigotry that for decades had turned away untold numbers of world-class performers merely on the basis of race, the National Opera Association dedicated its conference in honor of African American baritones, tenors, coloratura sopranos and others who overcame indignities to shine among the brightest stars of the operatic world.
RELATED CONTENTEditor's note: Breaking news caused some Monday papers to be late
The late-breaking news of Osama bin Laden’s death Sunday night — officially confirmed by President Obama’s address to the nation at 10:35 p.m. — led to an entire remake of the News Tribune’s front page and, as the night went on, most of the A section.
RELATED CONTENTDSSO music director puts aspiring conductors through their paces
After the young conductors from around the world had arrived at the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra’s offices on Friday, Markand Thakar interrupted their get-to-know-you with a bit of protocol.
RELATED CONTENTFrom Promissory Note to the Promised Land
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Superior artist explores visions of astrology
Astrology, whether you subscribe to it or not, offers no end of symbolism. Add American Indian imagery into the mix and the result is infinity squared — very likely the answer to what appears to be a physics problem in John Bernard Feather’s Virgo, “Realms of Radiance.”
RELATED CONTENTRobin Washington column: NPR host delves into Minnesota roots
Born out of an NPR project of dialogues between white, black, Latino and Asian voters in the wake of Barack Obama’s election as president, Minnesota native and "All Things Considered" host Michele Norris says her memoir is less about race than it is family secrets.
Note to readers: Error in today's Eh? column
An event featuring state Sen. John Marty and theologian Martin Marty listed in the Eh? column of today's print edition incorrectly states it is happening in Duluth. It is, in fact, at 6 p.m. in Minneapolis, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 2730 East 31st St. Duluth's Holy Trinity Lutheran Church has a similar sounding address. The News Tribune regrets the error.
RELATED CONTENTPope linked to cover-up in Superior Diocese priest sex abuse case
Pope Benedict XVI — or at least his immediate subordinate in his previous role as a cardinal — was made aware of an attempt to cover up the record of a Milwaukee priest reassigned to the Diocese of Superior after sexually molesting as many as 200 boys at a school for the deaf over 20 years, church records reviewed by the News Tribune show.
Columns
After 50 years, mine fire still burns
ROBIN WASHINGTON: Few people would deny Centralia, Pa., was destroyed, but there isn't agreement on the details of its demise. The most accepted version is that embers at the dump spread to an exhausted coal mine, starting a fire that still burns 50 years later.
RELATED CONTENTYour safety announcements may be used as a comedy device
ROBIN WASHINGTON: The safety instructions on a recent Delta flight from Minneapolis to Duluth made for a late-night comedy routine, leaving most passengers in stitches, myself included.
RELATED CONTENTFriend taught the value of living
ROBIN WASHINGTON: There’s no easy guide for finding the right words after one of your best friends dies, no matter how many times you’ve thought about it or about how you’d feel when the long march toward the inevitable finally reaches its end.
RELATED CONTENTFor 43 euros, a priceless day in Amsterdam
AMSTERDAM — The flight from Nice was on time, if not early, and we deplaned on the tarmac still bathing in the afterglow of the French Riviera, with its Matisses and Picassos and breathtaking beauty. A shuttle bus took us to the gate, where I stepped off with two carry-ons and — “Owww!”
RELATED CONTENTOccupy and Tea Party find something to argue about — and agree on
ROBIN WASHINGTON: What could the Tea Party and Occupy Duluth possibly agree on? To my surprise, and humility, it’s me.
RELATED CONTENTColumn: Poverty comes in layers
A chance encounter offers a reminder that poverty can be built in layers: A stack of otherwise solvable problems complicated by their interrelationship with one another.
RELATED CONTENTWhen white men wear hoodies
ROBIN WASHINGTON: It was Rubin, the county’s top prosecutor, attending with his equally hooded wife, Nancy, who sent the deepest message. The injustice the garb symbolized as a wrong demanding to be corrected was not just about the man who pulled the trigger, but the prosecutors who failed to act.
RELATED CONTENTSupreme Court should leave daylight saving time alone
ROBIN WASHINGTON: Putting aside the health insurance argument for a moment, the plaintiffs’ citation of a time not of our own choosing reveals what must be their true intent: to repeal daylight saving time.
RELATED CONTENTAre ‘This American Life’ stories true? Mostly — but not always
ROBIN WASHINGTON COLUMN: Everybody’s got a story, and a great place to find one is on the Jefferson bus to the Twin Cities. There was a small crowd waiting at the old Greyhound station the other day, and I thought it would be cool to record them.
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