December 2025

Food shelves across Minneapolis are bracing for a surge in need as SNAP recipients contend with political uncertainty and new federal work requirements. At Joyce Uptown Food Shelf, volunteers say demand has climbed sharply in recent weeks, leaving storage rooms half-empty by midday. A visit on Nov. 1 offered a close look at how policy decisions are reverberating through one neighborhood.

Chores have always been my North Star, mostly because they keep me rooted in reality while the world spins itself dizzy chasing status and outsourcing anything that requires bending over. Maybe the real secret is that doing your own dishes and fixing your own toilet builds more character than any pile of shiny purchases ever could.

Justice Alan Page’s newest children’s book, Baking Up Love, comes alive through neighborhood faces and heartfelt storytelling. Featuring young Dahlia Baylor, her mother Jackie and Page himself, the book captures the warmth of family, literacy and community connection. It’s a celebration of love, everyday kindness and the people who make this neighborhood extraordinary.

Astronomy has never been my thing, and until recently I didn’t understand why the Minnesota women’s soccer team is called the Aurora.

The “fall colors” exploded into nighttime on Nov. 11, when a severe G4 geomagnetic storm — on a scale where 1 is minor and 5 is extreme — aligned with clear skies to put on a fantastic performance.

If you’ve ever paused mid-scroll because a dish looked so vivid you could almost taste it, there’s a good chance Lowry Hill’s Lara Miklasevics was behind it.

Every year when we dig out our holiday decorations, I unpack my favorite Christmas memory. In December 1987, my Uncle Whitey — a nickname earned from summers spent in the sod fields that bleached his hair — brought me to downtown Minneapolis.

There’s a new kid on the block. Does it have the right stuff? Like a small plant pushing up through a crack in a rock, Mari’s has opened and shows signs of life in a tough environment.

When Colleen Ayers’ and Aaron Hanauer’s 11-year-old daughter, Ivy, came across a YouTube video about Swedish candy last winter, the family didn’t expect it to change the direction of their year.