Courtney (C.J.) Sinner

Is ICE really leaving Minnesota? The data is complicated. Community observations are a proxy for the intensity of Operation Metro Surge, but comes with caveats.

The ICE surge is on the wane in Minnesota, though crowdsourced data about the frequency and locations where ICE agents have been spotted show they’re far from totally gone.

He does all of these special inserts, except the puzzle ones! We have, I think, a complete back library of issues over the last several years.

If you're new(ish) to curling and need a friendly primer on what's what - ends, houses, hammers, freezes - we've got you.

www.startribune.com/how-to-watch...

Are you loony for the Winter Games? Download your favorite Minnesota Oloonpian and share these GIFs as the 2026 Olympics begin.

In one of the, frankly, silliest moments of my journalism career: I drew 16 loons at the Olympics (Oloonpics), one for each day of the Games. You can see them all — and download your favorites, if you’re so inclined — here: www.startribune.com/are-you-loon...

Five mountains, plus a hill, that define Lindsey Vonn's career and comeback Legendary Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn is making history at age 41 by competing in her fifth Olympic Games, but it all started in Burnsville.

Something fun, for a change. Not often @jakesteinberg.com gets to do mountain cartography:

www.startribune.com/five-mountai...

I've no idea!

Today I learned the governing body for bobsled and skeleton is the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Foundation.

Bobsleigh!

‘No humanity’: Detainees describe conditions inside Whipple Federal Building Immigration sweep brings overcrowded rooms and overflowing toilets. Lawyers say they can’t visit their clients. The Department of Homeland Security says “all detainees receive full due process.”

They were given no bedding or pillows. Meals consisted of one sandwich a day. The sink faucet did not work, but the single toilet did. Holding facilities were so crowded that immigrants in one cell had to take turns lying down because there was no space.

www.startribune.com/no-humanity-...

The Minnesota Star Tribune sues City of Minneapolis over police complaint records - Editor and Publisher The Minnesota Star Tribune has filed a second lawsuit against the City of Minneapolis alleging violations of the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA), this time related to the city’s failur...

Star Tribune has filed a 2nd lawsuit against Minneapolis alleging violations of the MN Government Data Practices Act, this time related to the city’s failure to respond to a lawful request for public information identifying individuals who filed misconduct complaints against MPD Chief Brian O’Hara.

Congrats, Carla!

How exhausted Minneapolis journalists are covering a prolonged federal crackdown - Poynter Local journalists in Minneapolis describe exhaustion, safety risks and disinformation as they cover a prolonged ICE crackdown.

“We’ve had political assassinations. We had a multi-fatality school shooting, and now the largest immigration crackdown in American history has all happened in Minneapolis in the last eight months,” said Liz Sawyer, a reporter at The Minnesota Star Tribune.

Friendly reminder that our live coverage is outside the paywall.

How immigration detainees move around Minnesota and the nation ICE detained hundreds of thousands of people last year, shuttling them between jails and detention centers around the country, limiting access to legal support.

“Just getting a client to sign a document becomes almost impossible. ... Suddenly, they’re in Texas and there’s no way to contact them.”

In 2025, more than 2,700 immigrants passed through Minnesota detention facilities. They were transferred nearly 8,000 times.

www.startribune.com/how-immigrat...

Federal agents pinned a man to the ground in south Minneapolis and sprayed him with chemical irritants directly in the face.

Minnesota Star Tribune photographer Rich Tsong-Taatarii did not witness the man put his hands on agents.

Tomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026

We Found More Than 40 Cases of Immigration Agents Using Banned Chokeholds and Other Moves That Can Cut Off Breathing Civilians have had apparent seizures. One had his eyes roll back. Another had ribs broken. “I felt like I was going to pass out and die,” said a 16-year-old citizen put in a chokehold. The government ...

And these were the ones ProPublica could find. www.propublica.org/article/vide...

Joe Thompson, U.S. Attorney who uncovered massive fraud in Minnesota, resigns from office Thompson has been at the center of the national debate around fraud in Minnesota and has claimed that billions have been stolen from tax payers.

Joe Thompson, the leading federal prosecutor and public voice on uncovering rampant fraud around Minnesota, has resigned from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. No reason was given.

www.startribune.com/joe-thompson...

St. Paul’s largest encampment has grown, but problems have been relatively few Unlike Minneapolis, St. Paul provides dumpsters and toilets, and city officials say that helps.

A major homeless encampment in St. Paul has remained relatively clean and calm, with dumpsters to keep trash in check, portable toilets for residents and frequent visits from outreach workers.

Inside the organized resistance to ICE in Minnesota As the federal government broadened immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities, a network of neighborhood activists ramped up pushback by keeping tabs on ICE agents and lending aid to families in hidi...

The movement is also hiding immigrant families without permanent resident status from discovery, ferrying kids to-from school, delivering meals to families. They stand guard outside mosques, collect cars abandoned after sudden arrests, locate people in immigration jail and help get them attorneys.

Our Reporters Reached Out for Comment. They Were Accused of Stalking and Intimidation. Our journalists reach out to people they’re writing about to ensure fairness. But in this environment, they’ve found their efforts to do so are more likely to be vilified than appreciated.

This is a tired strategy: accuse journalists seeking response and more information of "stalking" and "harassment"... rather than engage even to simply offer a "no comment." People in power, especially taxpayer-funded ones, should have to answer questions: www.propublica.org/article/prop...

Minnesota's 2025 in data, graphics and visual storytelling Our best visual journalism this year highlighted climate, education, sports, politics and, of course, the State Fair.

The @startribune.com's visual teams crafted custom experiences on everything from mayoral races and vaccines to smells at the State Fair and where Uptown really is.

Take a peek and discover one or two things you might've missed from us this year.

www.startribune.com/minnesotas-2...

Trump Administration Live Updates: ICE to Crack Down on Somalis in Minnesota

NY Times reports about 100 federal officers and agents from around the country have been sent to the Twin Cities for ICE operations "targeting hundreds of undocumented Somali immigrants" in the area

www.nytimes.com/live/2025/12...

I was on vacation enjoying northern fall colors when this published, but I thought the tree species mini maps on this were so cute and interesting!

Minneapolis crime is falling in 2025, even amid high-profile violence Most crimes are down in Minnesota’s largest city, continuing a pattern following a pandemic-era spike. That doesn’t alleviate concerns among wary residents after mass shootings.

Despite seven mass shootings this year — four since August, including at Annunciation Church, and three others on or near a troubled stretch of Lake Street — Minneapolis remains on track to see a fall in all categories of major crime this year.

www.startribune.com/minneapolis-...

Q: Do you think it would've been fitting to lower the flags to half staff when Melissa Hortman, the Minnesota House Speaker, was gunned down by an assassin?

TRUMP: I'm not familiar. The who?

I used to love RSS (RIP Google Reader) but it does suck for people like me who traffic in visuals.

Minnesota Star Tribune to sell Minneapolis printing plant, lay off 125 workers The state’s largest media company will continue printing 7 days a week, but will outsource printing to Iowa.

Minnesota Star Tribune to sell Minneapolis printing plant, lay off 125 workers

www.startribune.com/minnesota-st...

Smells of the Minnesota State Fair create a festival for the nose From pleasant to powerful, a cornucopia of scents wafts over the fairgrounds in late August.

ICYMI, this fun catalog of the Fair smells is a delightful art map visual look at one of the senses we don't often talk about! It's usually all about sights, sounds, tastes. What about smells?

Smells of the Minnesota State Fair create a festival for the nose www.startribune.com/smells-of-th...

Minnesota’s only private prison could reopen as ICE detention facility No contract has been signed for the Appleton, Minn., facility, but the private company that owns it is “exploring opportunities” with ICE for which it could be a “viable solution.”

Minnesota’s only privately owned prison, which has sat vacant for 15 years, may get new life as a detention facility for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

I generally stick (heh) with the classics but then discovered I have THREE ice creams on my receipt.