April 13, 2022
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WASHINGTON — Being in the crowded, confined space of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum was uncomfortable for Kevin Smokyday. It wasn’t because of the photos and videos that he saw in the museum’s permanent exhibit, but the place that it brought him back to. Originally from Kinistin First Nation in central Saskatchewan, Smokyday is a […]
Continue readingMarch 25, 2022
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The story starts long ago. When I was growing up, my father was Jewish and my mother was Catholic. They attended services at a local synagogue before I was born up until the Rabbi’s sermon about how intermarriage was the greatest threat to Jewish survival. That was the last time my parents stepped foot in […]
Continue readingMarch 1, 2022
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Even in the modern world of online dating and swiping left and right, Mendota Heights-born Miriam Younger had been a successful matchmaker, but she learned there was a group of people who had often been left behind: people with special needs. “I think dating is broken,” she said. “Apps are based on this photograph, this […]
Continue readingAugust 8, 2021
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How a synagogue is living its Jewish values.
Continue readingJuly 20, 2021
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When Allison Norlian was a little girl, she didn’t realize that her family was different. With a loving mom and a great big sister, Norlian felt lucky and surrounded by love. While that’s still true, as an adult she knows that the world doesn’t necessarily see her family the way she does. The rude awakening […]
Continue readingMarch 4, 2021
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I was the Bat Mitzvah that questioned whether I wanted to be Jewish. I outright questioned my rabbi if I didn’t believe in a God, does that mean I should make a transition in front of the entire synagogue – Shir Tikvah – that I attended. This foundation and encouragement to question the world I […]
Continue readingAugust 21, 2020
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So they call it “cancel culture.” Someone says or does something racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. and then there is a consequence. Maybe it’s a TV show that gets canceled or maybe someone is forced to resign. Maybe a politician ends his campaign or maybe a product is pulled from the shelves. Aunt Jemima anyone? Social […]
Continue readingJuly 23, 2020
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This year has been an interesting one, and Jasmine Brett Stringer means that in the most Minnesotan of ways. But out of the despair from COVID-enforced quarantine to the killing of George Floyd, Stringer is taking it as a call to action. Stringer, a writer, speaker, and lifestyle personality, founded #ShareTheMicMN late last month as […]
Continue readingJuly 16, 2020
April 1, 2020
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In the eighth episode of The Mandalorian, we learn that being Mandalorian is not a race but a creed. It is a way of life defined by the values one holds, the rules one follows, and the lens through which one derives meaning in life. Watching the episode, I was struck by how the concept […]
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