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Laura Yuen

Columnist
Food & Culture
Before joining the Star Tribune, Yuen spent 13 years at MPR News, most recently as editor of a team of reporters who covered race, class, communities and education. She also reported for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader. Laura lives with her husband and two young sons. But if you met her over an icebreaker, she'd probably tell you about the time her car was struck by lightning.

Latest from Laura Yuen

Culture

Yuen: Don’t stop at smartphones. Can we limit all tech devices in the classroom?

Let’s consider whether the benefits of school-issued iPads and Chromebooks that have flooded classrooms are worth all the headaches.
February 6, 2025
Kindergarteners Aye Mya Thein left Jaw Kaw Htoo and Calvin Marshall students at Mississippi Creative Arts School worked on math skills on an iPad Wednesday May 20, 2015 in St. Paul, MN. A year ago, St. Paul set out to be the largest district in the state to put iPads in the hands of all students, and at the project's midpoint, there is evidence it is spurring student engagement in what the district has described as a "year of exploration." But the initiative also has triggered budget tensions, a
Culture

Yuen: You’re not imagining it. Kids in Minnesota spend less time in school than in almost every other state.

Fewer school days require working parents to scrape by to find childcare.
February 4, 2025
Culture

Yuen: She’s having kids so her parents can have grandkids

As more Americans decide against having kids, their parents are feeling the sadness of not becoming grandparents.
January 30, 2025
A woman and her parents are seated in a restaurant with a colorful backdrop.
Eat & Drink

Yuen: Trying Dry January? Minnesota’s food-blogging power couple have hacks.

Five years ago, Pinch of Yum creator Lindsay Ostrom and her husband, Bjork, re-evaluated their relationship with alcohol.
January 21, 2025
A young couple smile for a selfie at a restaurant, pictured next two two beverages.
Culture

Yuen: What’s wrong with youth sports? Let’s start with overinvolved parents.

University of St. Thomas men’s basketball coach Johnny Tauer is also a social psychologist. He worries that adults are ruining sports for our kids.
January 18, 2025
Culture

Yuen: At 91, this Holocaust child survivor celebrates 80 years since her liberation

Reva Kibort is the last remaining of five Jewish siblings who escaped the genocide and resettled in Minnesota.
January 14, 2025
Culture

Yuen: What does racial bias have to do with pet adoptions?

Backed by a national grant, advocates are studying barriers to adoption of rescued dogs and cats in Minneapolis.
January 11, 2025
Hannah, a 6-year-old pit bull/terrier mix up for adoption, stood in her kennel at the Animal Humane Society's Golden Valley location Thursday.
Culture

Yuen: Why were boys required to swim naked in Minnesota schools?

OK, Boomers, you win for having the most awkward childhood.
January 7, 2025
Culture

Yuen: What’s wrong with youth sports? Let’s start with overinvolved parents.

University of St. Thomas men’s basketball coach Johnny Tauer is also a social psychologist. He worries that adults are ruining sports for our kids.
January 18, 2025
Culture

Yuen: At 91, this Holocaust child survivor celebrates 80 years since her liberation

Reva Kibort is the last remaining of five Jewish siblings who escaped the genocide and resettled in Minnesota.
January 14, 2025
Culture

Yuen: What does racial bias have to do with pet adoptions?

Backed by a national grant, advocates are studying barriers to adoption of rescued dogs and cats in Minneapolis.
January 11, 2025
Hannah, a 6-year-old pit bull/terrier mix up for adoption, stood in her kennel at the Animal Humane Society's Golden Valley location Thursday.
Culture

Yuen: Why were boys required to swim naked in Minnesota schools?

OK, Boomers, you win for having the most awkward childhood.
January 7, 2025
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