Meet the 11 new contributing columnists of Strib Voices

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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One is a media personality who likes to make people laugh and to push boundaries. Another is a professor and author who teaches an Ojibwe word of the day on social media. And another is a practical conservative in, as he puts it, the sea of the very blue Twin Cities.

There’s also a cannabis expert, a James Beard Award-winning chef known for trying “bizarre foods” on TV, a former government teacher who is now an influencer and author, and a Biden appointee who recently served in the U.S. State Department.

Rounding out the list is a sportswriter-turned-pastor and author. A columnist from the Iron Range. A science writer with a keen eye on the outdoors. And a playwright, poet and children’s book author who aims to elevate marginalized voices.

It’s an eclectic group by design that makes up the Minnesota Star Tribune’s inaugural roster of contributing columnists. We asked these Minnesotans to write commentary for the Star Tribune on a regular basis as part of a new emphasis on opinion journalism we’re calling Strib Voices.

Our ask of these new contributors is simple: to write pieces about their areas of expertise, with a focus on Minnesota, that enlighten and challenge us. We came to them looking for fresh insights, unique perspectives and thought-provoking commentary for our readers.

We selected these contributing columnists with several goals in mind — to bring in more geographically, demographically and politically diverse voices to our pages, to further expand the breadth of commentary topics beyond politics and public policy, and to engage with readers in a more personal, engaging way to help us reach new audiences. Those are also many of the same reasons, I might add, why the Star Tribune created my position, community engagement director, several months ago.

You’ll see commentary from some of our new contributing columnists starting next week. Others will get going in the coming weeks and months, depending on their busy schedules and other commitments.

Most of them will write once or twice a month, but a handful may appear a little less frequently than that.

To start, we’ve asked this group to write for us for a year or so. After that, we expect we’ll swap out some voices to make room for other Minnesotans to share their perspectives on other issues. For example, we decided to launch this initiative with a cannabis columnist in the mix as Minnesota prepares to roll out retail sales of adult-use cannabis early next year. But eventually, we expect to sunset that column and turn our spotlight instead to another topic of relevance to the state.

This is also just the beginning. We plan to evolve and to hopefully grow this effort over time.

So if you have ideas for other people you think would be great contributing columnists, please reach out and send their names my way. (Self-nominations are welcome, too!) I’m also interested to hear what other topics you may be interested in having columnists write about.

One idea we’re exploring is adding a Gen Z voice to our roster. So if you or someone you know fits that description and has a fresh perspective to share, please get in touch!

At the same time, I want to emphasize that we will continue to accept and to publish, as well as to more aggressively seek out, guest commentary. In other words, the op-eds we run everyday from Minnesotans of all walks of life. We highly value and remain committed to continuing and elevating those pieces as well. So consider this another ongoing, open call for commentary submissions. You can submit a guest commentary — or, alternatively, a letter to the editor — through our website, or you can email them to us at opinion@startribune.com.

In fact, several of our new contributing columnists have previously written guest commentary for us. So that’s also a great way to introduce yourselves and your point of view.

And with that, I’m thrilled to introduce our lineup of contributing columnists:

Andy Brehm: A conservative perspective

Brehm has been a conservative commentator around the Twin Cities for nearly 20 years, regularly contributing to the Star Tribune’s opinion section and frequently appearing on KSTP’s “At Issue” and TPT’s “Almanac.” He’s a corporate lawyer and previously served as U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman’s press secretary. He lives in St. Paul.

Aaron Brown: Modern life on the Iron Range

Brown is a columnist from the Iron Range, an author of books and essays and a communication instructor at Minnesota North College in Hibbing. His commentary focuses on the people, news and culture of northern Minnesota. He was raised in a trailer house on a local junkyard and is the first in five generations of his family to never work in an iron mine. He lives down a dirt road on the western Mesabi. His current and past writing, including his long-running column for the Mesabi Tribune (previously the Hibbing Daily Tribune), can be found at MinnesotaBrown.com.

Sheletta Brundidge: Aiming to make you laugh and think

Brundidge is a Twin Cities-based media personality, Emmy Award-winning comedian and radio host. Frustrated by the lack of diversity in traditional media, she created her own podcast, promotions and production company, Sheletta Makes Me Laugh, in 2020. She also is also an activist for entrepreneurs and people with autism. She lives in Cottage Grove.

Clemon Dabney: All things cannabis

Dabney is a cannabis expert, scientist and entrepreneur. He is the CEO of Doctor Dabs, a Minnesota-based company specializing in hemp-derived edible manufacturing, and is the chief science officer for Uniflora Holistics, which owns cannabis-related businesses Retro Bakery and Love is an Ingredient. He is also the co-owner of A&D Genetics, a company dedicated to the breeding, production and wholesale of cannabis seeds. He lives in Bloomington.

Angela Denker: From religion and politics to parenting and everyday life

Denker is an ELCA pastor, journalist and author. She is a sought-after speaker on Christian nationalism. Her first book was “Red State Christians,” and her new book, “Disciples of White Jesus: The Radicalization of American Boyhood“ will be released in March 2025. She has written for many publications, including Sports Illustrated, the Washington Post and Fortune magazine. You can read more of her work on her Substack, I’m Listening. She serves Lake Nokomis Lutheran Church as pastor of visitation and public theology and lives in Minneapolis.

Maggie Koerth: Nature in Minnesota’s urban areas

Koerth is an award-winning science writer who has covered the intersection of science and society for publications such as FiveThirtyEight.com, the New York Times Magazine and Undark magazine. She is the editorial lead for CarbonPlan, a research nonprofit focused on increasing transparency and accountability for climate solutions, and appears regularly on NPR’s “Science Friday.” She lives in Minneapolis.

Sharon McMahon: Government and civic engagement

McMahon has been dubbed “America’s Government Teacher.” The former high school government and law teacher has more than a million followers on Instagram where she posts nonpartisan, fact-based information about current events and political issues. She also hosts a podcast, “Here’s Where It Gets Interesting,” and recently started a newsletter, The Preamble, about politics and history. She has a new book out soon called “The Small and the Mighty.” She lives in Duluth.

Anton Treuer: Native American histories, cultures and issues

Treuer is a professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University and the author of many books. He is a sought-after speaker who has presented all over the U.S., Canada and in other countries on tribal sovereignty, history, language and culture as well as on cultural competency, racial equity and the achievement gap. His books include “Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians But Were Afraid to Ask” and the recently released novel “Where Wolves Don’t Die.”

Ka Vang: Historically marginalized communities

Vang is a writer, playwright and children’s book author. She is the vice president of equity, inclusion, diversity and access for Meet Minneapolis, the tourism, convention and visitors’ bureau for the city of Minneapolis. She has also worked in higher education, as a journalist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, and as a senior leader for Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media. A Hmong American, she was born on a CIA military base in Laos at the end of the Vietnam War and immigrated to the U.S. in 1980. She grew up in the Frogtown neighborhood in St. Paul and now lives in Prescott, Wis.

Hamse Warfa: Global affairs, leadership, politics and workforce development

Warfa has been a leader in federal and state government as well as in philanthropy and the private sector. He was most recently a presidential appointee to the U.S. State Department, where he served as a senior adviser. He was previously a deputy commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. At the time, he was the highest-ranking African immigrant official in the executive branch of Minnesota state government. He’s currently serving on the 2024 Harris-Walz campaign. His second book, “The Transformational Leader: Twelve Practices for Driving Lasting Change,” will be published in September. He lives in a southern suburb of the Twin Cities.

Andrew Zimmern: Food, culture and social justice

Zimmern is an Emmy-winning and four-time James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef and writer based in the Twin Cities. He is the creator, executive producer and host of the “Bizarre Foods” franchise, “What’s Eating America,” “The Zimmern List,” and other shows. He is also the founder and chairman of Intuitive Content, a production company, and Passport Hospitality, a restaurant and food service development company.