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From the editors at The Conversation, an independent news organization based in Boston that publishes articles written by academic experts and edited by a team of journalists.

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Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura Responds to Republican-Proposed Bill Repealing Ethnic Studies in Minnesota Schools

Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives Education Policy Committee will hear legislation authored by Ron Kresha (R - Little Falls) repealing Minnesota’s ethnic studies program …

The Minnesota Toy Library is for parents, grandparents, educators, occupational therapists, and mostly, for kids, to come and choose toys that are fun and that help them learn. MTL Executive Director Rebecca Nutter said, “We can’t just keep consuming things. We need to do better.” (Photo submitted)

Minnesota Toy Library opens third metro location

The Minnesota Toy Library (MTL) is a toy lending program for families with children ages birth to five years. Members can check-out up to five toys at a time, and take them home for 2-4 weeks. And …

David Walcher of Urban Boatbuilders instructs Masyn May to lace ribs to the frame of a canoe. Urban Boatbuilders teaches youth how to build boats through paid internships. Gretchen Wilbrandt of Urban Boatbuilders says they seek to let companies know they have employable youth. She cites COVID, global wars, and a mental health crisis as stressors that can make youth feel hopeless.

How can the community help youth succeed?

What are the biggest barriers to young people succeeding in the Twin Cities? Are there enough resources to assist youth facing overwhelming challenges? Are those resources readily accessible? And …

Begin planning kids' summer recreation now

Due in part to high demand, parents who want to place their kids in summer rec programs or summer camps should being vetting such programs and camps well in advance of summer. The following are a …

Hear from Mark Rivard, creator of Do Rad Things, at 'Let's Connect' event in February

Every artist has an interesting origin story. But nothing compares with how Mark Rivard got started. Rivard began illustrating skateboards with Sharpie markers in the early 2000s. That led to an …

Siccar Point, photographed by the Curiosity rover, is near Mars' Gale Crater.

Is Mars really red? A physicist explains the planet’s reddish hue and why it looks different to some telescopes

Mars isn’t a bright, fire-engine red, but the iron oxide in its rocks makes it appear redder than other planets, especially from afar.

At 37th and Hiawatha, you can see the iStorage self-storage in the former Dayton's warehouse, the General Mills grain elevators on the far east, and the Atkinson ADM Mill on the south side of the intersection. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)

Atkinson ADM Mill still operating

The Atkinson ADM Mill at 3745 Hiawatha Ave. is still operating, and has recently been upgraded to make it more efficient. It is the last industrial flour mill still operating in Minneapolis. The mill …

Arson fires at Stevens House

The Minneapolis Park and RecreaCon Board Park Police Department is asking for the public’s help in solving three recent arson fires at the Stevens House, located at 4901 South Minnehaha Park …

Healing our house divided

This fall, The Westminster Town Hall Forum presents “Healing Our House Divided” a four-part series in which intellectually diverse thinkers will argue that community can surmount …

Fire Motor Operator Mary Mohn, Firefighter Bonnie Bleskachek, Firefighter Vicki Hoff and Captain Jean Kidd, who from 1992-1994 formed the city’s first all-women crew, in front of their rig, Engine 5.

MFD commemorates 30th anniversary of first all-women fire crew

Current and former fire department staff, city officials, friends and family joined together at Minneapolis Fire Station 5 (2700 Bloomington Ave.) on Sept. 23, 2022, to honor the four members of the …

Gary Schatzlein stands in Schatzlein’s Saddle Shop at 413 W Lake St., holding a saddle that needs to be repaired. “It has been hard to compete with online shopping,” Gary Schatzlein said. “Brands have made it harder for us to buy from them.” The horse behind him is one customers used to sit on and see if their apparel fit right. Now, the horse displays a “Do Not Touch” sign

WHERE PAST AND PRESENT MEET

Before Lake Street was a popular hub of Minneapolis, it was a rural area where farming was prevalent. There were rarely any streetcars or buses that rode up and down the street, but rather, horses …

How many stars are there in space?

Scientists have a good estimate on the staggering number of stars in the universe.

AI literacy: What it is, what it isn’t, who needs it and why it’s hard to define

President Trump’s executive order calling for AI literacy highlights its importance. The order also underscores its amorphous nature. Here’s how to develop and measure effective AI literacy programs.

How was the wheel invented? Computer simulations reveal the unlikely birth of a world-changing technology nearly 6,000 years ago

People have long assumed that wheels evolved from simple wooden rollers. But how? And why? A new model focused on mechanical advantage and structural strength suggests some answers.

5 benefits Africa’s new space agency can deliver

Africa’s new space agency has an important role to play in coordinating satellite data and boosting connectivity.

Fossils show colonies of reptiles lived communally 250 million years ago: new South African study

A new fossil discovery suggests that reptiles lived together 20 million years earlier than previously thought.

Even bivalves looked different during the time of the dinosaurs, as these fossils of an ultra-fortified oyster, left, and armored cockle show. Smithsonian Institution

Ancient fossils show how the last mass extinction forever scrambled the ocean’s biodiversity

Not everything dies in a mass extinction. Sea life recovered in different and surprising ways after the asteroid strike 66 million years ago. Ancient fossils recorded it all.

In space, there are four dimensions: length, width, height and time.

Where is the center of the universe?

As the universe expands, it feels like it must be spreading out from some initial point. But a physicist explains why that’s not how it works. Hint: space-time is involved.

A visitor walks past the booth of Civilization VII at the Gamescom video games trade fair in Cologne, Germany, on Aug. 21, 2024.
Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images via The Conversation

Why Kissinger would have been a Fortnite champ − and other foreign policy lessons from the gaming world

A political scientist – with a penchant for gaming – explains how Minecraft, League of Legends and Civilization VII can help teach key international relations concepts.

Camille Flammarion's work imagined what might exist beyond Earth in the universe.

Early visions of Mars: Meet the 19th-century astronomer who used science fiction to imagine the red planet

In the 19th century, astronomers could see Mars through telescopes, but not clearly. Some used their imaginations to fill in what the blurry images couldn’t convey.