Author: Joe Pastoor

When Joel and Ethan Coen made Fargo and gave the world a generous serving of the rounded, marbles-in-the-mouth outstate Minnesota accent, it seemed a little over the top. But we all knew it was out there. Just 20 minutes of any WCCO-AM call-in show will prove it. Even those of us in the metro have…

Last fall, when I signed my daughter up for a season in St. Louis Park’s Mite league, one of the many expenses was a $200 check, above and beyond the association fees and equipment rental. It was a security deposit against the volunteer hours required of every parent with a child in the hockey program.…

Back in Moscow, they have haphazardly declared the 500th anniversary of vodka. The native Russians at the St. Petersburg, a new restaurant in Robbinsdale, greet this news with skepticism. After all, they put 8,000 miles between themselves and the motherland for a reason. Besides, it’s not like Russians have lacked for excuses to knock a…

Santa’s big season is behind us now, but it’s Christmas all year round at the FBI, where the jolly elf’s omniscient surveillance powers probably inspired a young J. Edgar Hoover. The FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list debuted on March 14, 1950, complete with cash rewards stuffed into the stockings of informants. The Ten Most Wanted…

“We are looking for the person on house arrest. Please press the BAT button.” Daniel Lemke hears this on his phone three times a day. It’s called the Alco-sensor. Developed by Mitsubishi, it is one of the few devices that can be called Orwellian without exaggerating. The Alco-sensor is essentially a home breathalyzer with a…

Few artists who paint dogs have found the vision to deviate from the time-honored themes of poker games and doe-eyed poodles on velvet. Armed with acrylics, canvas, and lots of costume jewelry, newcomer Amy Brazil has finally broken the mold. “Best of Show,” a recent hanging at Hopkins Center for the Arts, has people stopping…