Why was I-94 built through St. Paul's Rondo neighborhood?

If you're having trouble viewing this email, you may [see it online](. [Star Tribune]( Talkers EDITOR'S NOTE: Talkers will be on hiatus for the rest of the year. The newsletter will return Jan. 4. Many thanks to all of our readers for your support. Happy holidays! TOP STORIES - Why was I-94 built through St. Paul's Rondo neighborhood? The highway connected Minneapolis and St. Paul, but its construction [tore a hole through a thriving, historic Black neighborhood.]( - Minnesota A.G. sues bars that defied COVID-19 ban on dine-in service: The day after Alibi Drinkery co-owner Lisa Monet Zarza opened her business in defiance of state orders for bars and restaurants to remain closed to dine-in business, [Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison took her to court](. On Thursday, Ellison's office announced that he has filed lawsuits against the Lakeville restaurant and a Princeton business called Neighbors on the Rum. - Minneapolis police chief announces new No. 2, other command staff changes: Minneapolis police Chief Medaria Arradondo has [named a new assistant chief to replace his retiring No. 2](, as part of a larger shake-up of the department's command staff. Deputy chief Henry Halvorson will step into the assistant chief role of the departing Mike Kjos, who plans to retire in January. - COVID-19 deaths surge in northeastern Minnesota in recent weeks: Long spared the high level of death and grief that has accompanied the spread of the coronavirus across the globe, northeastern Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin have seen [a stunning increase in COVID-19 deaths in the past month.]( Sixty-five more deaths [were reported statewide on Friday by Minnesota health authorities](, despite encouraging signs that the last pandemic wave is in retreat. Cargill Inc. is [temporarily closing an Ontario beef plant]( due to a new COVID-19 outbreak. Local health officials on Thursday said 82 out of the 200 people it tested since first declaring the outbreak on Dec. 4 have tested positive, with 129 others now self-isolating. [We are tracking the spread of COVID-19 in Minnesota here.]( - Fired Minneapolis cop accused of invoking "Black Hawk Down" in 2015 traffic stop of Somali teens: Records from an internal investigation of a former Minneapolis police officer show that [he was fired after he threatened a Somali American teenager]( during a 2015 traffic stop and told the teen that he was "proud" of "what happened in Blackhawk Down." Police officials, who were mostly silent when ex-officer Roderic Weber was fired nearly five years ago, said in a brief statement released through a spokesman that it stands by its decision to fire Weber, which was ultimately upheld by an arbitrator. But the department declined further comment on the case, including questions about discipline of the other officers present. - Emmer will attend Biden's inauguration, but won't call him president-elect: Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer [refused again Thursday to refer to Joe Biden as president-elect](, days after the Electoral College certified Biden's victory and a week after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a GOP bid backed by Emmer to overturn it. - Teen fatally stabbed while stopping knife attack on his mother, charges say: A teenage boy [halted a knife attack on his mother by her husband]( only to end up being fatally stabbed by the man in the family's Austin, Minn., home, according to murder charges. - Supreme Court dismisses "premature" challenge to Trump's Census plan: The Supreme Court has dismissed as premature a challenge to President Donald Trump's plan to exclude people living in the country illegally from the population count used to allot states seats in the House of Representatives. [But the court's decision Friday is not a final ruling on the matter]( and it's not clear whether Trump will receive final numbers from the Census Bureau before he leaves office next month. - U study of grocery store workers could help unlock COVID-19 clues: A University of Minnesota study of COVID-19 in grocery store workers [could help solve vexing questions]( about the true spread of the infectious disease and guide state strategies to slow it down before the vaccine is broadly available. - Anderson Corp. employees to receive $33M in profit sharing: Bayport-based Andersen Corp. [will soon issue $33 million in profit-sharing to employees]( and donate $4 million to various community causes, officials said this week. WATCH THIS Duluth photographer discovers three bobcats on frozen St. Louis River: Among the frozen wilds of the St. Louis River estuary, three bobcats [greeted a drone Monday afternoon.]( Talk to us! Send feedback on this newsletter, questions, story tips, ideas or anything else to [talkers@startribune.com](. TRENDING - These Twin Cities restaurant patios will be up and running this weekend: Gov. Tim Walz has eased some dining restrictions, allowing patios at Minnesota restaurants to open on Saturday. Bundle up and [take advantage of this weekend's unseasonably temperate weather.]( Call ahead to determine availability and reservation status. And don't forget local breweries; many taprooms will have patio service, too. - The 5 best things our food writers ate this week: From Christmas cookies to kimchi, [here's a rundown of the greatest hits]( from our food writers' dining diaries over the past seven days. - These new and old family games are perfect for Zoom: Thanks to COVID-19, many of us will be gathering with our loved ones this holiday season via Zoom. That's a problem for those of us who enjoy spending the annual family get-together humiliating our relatives in a board game around the kitchen table.Never fear. You can still trigger multigenerational trash talking and reignite bitter sibling rivalries during this season of peace, joy and coronavirus with [our suggestions for Zoom-friendly family games.]( SPORTS ROUNDUP - Stefon Diggs cover story sheds light on his unhappiness with Vikings: There's not much to re-litigate since the swap was the rare one in which both sides benefited greatly, but a recentESPN cover story on Diggsat least gives us [an additional glimpse into what went wrong from his perspective.]( - Twins sign eight former major leaguers to minor league deals: Danny Coulombe, Juan Minaya and Tomas Telis [will be returning to the organization.]( - What you need to know about TCF Bank Stadium's likely name change: When Huntington Bancsharesmerges with TCF Financial, it will be re-christening more than ATMs, debit cards and branch locations in Minnesota. The Ohio-based company also will put its name on the Gophers' football home, known as TCF Bank Stadium since it opened in 2009. [Here's what we know about how the renaming of the stadium might play out.]( Did someone forward this newsletter to you? You can [sign up for Talkers here](. WORTH A CLICK Rare "double planet" conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter to land on winter solstice: "Jupiter and Saturn will rendezvous in the night sky on Monday and may appear joined as one "double planet." It's been nearly eight centuries since the pair of planets appeared this close together in the night sky," [writes Matthew Cappucci of the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang.]( FROM THE ARCHIVES Dec. 18, 1976: Tailgaters Mike Cassidy, left, and Mike Lohrman, of Alexandria, Minn., enjoy some refreshments outside Metropolitan Stadium before the Vikings' game against Washington. 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