The life of a gun, from Texas to a St. Paul mass shooting

Plus: The 5 best things our food writers ate this week ͏ ͏ If you're having trouble viewing this email, you may [see it online](. [Star Tribune]( Talkers TOP STORIES - The life of a gun, from Texas to a St. Paul mass shooting: A handgun used in one of the worst mass shootings in St. Paul history began its journey to Minnesota from a sprawling blue factory near the Rio Grande before making its way to the black market. The story of this pistol's short, violent life, compiled from hours of interviews, hundreds of pages of court documents and review of surveillance and police body camera footage, is like that of thousands of legally purchased handguns that turn up in crimes across Minnesota each year. [Read more.]( - Licensed drivers moving to Minnesota will no longer need to take written tests: The change is due to a state law that takes effect Aug. 1. [Read more.]( - Elderly, disabled tenants of evacuated Bemidji apartments seek affordable housing: More than half of tenants evacuated a week ago due to "structural integrity" issues are still looking for permanent affordable housing in a region starved of it. [Read more.]( - Delta Air Lines workers to rally Friday at MSP airport in drive to unionize: Flight attendants, ramp, mechanics, tower and cargo workers will gather to galvanize support for unionizing 45,000 airline employees. [Read more.]( - Former Pioneer Press photographer Bill Alkofer shares his last weeks with us: Suffering from ALS, the ever-unconventional Bill Alkofer bared vulnerable moments in his final months. [Read more.]( WATCH THIS What it's like to pull 7Gs in a Blue Angels fighter jet: Star Tribune reporter Richard Chin got the full "Top Gun" experience ahead of this weekend's Duluth Air and Aviation Expo. [See the video.]( *** Talk to us! Send feedback on this newsletter, questions, story tips, ideas or anything else to [talkers@startribune.com](. *** TRENDING The 5 best things our food writers ate this week: From a Bavarian pretzel to a tropical-fruit parfait, here's a rundown of the greatest hits from their dining diaries over the past seven days. [Read more.]( SPORTS BLINK Are we seeing the last chances for Baldelli, Falvey to save their jobs? Private conversations with members of the organization last weekend, as the Twins were getting swept by Baltimore, revealed deep frustration over the direction of this season, writes Jim Souhan. [Read more.]( *** Did someone forward this newsletter to you? You can [sign up for Talkers here](. *** WORTH A CLICK How popping open a can became the sound of summer: "More than 60 years ago, an unfortunate picnic set Ohioan Ermal C. Fraze on a path to inventing the first pop-top tab opener for canned beverages," writes Leo DeLuca for Smithsonian Magazine. [Read more.]( TALKERS TRIVIA Want to win a $15 gift card of your choice? It's Friday, so that means it's time for another trivia question. The correct answer to this question can be found in a story that appeared in Talkers this week. E-mail your answer to talkers@startribune.com by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. A winner will be selected at random from the correct responses. That lucky reader will receive a $15 card of their choice from one of several retailers — Best Buy, Target, Holiday or Menards — as well as a shout-out in Monday's newsletter. Here is this week's question: The Minnesota State Fair announced this week that for the first time, one of its new foods this year will include which infamous Nordic fish dish? Good luck! FROM THE ARCHIVES July 14, 2020: The comet Neowise streaked across the night sky over Wolf Lake in Brimson in St. Louis County. (Photo: Alex Kormann/Star Tribune) Connect with Star Tribune [facebook]([twitter]([pinterest]([instagram]( [Manage email preferences]( • [Subscribe to Star Tribune]( • [Privacy Policy]( • [Unsubscribe]( This email was sent by: StarTribune, 650 3rd Ave S, Suite #1300, Minneapolis, MN, 55488 © 2023 StarTribune. All rights reserved. We value your opinion! [Give us your feedback.](