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Kirby, Tonya Puckett’s children carry on charitable legacy
Catherine and Kirby Jr. sat down with KARE 11 to remember their mother, Tonya Puckett-Miller, and discuss their plans to build on their parents’ giving spirit.
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Large photo boards took up much of the counter space on the Catherine Puckett’s kitchen island Friday morning.
“We’ve spent a lot of time just reminiscing,” Catherine said, as she stood shoulder to shoulder with her brother, Kirby Puckett Jr. “We’ve been remembering the good times.”
After a few minutes sharing fond memories, it’s clear Catherine and Kirby Jr. remember a lot of good times.
“This is my favorite photo of all time,” Kirby Jr. said, pointing to a photo of the family in their living room during an annual Christmas photo shoot. “It’s the whole family. I really like that one. We’re matching, Mom and Dad are matching, so it’s nice.”
The siblings spoke to KARE11 for the first time since losing their mother, Tonya Puckett-Miller earlier this month after a 20-month battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.
“When she first found out, it was shocking because she wasn’t a sick person. She had a headache,” Catherine said.
Despite the difficulty she faced through her final months, the Pucketts say they leaned on a strong support network provided by family, and were comforted by their mother’s steadfast faith.
“Even before she got sick she would tell me, ‘Get right with God because in the end, I know where I’m going because I want you and Catherine to be here with me,'” Kirby Jr. said. “That gave us peace going through this, knowing her faith was so strong and she was never scared throughout her whole 20-month battle. Even when she was battling, she was still giving. I remember, I came over one night, and it was a couple days after her surgery and they had gotten some food and there wasn’t enough for everybody and my mom’s like, ‘Here, take my plate.’ I’m like, ‘No, Mom, but thank you.’ It just shows that even when she’s at her lowest point, she’s always giving.”
They say the same was true throughout their mother’s life. Despite their parents’ divorce in the 2000s, they say their family remained close and their mother continued to build on her legacy of giving. After she and Kirby started the Puckett Scholarship in 1994 to provide more opportunities for students of color, Tonya remained committed to the effort and also went on to raise millions for local nonprofits like Safe Families for Children and Children’s HeartLink.
Through it all, the Pucketts say their mom never lost sight of her priorities.
“It was always family,” Catherine said.
“Family, God and just doing the right thing,” Kirby Jr. said. “Just be nice to people, always. Be kind and be generous.”
And though their parents are now both gone far too soon, that giving spirit will live on.
“The Puckett Scholars is something near and dear to our heart, it’s something the Twins help us with, sending people through college through the U of M, so we want to continue on that legacy,” Kirby Jr. said.
“We’ve had so many people reach out and just share stories of our mom and tell us stories of our dad, and to say how much they both have helped,” Catherine said. “We want to be able to carry that on. We really want to make them proud and do as much as possible for the community and continue their legacy.”
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Like many things in your garden or yard, pruning this popular plant will pay dividends by helping them look their best – year after year!
Hydrangeas are a fan favorite around here and knowing when, how and whether to prune them will have them looking their best year after year – if you follow a couple of rules to remember.
If your hydrangea is just blooming now in late summer/fall, put it on your calendar to prune it in late winter or early spring. This time frame is appropriate for Limelight, Quickfire, Burgundy Lace and Annabelle hydrangeas (which is the classic “snowball” type). PeeGee hydrangeas – which produce creamy white flowers in late summer that age to rosy pink – are also in this category. These varieties bloom on new wood, meaning the blooms come on stems that grow new each year.
Other hydrangeas bloom on what is called “old wood,” meaning the buds for next year’s flowers are set on the growth that happened this season. This occurs with oakleaf and bigleaf hydrangeas, lace caps, climbing and all varieties that bloom blue or pink – like endless summer and summer crush – among others. You should prune these types before August… so not again more this year.
But the bottom line is… unless you need to control the size or shape of your hydrangea, you don’t NEED to prune at all. If you choose to prune, cutting out the oldest, biggest canes will help to control the size and can reinvigorate the shrub.
To get bigger flowers, cut them all the way back to the ground, but also consider that leaving some stems 18” to 24” high. That can help reduce flopping next year.
A criminal complaint alleges the suspect was driving nearly 100 mph at the time of the crash.
MINNEAPOLIS — Criminal charges have been filed against a St. Paul man in connection with a multi-vehicle crash Wednesday night in Minneapolis that left one person dead and several others injured.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said Talon Covie-Carderell Walker, 29, is now charged with one count of criminal vehicular homicide.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, prosecutors believe Walker was driving a Chevy Avalanche pickup truck at high speeds when he started a chain-reaction crash on the I-94 exit to Dunwoody Boulevard on Wednesday evening. A total of seven vehicles were involved.
The State Patrol said Natalie Gubbay, 26, who was driving one of the other vehicles, died at the scene. Several others were hospitalized following the crash, including Walker. Two children were also among those injured.
The complaint alleges Walker was driving nearly 100 mph at the time of the crash. Investigators also said an open bottle of liquor was found in Walker’s vehicle. Results of a blood alcohol test are pending, according to the complaint, but investigators said Walker has previous driving convictions and lost his license in 2021.
Industry experts say several airlines were already waiting for deliveries of Boeing airplanes before the strike started.
MINNEAPOLIS — This week union workers who build planes for Boeing rejected a new contract deal.
64% of the 32,000 machinists voted against the deal in another major setback for the company. The strike that has halted most of Boeing’s aircraft production for over a month will continue.
The strike is further delaying deliveries for many Boeing customers who are already dealing with production delays.
It could soon have a big impact across the country, from concerns over plane safety to the cost of flying.
Hassan Shahidi with the Flight Safety Foundation says many airlines were already waiting for Boeing airplanes before the strike started.
“Prior to the strike there were already challenges,” Shahidi says. “This strike is exacerbating the situation even further.”
Shahidi says some of the airlines may have aging airplanes that will have to stay in use longer than the companies had planned for, but he argues that is a minor issue and he is not worried about passenger safety.
“All aircraft that are flying are certified by the FAA, are airworthy and safe,” Shahidi says.
He argues a much larger issue is how the strike will impact the airline industry’s plans to grow in the coming years.
He says most of the orders for new Boeing airplanes are from airlines that are expanding to meet passenger demand.
“To have other companies trying to come in and meet that gap is going to be challenging in terms of both supplies, labor and processes that are going to be needed to produce the highest quality of airplanes,” Shahidi says.
According to Delta’s website, the airline recently ordered 100 Boeing 737’s with an option to buy 30 more.
Those planes are scheduled to be delivered sometime next year and the company says some of those airplanes will be deployed to MSP.
KARE 11 reached out to Delta to see if the Boeing strike could affect the delivery of those planes, and whether the strike could impact Delta’s ability to add new flights in the coming years, but we haven’t heard back from the company at this time.
Sun Country says their entire fleet is made up of 43 Boeing airplanes.
A company spokesperson says all of Sun Country’s airplanes are “mid-life aircraft” meaning they are purchased used from other companies.
This spokesperson says this unique business model will insulate Sun Country from the impacts of the Boeing strike, and the company won’t see a shortage of airplanes anytime soon.
KARE 11 also reached out to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport to see if the airport and local travelers will see any impacts of the Boeing strike.
An MSP spokesperson sent KARE-11 the following statement:
“We do not anticipate any immediate impacts at MSP from the Boeing strike. While a strike could push back delivery of aircraft to airlines and lead to future schedule adjustments by those airlines, any impacts would not be expected to affect MSP any more than other airports across the country.”
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