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Central High School comic strips reach history museum walls
In the same museum featuring an exhibit on Schulz, Central High School’s comic strip gallery is on display.
ST PAUL, Minn. — This summer, the Minnesota History Center opened the Life and Art of Charles M. Schulz. The exhibit will remain open through July 9, 2024.
“Charles Schulz is from St. Paul and he went to Central High School in St. Paul,” said Kimmy Tanaka, community engagement manager for the Minnesota Historical Society, which runs the history museum.
Tanaka said, this fall, they found a special way to connect with students enrolled in Schulz’s alma mater.
“We worked with Central High School’s intermediate drawing students and we went to the school and we held a couple of workshops doing a short-form comic-making series with a teaching artist,” Tanaka explained. “We introduced them to some of the Snoopy Peanuts comic strips. We gave them a few prompts like, ‘Home is…,’ ‘Blue is…’ and ‘Happiness is…'”
Now, just a floor below the main exhibit, their comic strips are on display. And on Wednesday, students like Yuri Rivers went on a field trip to see their art on museum walls for the first time.
“The title is Midnight Blue,” Rivers said of his work. “This is because it’s a dark night, it’s rainy. You would always think gloomy, but he decides to play guitar and be happy about the blues because the blues isn’t a song about sadness, it’s a song about becoming happy in spite of sadness.”
A Central High School junior, Rivers picked up a guitar two years ago and is now in a jazz band. And while it’s his second year singing in the choir, this is his first drawing class at school.
“I myself plan to be an actor,” Rivers said. “I was just in a musical at my school. Yes, the Little Mermaid. I was King Triton.”
He says he likes many art forms, including the comic strip project inspired by Schulz.
“This is just a chord,” he said, pointing to his drawing of a hand over guitar strings. “It’s a chord often used in the blues. It’s a 7th chord.”
Rivers says he intentionally kept some white space and used blue and black ink to create all six panels.
“There’s something about short-form comics that you can say a lot with just a few panels,” Tanaka said. “It kind of speaks to maybe the generation too because of social media and communicating with just a few words or just a few images, which is also something Charles Schulz was good at – finding those mundane moments in life and finding the humor in them or finding really complex in them.”
While Rivers included just a few words in his work, “I’m feeling kind of blue today,” sophomore Laney Kravis chose a lengthier narrative for her comic, Home is Where my Family is.
“Home is where my family is, yet they’re not home,” the aspiring animator read aloud. “They’re not here. Kidnapped, missing in action. They’ve been gone for three years. Where could they have gone? Please tell me where they are if they’re safe and please bring them home.”
The students say they’re proud of each other and proud of themselves.
“Well, this is a great start,” Rivers said. “Maybe someday, you know, when they look back on this they’ll be like, ‘He had his art in a museum one day.’ It’s a good accomplishment. My mom came by earlier and saw it.”
Their work will be on display through early March.
The project was funded by Minnesota’s Legacy Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.
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Twins CEO Dave St. Peter to step down, major transition ahead
A report on the team’s website says current general Manger Derek Falvey will transition to the business side of the Twins’ operation.
MINNEAPOLIS — A tumultuous offseason for the Minnesota Twins is continuing with news the ballclub’s longtime president is stepping down.
Dave St. Peter, Twins President and CEO for 22 years, will leave his position and transition into an advisory role. St. Peter made the announcement to employees throughout the organization Tuesday morning.
St. Peter’s departure will have a domino effect: Current Twins General Manager Derek Falvey will slide from his role supervising the on-field product to the business side of the organization, assuming the job of President-CEO. Assistant GM Jeremy Zoll, who was recently promoted following the departure of Thad Levine, will become General Manager of baseball operations.
All this is happening in the wake of October’s announcement that the Pohlad family is exploring a possible sale of the franchise following a season of payroll cuts and growing fan dissatisfaction.
“Twins fans, players, staff and certainly our family are better for the 35 years that Dave St. Peter has brought his truly one-of-a-kind leadership to our team and community,” said Twins Executive Chairman Joe Pohlad. “I have had the good fortune to work alongside Dave for the past 18 years and experience firsthand how he leads with integrity, compassion and an unmatched dedication to our organization and fans. I will always admire Dave’s commitment to do right by the Twins.”
“Dave St. Peter is a very special person, friend and leader,” added controlling owner Jim Pohlad. “Our family and the Minnesota Twins would not be where we are today without Dave’s skill and lifelong commitment.”
St. Peter started with the Twins as an intern back in 1990 and made his way up the ranks, being named team president in 2002. In a letter to the team’s fanbase, St. Peter said he initiated discussions with the Pohlad family over the past two years to develop a succession plan that would lead the club into a new era.
“While my personal Twins journey has been a dream come true, in recent years I have sensed a calling to explore new professional challenges and a growing desire to spend more time with the people I love the most,” the outgoing St. Peter wrote.
“The Twins have been a central part of my life for longer than I remember, but I find myself at peace with the knowledge I ran the race as best I could. It’s simply time to hand the baton to someone else.”
St. Peter explained in the months to come he will work closely with the Pohlads as they consider a potential sale of the team “and the best possible outcome for this franchise and the fans.”
The Twins are holding an open house event Tuesday at 2 p.m. and will further discuss the team’s leadership transition. KARE 11 will have the latest developments here on the website and broadcast.
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Red Cow offers Thanksgiving meal kits
Love a yummy meal, but hate having to cook it? This is an option for you.
MINNEAPOLIS — If you love a good Thanksgiving meal but don’t have the time to make it, consider Red Cow for your event this season.
The kit includes roasted turkey breast, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, whipped sweet potatoes, cornbread stuffing, mac & cheese, assorted artisan rolls, and pumpkin pie. The meal costs $285 and feeds 6-8 people.
You can pick up your feast at Red Cow in Uptown on 2626 Hennepin Ave. Place your order at this link by noon on Nov. 25.
Is your mouth watering yet? If you’d like, you can add on glazed ham, dark turkey meat, cranberries, brussels sprouts, wild rice stuffing, roasted salmon, apple and honey chevre salad, and charcuterie boards. Corporate chef Adam Lerner visited KARE 11 News at Noon to dish on a few of the holiday eats.
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How are Minnesota teachers addressing kids’ bad behavior?
PEW Research Center found 68% of teachers said they’ve experienced verbal abuse from a student such as being yelled at or threatened.
ST PAUL, Minn — Bad behavior in classrooms is a nationwide problem that has only worsened since the pandemic.
A recent National Education Association (NEA) survey found teachers cited “disruptive and violent behavior” in the classroom last year as one of their top concerns. A PEW Research Center report found about 68% of teachers said they’ve experienced verbal abuse from a student such as being yelled at or threatened.
About 21% said this happens a few times a month.
Teachers also report students show disrespect by getting up in the middle of class or skipping class altogether. So the question many people have is why are we seeing this uptick in bad behavior? And how can behavior improve?
To learn more, KARE 11 morning anchor Alicia Lewis spoke with Angel Thomas from St. Paul Public Schools (SPPS). Thomas, a teacher by trade, is now a supervisor with the Office of School Support.
She talks with teachers about their day-to-day with students at SPPS and says there is a lot more pressure on both students and educators post-pandemic with mental wellness at an all time high.
“You have a class of 25 to 35 little people, right? They all have different lived experiences,” Thomas said. “We don’t know what they’re going through at any given moment, right? Some kids are wondering where their next meal is gonna come from. Some kids are wondering where they’re gonna sleep at night. Some kids may have experienced a traumatic event just the night before and they’re at school. It’s the same for adults or teachers, right?”
SPPS is one of 37 districts in the state that utilize the Minnesota Department of Education’s “Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports systems” also known as PBIS. It’s a multi-tiered program that trains educators on preventing problem behavior, teaching and reinforcing positive behaviors, and providing intensive interventions for students with more significant needs.
Thomas said PBIS is working.
“I always say the framework is simple for a lack of a better word. It’s not. But there are core components. What do we want students to do? How do we recognize them when they do it? How do we respond when they don’t? And then how are we using data to make decisions?” Thomas said.
“We know that recognizing positive behaviors is one of the best ways to actually change or to continue that behavior and to decrease the unexpected behaviors.”
Thomas added when students have a voice and feel a sense of community, they are more likely to exhibit good behaviors in the classroom. But what works for one student, in terms of dealing with behavior, might not work for another.