Audience Engagement Reporter | Twin Cities

Since joining the Star Tribune in 2009, he has covered the Twin Cities metro area, the city of Minneapolis, the state Legislature and Congress. A native of New York City, Roper lives in south Minneapolis. He is interested in the hidden systems that make urban life possible, as well as Minneapolis history. Roper is a graduate of the George Washington University and was named "Young Journalist of the Year" by the Society of Professional Journalists' Minnesota chapter in 2013. In his spare time, he is an amateur woodworker who enjoys learning new furniture-making skills.


Listen: State Fair attendees tell us their questions about Minnesota

The Curious Minnesota podcast solicited questions from fairgoers. Which is your favorite?


Listen: Why is Minnesota such a hotbed of professional wrestling?

The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how locals helped develop this unique sport.


Listen: Why did Minnesota once require margarine to be dyed pink?

The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the state's crusade against the 'abomination' of margarine.


Listen: How did Tonka trucks get their start in Minnesota?

The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses the local origins of this well-known children's toy.


Listen: Inside the mines and megamachines of the Iron Range

The Curious Minnesota podcast heads north to the mighty Mesabi, which helped fuel America's success story.


Listen: Why didn't Minneapolis and St. Paul ever merge?

The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how it was once considered 'manifest destiny' that the two cities would become one.


What happens to the plastic bags we recycle at grocery stores?

Our modern lives are flooded with plastic film, which cannot be put in curbside recycling bins.


Listen: Why does Minnesota have municipal liquor stores?

The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses why Minnesota's alcohol regulations are unlike most other states.


Inside the mines and megamachines of the Iron Range

A family's question about large machines resulted in a Curious Minnesota field trip to the mighty Mesabi, a place that has fueled America's success story.


Listen: Why didn't Minneapolis gobble up its suburbs?

The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses why the Minneapolis area fragmented into a web of smaller cities.