Laura Yuen

Features columnist | Features columnist

Laura Yuen, a Star Tribune features columnist, writes opinion as well as reported pieces exploring parenting, gender, family and relationships, with special attention on women and underrepresented communities. With an eye for the human tales, she looks for the deeper resonance of a story, to humanize it, and make it universal.

Before joining the Star Tribune, Yuen spent 13 years at MPR News, most recently as editor of a team of reporters who covered race, class, communities and education. She also reported for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader. Laura lives with her husband and two young sons. But if you met her over an icebreaker, she'd probably tell you about the time her car was struck by lightning.

Recent content from Laura Yuen

Yuen: What's in a boat name? I asked this Minnesotan viral TikToker for help.

Emily Kim is a professional baby-name consultant. This time she offered some nautical suggestions.

Yuen: Why it's not rude to ask your houseguests to take their shoes off

And if you're a respectful visitor, you should not be offended by this request.

Yuen: Seriously, what purpose do mosquitoes serve?

They're responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people a year. They annoy the hell out of the rest of us. Can't we eradicate them?

Yuen: St. Paul columnist Rubén Rosario told stories with conviction and empathy

The Pioneer Press writer's death is a gut punch also because of what he represented: a time when there wasn't anything a smaller local newspaper couldn't do.

Yuen: He spent years searching for VHS queen of country line dancing. He found her in Minneapolis.

A resurgence in line dancing has introduced instructor Diane Horner to a younger generation, including an unlikely protégé .

Yuen: A century-old dictionary on display at Magers & Quinn can answer questions you didn't know you had

You can still learn quite a lot from books, especially this elderly, 25-pound tome.

Yuen: 'Choking' is a disturbing trend in teen sex. As adults, we need to talk about it.

The practice is on the rise despite its inherent dangers. A Minneapolis sex health educator offers parents tips on how to address it with the young people in their lives.

Yuen: Memories of the Jim Crow South haunted a Minnesota man. Then the nightmares terrorized his son.

Twin Cities native Lee Hawkins Jr. connects the long legacy of slavery with the belt whippings he received as a child.

Yuen: Fighting stage 4 breast cancer, a Minnesota woman gets her wedding wish

A village of helpers manifested Maria Carmen Morra's late-in-life dream: to marry the love of her life, in the eyes of her God.

Yuen: It's time for regular Americans (liberals included) to reclaim the U.S. flag

The flag has been a symbol of conservative America, but it should stand for all.

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