Features columnist | Features columnist

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.


Yuen: Want to tap into your genius? Find yourself a good group

What if more organizations embraced the idea that "genius emerges from the collective"?


Yuen: This picture of Mel the Mailman exudes Minnesota hardiness, but it's not what you think

The mailman in his shorts striding through the snow captures our spring state of mind.


Yuen: What's it like to be a professional pickleball player in Minnesota?

There's a more elite faction of athletes in a sport whose popularity is driven by its anyone-can-play accessibility.


Yuen: There must be a better way to register your kid for summer camp

Tech-related failures and ultracompetitive signups can leave kids without privilege in the dust.


Yuen: How families shattered by suicide are cheated out of financial support

A Minneapolis widower is speaking up for a change in state law that would make it easier for survivors of suicide to receive death benefits.


Yuen: When undocumented immigrants can drive, their kids can live in dignity, too

The law makes sense from a multitude of angles; one often overlooked segment of the population that wins is children.


Yuen: Outsourcing food runs in a snowstorm? Just make sure you tip

Three food delivery workers in Minnesota share what it was like working in last week's storm.


Yuen: If you want to live a healthier life, don't overlook the power of friends

Friendships often take a backseat to other priorities in adulthood, but science shows they're important for well-being.


Yuen: This young St. Paul archivist safeguards the stories of historic Rondo

"These are people's most precious memories, and they're more valuable than money," Kayla Jackson says of the artifacts she preserves.


Yuen: In new memoir, St. Paul cartoonist recounts marrying his husband 10 years ago

Rob Kirby's graphic memoir traces his evolution in thinking about the institution of marriage as Minnesota began to allow gay couples to be wed.