The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

The U.S. military trains its soldiers to deal with trauma in the field using materials they may have on hand in absence of a medic. A rifle, for example, can be used as a splint to stabilize a broken leg, or a plastic wrapper can be used to seal a sucking chest wound, with the pressure differential. Unfortunately, judging by Gov. Pawlenty, Sen. Bonoff and Rep.

I was walking around the office the other day and overheard one of the Rake's ad reps telling two more reps that he'd just sold an ad contract. I opined, in passing, that his customer must be a very perspicacious sort. That, of course, brought the conversation to an abrupt halt.

Decreasing student enrollment in Minneapolis, and the subsequent shuttering of some nine of its public schools, has been big news in the last couple of years. Less known, perhaps, are the pressures that have resulted at remaining schools—especially in the cafeteria.