Staff Directory 6370481

Reid Forgrave

State/Regional Reporter | Minnesota/Upper Midwest
Phone: 612-673-4647

Reid Forgrave covers Minnesota and the Upper Midwest for the Star Tribune, particularly focused on long-form storytelling, controversial social and cultural issues, and the shifting politics around the Upper Midwest. He started at the paper in 2019.


A graduate of the University of Missouri's School of Journalism, Forgrave's career has spanned the gamut, from a national sportswriter and national magazine writer to chronicler of small-town stories in Iowa and the Mississippi Delta. Prior to the Star Tribune, Forgrave worked at CBSSports.com and CBS Sports HQ and FOXSports.com and Fox Sports 1. He's worked for several newspapers around the country, most recently The Des Moines Register, and has written long-form stories for The New York Times Magazine, GQ and Sports Illustrated, among others. His first book, based on a piece he wrote for GQ, was published in 2020. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife and two children.
Recent content from Reid Forgrave
Perham High School girls basketball player Kaia Anderson, center, celebrates with teammates after scoring her 1,000th career point on Feb. 11.

A Minnesota town's recipe for success: Licorice, dog food and a family's commitment

In this west-central Minnesota town, growth has come from a longstanding pledge to reinvest.
Dasha Shyroka sits on the steps of the Folke Bernadotte Memorial Library at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., on Monday. Shyroka, who cam

Two Minnesota towns rally to protect Ukraine war refugee whose future is in doubt

Dasha Shyroka came to Minnesota as an exchange student at 15. Then war broke out in her homeland. Three years later, the Gustavus student may be forced to return.
Emmanuel Fuentes Cervantes, right, joins his teammates Robert Lew, left, and Alex Wells, center, for a team meeting during a tournament in Marshall, M

Top wheelchair basketball player in U.S., his southwest Minnesota team look to go distance at tourney

Emmanuel Fuentes Cervantes is leading Southwest Minnesota State's wheelchair basketball team into this week's national championship.
Zak Amin gives a lecture about Kurdish attire during his Kurdish heritage and culture class at Moorhead High School on Feb. 12.

In Moorhead, growing Kurdish population builds culture with the only class of its kind in Minnesota

Kurds, the world's largest stateless people, account for 8% of the city's population.
Del Shea Perry, right, stands with her brother, Trahern Crews, at a news conference Tuesday at the State Capitol in St. Paul. Perry's son, Hardel Sher

Family of man who died in Bemidji jail got some justice and wants more

Del Shea Perry is hoping charges filed against a former nurse implicated in her son's death send a message against medical neglect.
Chris Wicker recently settled into his dream job as deputy director at the Minnesota office of the Small Business Administration before he was uncerem

Minnesota veteran fired as part of DOGE cuts to be Rep. Omar's guest at Trump's address to Congress

Air Force vet Chris Wicker was recently fired as deputy director of Minnesota's Small Business Administration office.
Tom Rollins, left, the father of victim Aaron Rollins, and his family listen to Jason McLaughlin during his hearing before the Minnesota Supervised Re

Parole board denies release for Rocori school shooter, accomplice in vicious Minneapolis murder

Jason McLaughlin and Brian Flowers were juveniles when they were sentenced to life in prison for murder. Under a new Minnesota law, they had their cases considered by a newly established parole eligibility board.
Travis Muller endures time in a cold plunge after sitting in a hot tub in his home in Windom, Minn. The temperature contrast helps blood circulation a

When a farm accident stole the legs of a Minnesota pro snowmobiler, he had to relearn everything. Even his sport.

The Cottonwood County farmer had daredevil hobbies. He was determined that wouldn't stop.
Star Tribune reporter Reid Forgrave stepped into the world of Nordic ski racing on Feb. 21 when he competed in the Prince Haakon 15-kilometer race, on

A beginning Nordic skier goes the distance, from learning the basics to the sport's Super Bowl, all in one winter

What better way to learn than to have the Birkie as motivation?
Gene Kelm opens up his ice house on frozen West Battle Lake in Battle Lake on Feb. 13.

Long a popular summer resort destination, this Minnesota town wondered: Why not winter, too?

After years of hibernating when the snow struck, Battle Lake is leaning into winter.
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Future of rural Minnesota gravel road is battled out in court hearing

Family living at end of Hornet Street asking for summary judgment in advance of trial.
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In Kanabec County, years-long legal battle over disputed gravel road nears a final judgment

The case that pits Twin Cities transplants vs. a longtime property owner has divided Hillman Township.
Willard Ikola

Iron Range hockey legends Ikola, Sertich to be honored at Rock Ridge game

The two players whose schools were onetime rivals are now one, and the school will celebrate their late legends.
Destroyed buildings by Israeli bombardments as seen inside the Gaza Strip from southern Israel, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Jews and Muslims in Minnesota greet ceasefire in Gaza with tempered optimism

Both sides express hope the 42-day ceasefire leads to a lasting peace.
Karl Heinrichs, aka “Sir Death,” is surrounded by hundreds of pieces of Minnesota Vikings memorabilia on shelves, the walls and the ceiling in the

'It's a delusional thing we have': Despite Lions loss, Vikings fans are feeling good

For Vikings fans, the season has been an unexpected joy. Must that mean heartbreak lurks?
Enrollment has steadily declined at Minnesota State University Moorhead the past two decades, but administrators hope a new program offering free tuit

MSU Moorhead tries to reverse declines by luring local grads with free tuition

As Moorhead has boomed, the city's biggest university has shrunk. City and university leaders aim to change that.
Pilots with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will survey the Kittson County and Grygla elk herds in northwestern Minnesota as well as the

DNR to conduct aerial elk surveys in northwestern Minnesota

The goal is to monitor elk populations for future management and harvest decisions.
Ryan Daniel and two partners formed Dreamliner Estates to build an "attainable housing" development.

In St. Cloud, developer is tackling housing shortage by focusing on overlooked communities

A housing study said St. Cloud needs 17,000 new housing units by 2040.
St. Louis Park Mayor Nadia Mohamed makes tea while gathering for Jummah prayer and lunch with her family at the community room at her brother’s apar

In Minnesota's Jewish capital, Somali Muslim mayor reaches across lines to focus on community

Nadia Mohamed was elected mayor a month after the Oct. 7 attack inflamed relations between Jews and Muslims. The story in St. Louis Park is how it hasn't been a story.

One dead, one seriously wounded in shooting in Brooklyn Park strip mall parking lot

Body found in river in Cannon Falls believed to be that of 60-year-old missing man

The man had been missing since Monday night, when he took his dog out for a walk.
Paul Williams, president and CEO of the Project for Pride in Living, far right, shows Minnesota Housing Commissioner Jennifer Ho, far left, a nearly c

A lack of affordable housing plagues Minnesota. Now you can do something about it.

Deadline to apply for innovative tax credit program that funds affordable housing is Dec. 6.
Sen. Rob Kupec, DFL-Moorhead, picks up campaign signs in Moorhead on Wednesday.

Decades of swing: How one Minnesota county's streak of picking the presidential winner ended Tuesday

Clay County, a western Minnesota county mixing urban and rural, picked the winning candidate in every presidential election since 1992 — until this one.
Hastings retirees Jerry and Judy vote early at Hastings City Hall along Hwy. 61 on Oct. 24.

Highway 61 revisited: 100-mile road trip shows election fear, sour mood among Minnesota voters

From the Capitol to Minnesota City, voters expressed a jaded view of modern American politics.
A member of Jubilee Worship Center in St. Cloud on Oct. 6 hands out instructions for a letter-writing campaign meant to encourage Christian voters in

In divisive times, Minnesota faith leaders are wary of politics

One recent week before the election, Minnesota Star Tribune reporters fanned out across the state to see how — or if — religious leaders discuss the election with congregants.
Red Wing will mark the grand opening of its first permanent set of pickleball courts with “inaugural play” on the courts at Colvill Park.

Pickleball fans cheer opening of Red Wing's first permanent courts

Pickleball fans raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to build six courts in Red Wing's Colvill Park.
Mountain Iron, Minn., resident Judy Bechtold picks up her mail at the downtown post office in September.

In Minnesota city most evenly divided on politics, a generational shift

In 2020, 881 people in Mountain Iron voted for Biden, 876 for Trump.
An overflow crowd of 681 people attended church in Baxter, Minn., on Sept. 8. Minnesota's biggest mega-church is expanding in greater Minnesota with E

How Minnesota's biggest church grows as others shrink

Eagle Brook Church is opening its 14th Minnesota church in Red Wing, as it expands across the state.
Downtown Fergus Falls “There’s a new vitality downtown, a lot of energy” in downtown Fergus Falls these days, says one resident.

When big-box stores left, a Minnesota town feared for its future. Downtown investment changed the vibes.

Renewed focus on downtown Fergus Falls has enlivened the west-central Minnesota town.
Siblings Brylee Michaelson, left, 4, and Daxton Michaelson, 3, play outside at Jade’s Family Childcare in Morris, Minn., on Thursday. Their mother,

Child care has long been a vexing problem in rural Minnesota. One county may have cracked the code.

Stevens County's pod model has attracted attention as an innovative solution for a longstanding issue.
Friends and abortion rights advocates Amy Hagstrom Miller and Lizz Winstead in St. Paul on August 13.

Two Minnesota natives, high-profile national activists, aim to shift fraught abortion debate

A comedian and a founder of a handful of abortion clinics, who have been friends for more than a decade, aim to destigmatize the procedure.
Children play volleyball at Dickerson's Lake Florida Resort in Spicer, Minn.

Are Minnesota's mom-and-pop resorts dying?

As lakeside property values skyrocket and fast-paced lives demand different experiences, the state's small lakefront resorts are a disappearing way of life.
Kristina Folkerts was a server at Park Tavern who died when a car crashed into the restaurant's patio Sunday evening.

Employee, hospital staffer killed after man crashes into crowded St. Louis Park bar patio

Officials have identified the driver, who also injured several others at Park Tavern on Sunday night.
Lizz and Caleb, center, lead a breakdown session following a role-playing exercise at a pro-life summer camp hosted at Koronis Ministries Christian Ca

At a camp in rural Minnesota, high schoolers against abortion learn to talk to the other side

The political landscape around abortion has shifted since the last presidential election.
Celeste Koppe of West Central Initiative in Fergus Falls presents at the Run4Rural leadership training program designed for people interested in runni

Training rural politicians, without the partisanship

In "leadership-distressed" areas of rural Minnesota, Run4Rural seminar seeks to create a new crop of public servants.
A Butte High School Class of 1982 school composite photo features Tim Walz and his father, Jim.

Formed by Nebraska small towns, Tim Walz brings unconventional background to race

Kamala Harris' VP pick spent half his life in rural Nebraska, graduating from high school in a county where nearly 90% of voters picked Trump in 2020. Nebraskans who knew Minnesota's progressive governor say that upbringing shaped him.
Alasan Ann, left, and Shaun Clark spar at the World Taekwondo Academy in Maple Grove on June 24. At the 2024 African Taekwondo Olympic Qualification T

A bullet hole in his 'golden leg,' Minnesota taekwondo champ seeks Olympic medal

Alasan Ann is competing for the Gambia, tiny West African country where his father is from.
Myah Gray and her grandmother Nancy Uden step outside for some fresh air during a 73rd birthday celebration for Uden in April at her home in Corcoran.

Nancy Uden, face of medical aid in dying in Minnesota, dies at 73

Corcoran woman's death came six months after powerful testimony pleading for option to choose her time and manner of death.
The Danger Boat crew, from left, co-founder Tane Danger, Erin Roberts, co-founder Brandon Boat, Carmen O’Hara, and Michael DallaValle, before perfor

America's divisiveness got you down? Some Minnesota towns see an antidote: Improv comedy.

Improv impresario Tane Danger uses Stephen Colbert quote as inspiration: "You can't laugh and be afraid at the same time."
Clockwise from top left: Daniel McMonigal, Sue Keator, Joe Bridges, Donna Schiff, AK Kamara and Ted Storck gathered at the Star Tribune to talk about

How 6 Minnesota conservatives feel about the presidential race ahead of the RNC

Conservatives who participated in a Star Tribune voter panel were divided on whether they'll support former President Donald Trump. But they shared concerns about immigration, the economy and other issues.
The Driftless Area illustrates as well as perhaps any place in the nation the rural drift toward the GOP of the past generation.

From blue to red in a generation, Upper Midwest's Driftless Area flexes political muscle

From 2008 to 2020, the region along the Mississippi River covering parts of four states saw America's biggest flip from Democrat to Republican.
Cheri Phillips greets her mother, Lori Tocholke, as she arrives home to Minnesota with her husband Chris, right, and son Greyson at Minneapolis-St. Pa

After months stuck in Brazil, Minnesota family arrives home with newborn

Caught in Brazilian bureaucracy, Greyson Leo Phillips finally got to go home at 3 1/2 months old.
Ly Baumgardt talks with friends during a TIGERRS Mondo Queer Beach Party at Lake Nokomis Little Beach on Sunday. Baumgardt is the Intersex Services Co

Yes, intersex people exist. A Twin Cities advocate is fighting for their rights.

Hiding in plain sight, overlooked by law and culture, intersex Minnesotans want visibility — and to ban cosmetic, nonessential surgeries on intersex children.
At the Great American Think-Off, David Lapakko of Richfield debates the question, "Is freedom of speech worth the cost?" He said no, arguing that onli

In a small Minnesota town, America's divisiveness meets its match: Civil debate

A couple of weeks before President Biden debates Donald Trump, people in New York Mills, Minn., came together to debate free speech.
People raise painted red hands at a Minneapolis City Council meeting in January that debated a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas

Warring words, ejections and lawsuits: Why can't local governments work together?

Recent incidents on city councils and boards across the state show how the rancor of D.C. has infected local politics.
Greyson Leo Phillips sleeps in his incubator about a month after his birth in Brazil, surrounded by his parents and sister.

Minnesota family getting documentation to bring premature baby home from Brazil

Greyson Leo Phillips was born in Brazil on March 12, three months premature. His family has only now secured his Brazilian birth certificate, an important hurdle in finally coming home.
Army Sgt. Maj. Jason Rost awards a Purple Heart to Earl Meyer, 96, a retired farmer who was wounded in the Korea War but never received a Purple Heart

73 years after he was wounded in Korea, Minnesota man receives his Purple Heart

Earl "Sonny" Meyer, age 96, of St. Peter, received an honor the U.S. Army calls "long overdue."
Greyson Leo Phillips sleeps in his incubator about a month after his birth in Brazil, surrounded by his parents and sister.

Stuck in Brazil with premature baby, Minnesota family fights bureaucracy to return home

Cheri Phillips wasn't yet six months pregnant when she made the trip. The family has been stuck in Brazil since her son's premature birth March 12.

School sex abuse victim uses his tragedy to close gap in law

Lincoln Singh and his family are lobbying the Minnesota Legislature to require parental notification when students are unexpectedly pulled out of class.
Bridgette Norring speaks with Hastings High School students about how her son, Devin, bought a pill that killed him.

Hastings mom is on a mission after son's fentanyl death

The Hastings family is among 64 nationwide suing Snapchat, alleging that dealers use the app as a marketplace.
Earl Meyer with daughters Cindy Meyer (left) and Barb Wright (right) Not pictured is daughter Sandy. Since COVID started, Earl "Sonny" Meyer has repla

73 years later, St. Peter man finally getting Purple Heart

Earl "Sonny" Meyer's family and attorney have been battling bureaucracy for years to recognize his Korean War injury.
Steve Boyd said he’s running for his first political office because he believes the GOP and Congress need more outside voices.

In heated western Minn. GOP congressional primary, outsiders challenging incumbent

U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach has a solidly conservative voting record. But Steve Boyd, a Christian conservative who has never held public office, is gaining traction as an outsider.
Rose Hegerle, director of veterinary services at Tri-County Humane Society, examines one of the 93 cats transported from a residence in Crosby on Thur

St. Cloud animal shelter looking to reunite 94 Crosby-area cats with owners

The cats were found in a Crosby home and will go up for adoption Wednesday after mandatory five-day waiting period.
Kathy Ware calms son Kylen, 29, as he is secured to a stander as part of his physical therapy at their South St. Paul home. The stander helps Kylen, w

Assisted suicide in Minnesota? Critics point to Canada as cautionary tale.

Proposed medical aid in dying legislation promises to be an ongoing issue in Minnesota, where some in the disability community fear being devalued or coerced.
Defense attorney Corey Chirafisi cross-examined witness Owen Peloquin in Hudson, Wis., on Monday.

Nicolae Miu's attorneys suggest victims provoked fatal Apple River stabbing

The 54-year-old Prior Lake man is charged with homicide and faces life in prison; the sixth day of his trial opened with his attorney questioning a friend of the victims about whether they prompted the attack.
Taylor Richardson, left, smiles as her mother Ruth Richardson, executive director of Planned Parenthood North Central States, center, holds her grandd

New Planned Parenthood CEO says real issue is fairness, health equity

Ruth Richardson, the new president and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States, must navigate big differences in Minnesota and neighboring states.
"I'm not afraid of death, but I am afraid of how I will die," Nancy Uden told lawmakers. Uden has glioblastoma, a devastating form of brain cancer wit

A tumor in her brain, she wants the option to die peacefully — before it's too late

As the Legislature debates a bill on medical aid in dying, also called assisted suicide, a Corcoran woman with terminal brain cancer fears an ugly death.
Lives of fallen Burnsville police and firefighter celebrated in multi city ceremony

'Nothing could be more honorable': Fallen Burnsville police, firefighter mourned in massive ceremony

Thousands attended in person and watched the livestream sending off the first responders.

Man arrested in Friday morning crash that killed two in Arden Hills

State Patrol released the names of the victims in the crash on Interstate 694.

Man found fatally shot inside vacant building south of downtown Minneapolis

Republican Steve Boyd hosted an event on the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol with a townhall meeting featuring members of the Wes

Three years later, some Minnesota Republicans show sympathy toward Jan. 6 rioters

Some Republicans in Minnesota and across the country are pushing revisionist versions of what happened at the U.S. Capitol that day.
Duluth East senior Lydia Kraker waits to compete in the Girls Classic Interval Start race during the Minnesota High School Nordic Ski Racing Champions

Cross-country skiing sees boom — even as your body screams at you to stop

For "world's most taxing sport," challenges such as the "pain cave" are a central feature, not a bug.
Ralph Crowder III, whose father Ralph Crowder Jr. started Minnesota’s first AAU youth basketball team the McRae All-Stars in the 1980's, stands for

1980s middle-school basketball team helped change Black experience in Minneapolis

The McRae All-Stars team is now featured in a Minnesota Historical Society series.
First Lt. Caleb Hjelle and his wife, Regan Hjelle, right, bowed their heads during the benediction of the deployment ceremony for 550 members of the M

Minnesota National Guard sends 550 soldiers to Middle East in one of state's largest recent deployments

The Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel changed the complexion of region, where Minnesota soldiers will be stationed until late this year.
Planned Parenthood CEO Ruth Richardson, shown in 2023.

Planned Parenthood to cut staff, consolidate clinics in Upper Midwest

Leaders for the five-state region, including Minnesota, say the change increases patient capacity.
Minnesota Representative Liz Reyer listens alongside fellow committee members to testimonies on the End-of-Life Options Act during a hearing in the Mi

Minnesota's end-of-life options bill clears its first legislative hurdle

The bill passed the House Health Finance and Policy Committee after hours of emotional testimony.

Walz predicts 2024 will be key year for abortion rights in Minnesota, Upper Midwest

18 months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the Minnesota governor's visit to Planned Parenthood North Central States marks the ongoing battle.

After devastating fire, owners of Cass Lake Lodge near Bemidji rebuilding main lodge

After September fire, they plan to reopen the cabin by the May fishing opener, and main lodge by Memorial Day.
A board member for the Nameless Coalition for the Homeless in Bemidji and other volunteers serve a Christmas meal to clients earlier this month.

Why homelessness is a growing problem in greater Minnesota

In Beltrami County, where poverty rate is nearly double the state average, lack of affordable housing is acute.

He took joyride at Twin Cities dealership Christmas morning, charges say

The Little Canada man was arrested for allegedly receiving stolen property, possessing burglary tools, criminal damage to property and fleeing officers
Nina Thueson, left, her grandmother Nina Jablonsky, center, and Nina's mother Luba Thueson, right, share history of Jablonsky's journey from the Ukrai

Northeast Minneapolis woman who survived two genocides in Ukraine sees history repeating

With the help of her granddaughter, Nina Jablonsky, 90, is piecing together her life's journey.

A Minnesota screening of Hamas Oct. 7 attack film shares horrors

Israel compiled Hamas videos and surveillance footage into a gruesome film to remind the world of atrocities.

Canoes for cops: Ely uses outdoor vibe to recruit police officers

Like many other cities, the Boundary Waters gateway community is struggling to keep its force staffed.
Minneapolis attorney Bruce Nestor spoke at a news conference at CAIR-Minnesota in Minneapolis Monday afternoon, November 27, 2023 to announce that a c

Edina schools criticized for suspending students who used pro-Palestinian chant

Two Muslim students who participated in a walkout in October were given a three-day suspension for using a slogan that many Jews consider antisemitic.
“It’s just an overall black sadness,” says Eilat Harel, photographed at her home in Minnetonka on Monday.

For Minnesota Jews and Muslims, a shared darkness since Oct. 7

For those with deep ties to a conflict zone thousands of miles away, struggles are a secondary trauma.