Christopher Vondracek
Washington Correspondent
AgricultureChristopher Vondracek has reported on prairie dog lawsuits in the Black Hills to federal education policy in Washington D.C. A native of Wells and Kiester, Minn., Vondracek graduated from the University of South Dakota and taught college English for years before becoming a full-time journalist. A previous agriculture reporter for the Strib, Vondracek also authored a memoir ("Dancing with Welk") and poetry book ("Rattlesnake Summer"). He lives on Capitol Hill with his wife, Carrie, and children, Rosie and Eamon.
Latest from Christopher Vondracek
Minnesota farmers seek state aid as foreclosure crisis looms
The upending of global trade has resurfaced haunting memories of the 1980s farm crisis.
August 8, 2025
Minnesota farmers caught between shifting guest-worker policies
The transition between the Biden and Trump administrations has upended the H-2A program and left some farms in limbo.
August 5, 2025
Klobuchar brushes off Booker dust-up, says they will 'continue to fight' Trump
Democrats debated their party’s response to the Trump administration with the cameras watching.
July 30, 2025
Congress explores reforms in Medicare program at center of DOJ probe into UnitedHealth
The Medicare Advantage program pays insurers more to cover sicker patients, but critics say the documentation process is being abused.
July 24, 2025
Wild rice is in jeopardy in Minnesota. But nobody can agree on how to save it.
Minnesota’s state grain is critical to tribes, farmers, rural economies and the environment. But any action to protect it and the waters that nurture it has long been a seed of contention.
July 19, 2025
Slashed public broadcasting funds a ‘worst-case scenario’ for some Minnesota stations
The bill includes more than $1 billion in cuts targeting the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS.
July 18, 2025
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Sen. Tina Smith: Chest pains led to hospital stay, but doctors have given her a clean bill of health
The Minnesota Democrat spent Wednesday night in a Washington hospital.
July 18, 2025
Sen. Tina Smith discharged after overnight hospital stay, missed vote on spending cuts
A spokeswoman said Smith was back in the office on Thursday afternoon. An overnight hospitalization prevented her from voting against a package of Republican spending cuts that passed narrowly.
July 17, 2025
University of Minnesota Extension cutting 60 county educators due to Trump tax bill
Minnesota SNAP-Ed employees who taught about nutrition and financial literacy could be out of a job.
July 9, 2025
Which Minnesota industries will benefit from the federal budget act?
While tax provisions should help companies, pullbacks from the Inflation Reduction Act and other programs could offset growth for some industries.
July 9, 2025
How will Trump's big bill affect Minnesota?
The Trump administration’s signature legislation cuts taxes, benefits and green energy. Congress approved the bill on Thursday against united opposition from Democrats.
July 3, 2025
Trump’s federal spending bill could force Minnesota counties to raise property taxes
Minnesota administers food stamps through county offices. Critics of the bill say that rather than cutting the program’s costs, it forces counties to pay them through higher taxes.
July 1, 2025
![Tara Nordgren walked home with her son Allan in a stroller and a wagon she had attached by a belt to the handle of the stroller to bring home the groceries she had got at the Anoka County Brotherhood Council food shelf in Anoka, Minn., on Thursday, June 18, 2015. Nordgren works at Burger King but as a single mom needs help with groceries since her food stamps were cut back. She doesn't own a car. ] RENEE JONES SCHNEIDER • reneejones@startribune.com](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/M6ODCLDVLDWUGLIFMJT6OQZF3I.jpg?&w=252&ar=3:2&fit=crop)
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