Laura Yuen
Columnist
Minnesota LifeLaura Yuen writes opinion and reported pieces exploring parenting, gender, family and relationships, with special attention on women and underrepresented communities. She looks for the deeper resonance of a story, to humanize it, and make it universal.
Before joining the Star Tribune in 2021, Laura spent 13 years at MPR News, most recently as editor of a team covering race, class, communities and education. She also reported for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader. Her column writing has earned national honors from the National Headliner Awards and the Society for Features Journalism. At MPR, her investigative reporting on the company’s handling of allegations against Garrison Keillor received some of journalism’s highest awards for ethics.
She gravitates toward telling stories that answer good questions, that make people laugh or cry, and expand on the truths and nuances of life that often go beyond the daily headlines.
To follow her work by email, subscribe to Laura's newsletter at startribune.com/yuenalert.
Latest from Laura Yuen
Yuen: He was a father figure to countless Hmong American kids
The life story of Dave Moore, who founded the state’s first Hmong Scout troop, offers a timely lesson on acceptance and belonging.
February 5, 2026
What’s it like to live in Minnesota right now? Life in the shadow of ICE.
We asked people how their lives have changed, or not changed.
February 3, 2026
Yuen: These Minnesota teens are pushing back on ICE — and telling their stories
Students from across the Twin Cities describe walkouts, grocery runs and growing up fast amid immigration raids.
January 27, 2026
Yuen: My parents thought we had made it. Now we carry papers.
Living under ICE’s crackdown has changed how some Minnesotans of color, including U.S. citizens, move through the world.
January 26, 2026
Yuen: Fighting dementia, the Sandwich Man keeps feeding Minneapolis
Allan Law can no longer roam Minneapolis streets at night, but his kindness is still being passed hand to hand.
January 20, 2026
Yuen: AI chatbots bond with teens. No one knows the cost.
Millions of kids are using AI companions that validate, flatter and flirt, often without safeguards or meaningful age limits.
January 10, 2026
Yuen: In a hard year, these Minnesotans gave me hope
From sambusas at the State Fair to resilience after loss, here’s a year-end update on everyday Minnesotans who faced hard truths, showed up for one another and kept dancing anyway.
December 31, 2025
Yuen: Do you think of the perfect comeback way too late?
Asian Americans and friends can exercise their quick-wit muscles in a Minnesota-made card game addressing microaggressions.
December 27, 2025
Yuen: ICE keeps knocking on her door. Her neighbor keeps standing watch.
President Trump wants Americans to believe Minnesotans resent our immigrant neighbors. A friendship on a quiet suburban street tells a different story.
December 16, 2025
Yuen: Yes, someone really sawed the head off that roadkill deer
“Is this normal?” a Twin Cities suburban mom asked after noticing the grotesque sight of a decapitated buck with her three kids.
December 11, 2025
Yuen: Has Trump actually ever met a Somali Minnesotan?
The president’s comments about Somali Americans aren’t just racist. They’re wildly disconnected from the reality.
December 4, 2025
Yuen: How can you tell if something’s been written by ChatGPT? Let’s delve.
What we gain — and lose — when we outsource so much of our writing to AI.
November 25, 2025
