Karen Tolkkinen
Columnist
Greater MinnesotaKaren Tolkkinen is the Minnesota Star Tribune's greater Minnesota columnist. She has more than three decades of experience in local journalism, most recently serving as a reporter, copy editor, and columnist at the Echo Press in Alexandria, Minn. She lives with her husband and son in Otter Tail County, in a farmhouse built by her husband's great-great grandparents in the early 1920s.
Latest from Karen Tolkkinen
Tolkkinen: Some city folks miffed at all rural Minnesota for Trump votes
But rural Minnesota is not a monolith, and shouldn’t be treated as one.
April 11, 2025
Tolkkinen: Rural Minnesota showed up for Hands Off protests on Saturday. What does it mean?
Some research shows that protests can be powerful, depending on their size, and can help predict voting behavior.
April 9, 2025
Tolkkinen: Rural Minnesota teen paralyzed in hockey game finds reason for hope
Jackson Drum of Parkers Prairie has spent 45 days at a Georgia spine injury center.
April 5, 2025
Tolkkinen: Fergus Falls woman creates community, one bowl of soup at a time
A quilter, activist and former restaurateur brings people together for Wednesday soup night.
April 1, 2025
Tolkkinen: Greater Minnesota homeowners nervous about rising costs are taking on renters
Some homeowners are finding it harder to make ends meet.
March 29, 2025
Tolkkinen: $10 to see Rep. Fischbach, and they didn’t even get to ask their questions
At a rural Minnesota event dominated by protests and hecklers, Fischbach avoided pressing the flesh.
March 22, 2025
Tolkkinen: Minnesota senators should apologize for ‘Trump derangement syndrome’ bill
In fact, we should all tone it down.
March 21, 2025
Tolkkinen: It’s hard to find sympathy for the worst people in Minnesota
But we need to do better for the inmates of prisons and county jails.
March 15, 2025
Tolkkinen: When the world stopped during the pandemic, we banded together in rural Minnesota — for a bit.
Then the conspiracies started.
March 12, 2025
Tolkkinen: By going after Canada, Trump shows he doesn’t understand friendship
Or maybe he’s jealous that Trudeau is better looking.
March 7, 2025
Tolkkinen: Democrat Keith Ellison visits Trump country
Republican reticence to hold town hall meetings in rural Minnesota has prevented most rural Minnesotans from meeting statewide or congressional elected officials face to face. Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison bucked this trend by visiting with farmers in rural, conservative Stevens County.
March 6, 2025
