Mark Brunswick
Reporter
Military Affairs
Latest from Mark Brunswick
Review: 'The Fighters,' by C.J. Chivers
NONFICTION: Veteran journalist C.J. Chivers follows six U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
August 10, 2018
Minnesota pioneers ways to fast-track military-to-civilian transition in high demand professions
States launch programs to ease transition into civilian life.
April 28, 2018
![Matthew Girtz, right, and Andrew Hutton worked with instructor Tracy Moshier who was acting as a patient during a simulated situation in the nursing skills lab. ] ANTHONY SOUFFLE ï anthony.souffle@startribune.com Army medics Matthew Girtz and Andrew Hutton who are working to become LPNs as part of a fast-track program to recognize their military skills worked with instructors on a simulated situation in the nursing skills lab at Lake Superior College in Duluth, Minn.](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/DXCILZ7LVNJFAY75LYFSI6ZFRE.jpg?&w=252&ar=3:2&fit=crop)
Aging Minn. veterans homes are in desperate need of repair
Officials seek $13.1 million to repair the aging facilities.
April 28, 2018
New St. Paul city attorney sues DFL legislator for defamation, 'innuendos'
Lyndsey Olson alleged in a court document that state Rep. John Lesch smeared her professional reputation in a letter to the mayor.
February 17, 2018
![Rep. John Lesch, DFL-St. Paul pushed back on the Zerwas bill that would increase jail time for protesters who block transportation. Pointing out that no one served any time under the current law that provides up to 90 days in jail so increasing possible jail time is not a real deterrent. The House debated the Public Safety & Security Omnibus Budget bill Monday. ] GLEN STUBBE • glen.stubbe@startribune.com Monday, April 3, 2017](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/GNICV3TZFUBWV7VYI6FF65L2NU.jpg?&w=252&ar=3:2&fit=crop)
Mpls. VA givs OK for combat vet's banned sculpture to be viewed
Artwork can be shown at Minneapolis VA, but it must be behind a partition.
February 15, 2018
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North and South Dakota sues major opioid manufacturers and distributors
Federal lawsuit says the Indian community has been particularly hard hit.
February 14, 2018
A strict dress code for Bemidji's famous lumberjack could soon be relaxed
A debate in Bemidji over whether to allow organizations to dress up the city's giant Paul Bunyan statue is rearing its huge plaster head.
January 27, 2018
End could be near for the historic Fergus Falls state mental hospital
After years of trying, the city failed to find a developer for the site.
January 21, 2018
![The exterior of the Fergus Falls State Hospital administration building, center, looks much the same as it did when construction on the asylum and accompanying grounds was completed in 1907. The scene was photographed Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012, in Fergus Falls, MN. ] (DAVID JOLES/STARTRIBUNE) djoles@startribune.com The city of Fergus Falls has selected Colliers to market a behemoth in its midst – the historic Kirkbride facility, a Victorian-era “insane asylum](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/QUPMZXCAOCS7LNNFJDU2JJ6ANM.jpg?&w=252&ar=3:2&fit=crop)
VA says wounded Iraq War vet's sculpture is too real to display
It includes four 155 mm shells connected by wires, to represent the IEDs involved in his injury, but officials called them a risk to public safety.
January 14, 2018
Minnesota Guard soldiers to deploy to Kuwait and Afghanistan
The two teams going are the first of four deployments scheduled for the unit.
January 11, 2018