Courtney (C.J.) Sinner

New: ProPublica is sharing eight handwritten letters from children who have been held at the detention center that 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was recently released from. We'll let their words speak for themselves. propub.li/4a4V4nR

NEW: Working as a federal prosecutor used to be one of the most apolitical positions in govt. Now, when you apply for one of the many vacant positions for those posts at DoJ, you're required to weigh in on Trump’s policies. “How would you help advance the president’s executive orders and policy priorities in this role?” read one of the queries on an application for a job in the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota. “Identify one or two relevant executive orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired,” reads another. nytimes.com/2026/02/07/us/…

The most important story you'll read today. ‘No humanity’: Detainees describe conditions inside Whipple Federal Building startribune.com/no-humanity-de…

How exhausted Minneapolis journalists are covering a prolonged federal crackdown poynter.org/reporting-edit…

“Just getting a client to sign a document becomes almost impossible ... Suddenly, they’re in Texas and there’s no way to contact them.” In 2025, more than 2,700 immigrants passed through Minnesota detention facilities and transferred nearly 8,000 times. startribune.com/how-immigratio…

Tomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026

Thank you to the @StarTribune and its photographers, reporters and editors for documenting what federal agents are doing to the people of Minnesota. Day in, day out, sometimes in clouds of tear gas, you get the facts and get the photo. You make journalism proud.

ICYMI, this fun catalog of the Fair smells is a delightful visual look at one of the senses we don't often talk about. Smells of the Minnesota State Fair create a festival for the nose startribune.com/smells-of-the-…

@ZenithCity64 Yesterday's day IS over.

@cjsinner As Curly in City Slickers said, "The day ain't over yet."

You on the Fair's first day: "It's so crowded, we'll definitely break a record." Our tracker with new data just now: "Sorry, you're about 1,700 shy of last year's record" startribune.com/2025-minnesota…

Post-COVID, transit ridership looks different than it once did all over the U.S. In the TC, our transit recovery lags peers, even as Metro Transit seeks to add and improve service, which experts say are levers to bring riders aboard. w/@KarinaKumar03 startribune.com/metro-transit-…

We have a lot of fun Fair stuff to offer and more to come, but this is one of my favorites. It's *genuinely useful* in addition to being fun. How far can you stretch $100 at the Minnesota State Fair? startribune.com/how-far-can-yo…

We asked where Uptown is, and more than 2,000 of you responded and mapped your vision. Where is the common ground about the boundaries of the Minneapolis neighborhood? startribune.com/we-asked-where…

@MNUpNorthLakeG1 You can draw your own version of Uptown at startribune.com/uptown!

@cjsinner No. It's about 5-6 neighborhoods between Excelsior, Franklin, Blaisdell and 36th

Is Uptown just vibes?

in which I take @gretakaul's good data idea and spin it into a dot plot with emoji. It's not just you -- this summer has kind of sucked!!! startribune.com/this-summer-ha…

Uptown is just vibes, pt 2

@vtuss your shape is a TRIANGLE?!?!?! Sir.

My job changed in December. And then changed again. And the first thing I got pulled into was a meeting for this project, which was already months in progress. I first thought, boy, was I over my head. But it finally landed. To get this image, try the second piece of this thread.

@DeRushaJ jason, you should submit your Uptown map and we'll use it in the results!! give us your definitive take!

From the “it never gets old” file… fun to see a new generation still playing the hits

Tell us where you think Uptown is by drawing its boundaries here. startribune.com/where-is-uptow…