LebowitzTalkings

  Abbey Doerre, a 23-year-old local punk rock musician who releases music under the moniker “honeygrl,” performed at the University of Minnesota’s Whole Music Club Feb. 13 for the second round of the Spring Jam Battle of the Bands. She mainly performed singles from her 2025 extended play “Chrysalis.”  Doerre said she primarily focuses on her musical career after learning recording and production software at Rochester Community and Technical College. Doerre briefly majored in the college’s early childhood care and education program before pivoting to music creative technologies. “I would love to do this for the rest of my life,” Doerre said. “I feel like as long as I can remember, there isn't really anything else I've ever wanted more.” In her childhood, Doerre wrote song lyrics in her notebook, participated in choir and learned to play guitar when she was 14-years-old.  Doerre said after taking a break from her degree, she worked as a barista while performing at open-mic ...

University of Minnesota fraternity Alpha Tau Omega have patrolled campus with a man in a Bigfoot costume this past week, for a series of fundraisers and mental health awareness activities in a promotion called “Unseen Week.” Alpha Tau Omega fraternity members Braden Bronaugh (left) and Robert Golda (right) escort a person in a bigfoot costume around the Mall on the University of Minnesota Campus, Wednesday, Sep. 24, 2025. Bronaugh said the fraternity will not disclose the identity of whoever occupies the Bigfoot costume. Zach Lebowitz / Hubbard school of journalism and mass communications A person in a Bigfoot costume escorted by students dressed as security guards in three-piece suits patrolled the University of Minnesota campus last week. Fraternity Alpha Tau Omega (ATO) arranged the mascot’s appearance to garner attention for a series of mental health awareness activities and fundraisers for the suicide prevention non-profit Shout Out Loud Minnesota in an event called “Unseen Week”....

Zach Lebowitz / Hubbard Reporting Experience Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, long-time trans rights activist and featured guest at the Summit. When asked how Griffen-Gracy stays positive through torrents of anti-trans legislation, she said “I pay no mind.” Minneapolis, Minn., August 11, 2025. Zach Lebowitz / Hubbard Reporting Experience. The McNamara Alumni Center hosted the 10th annual Trans Equity Summit Monday after months of transgender rights rollbacks and anti-trans legislation from both federal and state lawmakers. The Summit featured panels of trans speakers, career and rights workshop seminars, performances by trans entertainers and an exhibition for resource-support organizations. The event drew 376 members of the trans community and allies.  The theme of the Summit was the future of trans rights and crediting those who fought for trans liberation in the past, said Shor Salkas, LGBTQIA+ equity manager for Minneapolis. The event comes after President Donald Trump signed a narrow...

Linda McKee, Associate Department Director of Athletics and Director of Aquatics, said the Jean K. Freeman Aquatics Center has hosted numerous Special Olympics events including the state and 1991 international Special Olympics. Minneapolis, Minn., August 5, 2025. Nine University of Minnesota venues are preparing to host the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games for the first time. Minnesota won the bid to host the games in 2022. The Special Olympics USA is a sports organization for athletes with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Despite being almost a year away, Special Olympics committees and UMN athletics staff are reviewing crowd control, security and emergency prevention.  Once a month, staff from the Special Olympics’ planning committee visit the university to review the venues, said Linda McKee, Associate Department Director of Athletics and Director of Aquatics.  “I think it's great that we've had so much communication with them already because it is a huge event, a...

Zach Lebowitz, Hubbard school of journalism and mass communications. Elon Musk's new advisory body the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has laid off thousands of federal government employees , while cutting the budgets of a number of government agencies under President Donald Trump's administration. DOGE is not an official government department established by congress. Trump created DOGE via an executive order, which allowed Musk to lead the elimination of government expenses he thinks are unnecessary and waste taxpayer money. Leo Thayer, 17, a high school senior taking classes at the university of Minnesota, from Madison Wisconsin, said he disagrees with Musk's position in government because he was not democratically elected. "I believe that all officials in the government should be elected by the people, or at least by the people who are elected by the people," Thayer said. "There's a lot of problems with the system that he could get in even ...

By Zach Lebowitz Minnesota lawmakers announced a  bipartisan  bill Wednesday that would regulate the powers of Homeowners' Associations (HOAs) and Common Interest Communities (CIC), while giving homeowners more power to challenge HOA fines,  KTTC reported . The bill would require HOA boards to transparently schedule their fines and fees to homeowners, ensure that homeowners can contest their fines, provide reasonable time to correct rule violations and no longer charge homeowners for asking questions, the Minnesota Reformer reported .  Sen. Eric Lucero, one of the lawmakers who participated in a working group that created recommendations incorporated into the bill, said Minnesota residents have continuously told him about abuses committed by HOAs, according to the paper . "Residents from across the state have contacted me sharing stories and experiences with homeowners’ associations and common interest communities… stories that include exploitation via excessive...