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Good morning, Minnesota! I wrote you a poem! It's at the end of this edition of the newsletter ✏️ On to the news 📢

Renée Jones Schneider/The Minnesota Star Tribune

To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.

But getting there — the doctor appointments, the uncertainty of when and how it's going to happen, the conversations you'll have with loved ones in the moments leading up to it — can be a lot to take in. Terrifying, even.

A new University of Minnesota medical program seeks to help people navigate end-of-life care through the eyes of a dying person. Students who work in the Embodied Labs don virtual reality headsets that let them see the world through the eyes of a person who's near death.

Reporter Richard Chin recently took part in the program, which a university instructor told him is meant to help students develop empathetic listening skills and understand how some patients perceive the process of making funeral arrangements.

“We’re really trying to capture the narrative of real lived experiences,” Carrie Shaw, CEO of Embodied Labs, told him.

Read Chin's full dispatch at the link below.

Here's a look at a few of the stories you can expect later today at startribune.com:

🗞️ Chronic absenteeism has proven a sticky problem to address in Minnesota. One Minneapolis school opted to recruit students to urge their peers to show up in class. Anthony Lonetree will have that story.

🗞️ Cindy Cash, daughter of the late, great Johnny Cash, will be in the North Star State to auction off some of her father's possessions. Victor Stefanescu will report.

🗞️ If the Timberwolves had lost on Wednesday, this is where I'd address a little prayer to the basketball gods and hope for a fruitful Game 6. Instead, I'm just thankful that France gave us Rudy Gobert.

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Joseph E. Quigley/Hennepin County Library

Have you ever wondered why W. 50th Street weaves a bit as you drive east from Lyndale Avenue to Interstate 35W? It's kind of weird, isn't it? Head south toward Minnehaha Creek, and it just gets stranger — the entirety of the Tangletown neighborhood doesn't conform to the Minneapolis city grid.

Why?

That's the question behind this week's edition of the Strib's reader-powered reporting project. Not only does Tangletown have one of the quirkier road layouts around, it also boasts one of the more imposing water towers you'll find within city limits.

Reporter Erica Pearson has your weekly dose of Curious Minnesota at the link here.

Photo by Samantha Matsumoto

I promised you a poem, so here it is. I called it “10 Things I Hate About You” because I’m an incredibly unoriginal person and I’m obsessed with that movie.

Here it goes:

I hate the way the Minneapolis skyline lights up at night and the way Lake Superior lazily licks at the rocky crags beneath Split Rock Lighthouse on the North Shore. I hate it when storms roll in with purple rain and the way your lakes freeze over for some of the most wondrous winter walks imaginable.

I hate that you turned me into an unabashed professional basketball fan and the absolute decadence of an afternoon at the Minnesota State Fair. I hate warm summer mornings biking around the Chain of Lakes and intimate nights with new-to-me music at 7th Street Entry. I hate Bebe Zito ice cream and the sandwiches at Northern Waters Smokehaus. But most of all, I hate that I don’t hate you, not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.

If it wasn’t already apparent, this is my final day at the Minnesota Star Tribune. (Sorry about the misdirect with that "milestone" quip at the top of the newsletter. This one's a little sadder.)

Remember all of those needle drops I left for you on Mondays for the last few weeks? They’re from an acoustic EP from my favorite band, Saves the Day. It’s called “I’m Sorry I’m Leaving.” And that title just about sums up the way I’m feeling right now. La Jefa and I have relocated to Oregon — she recently got into grad school and we moved ahead of the fall term to help a family member who’s recovering from a stroke.

I’ll never forget the three years I spent in the North Star State. I can’t thank you enough, dear readers, for putting up with my endless “Simpsons” references and riffs on the news.

Zoë Jackson will be your pilot next week, and for some time after that. If you’re on Bluesky, let’s keep in touch. You can find me at ederc.bsky.social.

On to the news, forever and ever.

Eder Campuzano, reporter

David Taintor, editor