The Minnesota Department of Health is advising anglers and others to limit, or completely avoid, eating fish from a stretch of the Mississippi River between the southern Twin Cities metro area and Wabasha.

“For most people, fish are part of a nutritious, well-balanced diet, because they provide a good source of protein and are rich in essential vitamins and minerals,” said Myra Kunas, MDH assistant commissioner, in a press release. “But the Minnesota Department of Health encourages people to limit their intake of fish from certain waterbodies to avoid potential negative health impacts.”

The guidance comes as MDH found pollutants — including mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and PFAS (“forever chemicals”) — in fish tissue from that section of the river.

The guidance applies to the Lock & Dam No. 2 Pool near St. Paul Park, the No. 3 Pool near Etter in Goodhue County and the No. 4 Pool near Wabasha, “including all of the Minnesota lakes and backwaters,” the MDH press release said.

The guidance states that children under 15, people who are or may become pregnant and those who are breastfeeding or plan to do so should not eat fish from these areas.

For people who don’t plan to become pregnant and are over 15, MDH says to limit the consumption of fish in the affected area to one serving per month.

“MDH, DNR and MPCA work together to review scientific information about PFAS and other contaminants in waterbodies and fish and their potential impact on human health in order to provide Minnesotans with the information they need to make informed choices for the health and safety of their family,” the release says.

Related Articles

Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Doctors urge refrigerating acne creams to reduce cancer risk

1 in 5 maternal deaths are from suicide. Why is it so hard to get help?

Allergy season arrived early in US. Here’s how to keep pollen from ruining your spring

New way for states to cover pricey gene therapies will start with sickle cell disease

This weekend Jews will gather for the holiday of Purim and read aloud the Book of Esther. A month later, another gathering, another book — the Passover Haggadah. These ancient texts speak to us across the centuries, a conversation at once enlightening and fitful, bringing the past into the present in ways that are soothing but also discomforting.

This year, I feel the discomfort acutely. Since Hamas launched its horrific massacre and hostage-taking on Oct. 7 and Israel retaliated in a brutal, ongoing war, the texts appear both prescient and agonizing, troubling as never before.

The Book of Esther and the Haggadah were written in response to trauma, which may have been historical or may have been mythical, but ultimately the difference between historicity and mythology doesn’t matter here. Centuries of interpretation invite us to read the texts’ words and the lessons through the lens of our own experiences and sensibilities — much the same way most Americans read the U.S. Constitution and other such foundational documents. We highlight what resonates for us, and deny or downplay the parts that make us cringe, but grappling with the text is very human. And very, very Jewish.

Purim falls on March 23 and 24 this year, when Jews memorialize what is generally regarded as a story of joyful triumph of good over evil. Esther, a beautiful maiden who hides her Jewish identity, becomes a favorite of a king and bravely uses her proximity to inform him that his henchman, Haman, wants to destroy her people. Coached by her uncle Mordechai, Esther prevails and Haman is destroyed instead of the Jews. This is a rare diasporic biblical text — the events take place in Persia (outside the Holy Land) — and it features a woman as the savior of an oppressed minority, able to summon the courage to move from powerlessness to power. God is not mentioned once in the Book of Esther; it is a story driven by human agency.

It resonates today in the heartbreaking aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack. If only an Esther could have prevented the massacre and kidnapping. If only an enlightened monarch could have stopped the rape and slaughter. Haman. Hitler. Hamas. All creepily entwined.

But as we relate to the victimhood, we need to also acknowledge and relate to the revenge taken by the Jews. The ninth chapter of the Book of Esther, often read quickly as if an afterthought, details a violent episode of state-sanctioned retaliation, when Jews murdered 75,000 Persian “enemies” including women and children, and rejoiced afterward.

Not only was Haman executed, but at the request of Esther and with the acquiescence of the king, so were his 10 sons. The text says that many Persians were so fearful of the newly militarized Jews that they professed to be Jews, too.

For centuries, rabbis and scholars have tried to justify this problematic spasm of violence. Maybe the death toll wasn’t 75,000. Maybe women and children weren’t killed — even though that was explicitly permitted. Maybe all this was necessary self-defense.

I find these rationalizations unsatisfying. The ninth chapter reads to me like a warning of the extremes a formerly oppressed people will go to when given a rare opportunity to exercise political and military might. It uncomfortably echoes the Israeli assault on Gaza today, with entire families obliterated, hunger and displacement rampant, thousands of children killed and orphaned, and cities all but destroyed. Does one trauma justify another? When does self-defense bleed into revenge? How is proportionality weighed during what is today an existential crisis for Israelis and Palestinians?

There is a similarly uncomfortable section of the Passover Haggadah, read each year at the Seder table. Its placement in the second half of the Haggadah — after the matzo ball soup, brisket and macaroons have been happily consumed — means that many Jews just skip it. But those who take the text seriously must grapple with the shfokh hamatkha, a prayer that asks God to “pour out your wrath” against Israel’s enemies. Whereas the vengeance sought at Purim is committed by humans, this prayer begs for divine retribution — more abstract and yet more potent — and it appears after the part of the Passover story where the Israelite slaves have been freed.

For centuries, Jews have been bothered by the shfokh hamatkha, so much so that an alternative wording (“pour out your love”) appears in some versions of the Haggadah. But just like the ninth chapter of Esther, this text gives voice to a malevolence in the Jewish tradition that makes me wince, spotlighting an unfortunate feature of human behavior, inviting us even today to beseech God to pursue and destroy our enemies.

And yet, as my friend Rabbi Richard Hirsh tells me, “Removing nasty things doesn’t make the emotional impulses behind them go away. It just avoids them. The larger issue is, what do we do with the ugly stuff in our tradition? And not just our tradition. Is it better to read it, contextualize it, debate it? Or sidestep it and hope that nobody notices?”

Earlier in the Haggadah, there is the another disturbing account, drawn from the biblical book of Exodus, of the 10 plagues God directed onto the Egyptians as a show of force to persuade the pharaoh to free the Israelites. But as the plagues are recited, a smidgen of wine is spilled for each one.

What I was always taught, what I believe today, is that we reduce our wine to diminish our own joy because of the suffering experienced by innocent Egyptians as God’s punishment reaches a crescendo, before the pharaoh finally lets the people go.

This admonition to recognize the pain and destruction visited upon one’s enemies and to temper our own sense of vindication is instructive, important — and even comforting. It demonstrates how these foundational texts give voice to our urge for vengeance and also provide a road map for empathy. In this, they are not simply stories from the past but necessary lessons for today.

Jane Eisner is the former editor in chief of the Forward, a national Jewish news outlet, and the former director of academic affairs at Columbia Journalism School. She is at work on a biography of Carole King.

Related Articles

Bronson, Rieser: The stories that ‘Oppenheimer’ didn’t tell

Trudy Rubin: At this point, White House policy is more pro-Israel than Netanyahu’s

Lisa Jarvis: This brain cancer breakthrough should excite us

F.D. Flam: Not even Antarctica could stop COVID. It’s a crucial lesson.

Jay Ambrose: The test Biden can’t pass

KNIFE RIVER, Minn. — Low flows and warmer water temperatures are a big problem for brook trout in the streams of Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior, threatening their future existence if they can’t find cold-water pools to thrive in.

That’s why researchers this summer will start following more than 2,500 trout in the Knife and Stewart rivers — both brook trout and migratory steelhead rainbow trout — to see where they go when times get tough.

A major new study will begin in the spring of 2024 to find the last, best places producing cold water refuges for trout in two North Shore streams. The research is a cooperative effort between the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and several conservation and trout fishing groups. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources)

“We think the fish will show us where those cold-water refuges are that will be critical for trout to survive in future decades,” said Justin VanDeHey, a fisheries scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. “If we can locate where the cold water is, we can focus efforts to protect those spots where they are most needed, especially for brook trout.”

With help from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and local trout fishing and conservation groups, VanDeHey and his team will place tags inside 1,800 trout in the Knife River and another 700 in the Stewart. The tags will send signals to receivers placed along the rivers in various locations. Every time the fish swims by, it will send a signal to the receiver.

“Sort of like a grocery store checkout moving items across the scanner,” VanDeHey said.

Researchers will also place another 60 GPS transmitting tags in trout so they can follow them in real time wherever they go.

The crews will be taking water temperature readings at multiple locations along the streams to better pinpoint where those cold-water springs are located.

Officials involved in the project held an open house Tuesday for anyone who wanted to learn more or help out.

The study, funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act, notes that North Shore streams are especially vulnerable to trends taking hold under climate change — namely warmer temperatures, more droughts and erratic rainfall. Biologists say there will likely be a 20% to 80% reduction in brook trout in North Shore streams within 50 years due to climate change.

“Our goal is to try to keep that to the low end,” VanDeHey said.

Unlike, say, Wisconsin’s Bois Brule River, which gets a constant, cold source of water from underground springs, most of the flow in North Shore streams comes from the headwaters of the rivers, namely swamps and lakes inland from the North Shore’s steep hills. But when those swamps and lakes hit low water conditions, they send little or no water down the streams toward Lake Superior.

“That’s when those cold-water refuges become most important,” VanDeHey said.

That could happen this year, with drought conditions setting in across the Northland and virtually no snow to melt to bolster stream flow, said Nick Peterson, Minnesota DNR fisheries specialist based in Knife River.

“It’s the opposite of the extreme flows we had last spring from the record snow and heavy rain. And that’s why you try to work across several years, to capture the varied conditions the streams see, all of the extremes,” Peterson said.

A big Knife River steelhead caught in 2026. A new 2024 research project will spend several years tracking trout and water temperatures along the Knife and Stewart rivers on the North Shore to see where the best cold-water refuges are located. (Sam Cook / Duluth News Tribune)

Crews this summer will begin using backpack electro-shocking devices that stun the fish, allowing them to be scooped up so the transmitters can be inserted and the fish released back into the streams. They also hope to use the DNR’s Knife River fish trap to capture fish to insert transmitters. Scientists will then follow the fish for at least two and maybe three growing seasons.

Millions of dollars have been pumped into restoration efforts along North Shore streams, especially the Knife River, and scientists also want to know if fish are indeed benefiting from those efforts.

They also hope to learn how much overlap exists between brook, rainbow and brown trout in the same streams. Only brook trout are native to the North Shore streams. They also hope to compare how brook trout are doing in the Stewart, which has no steelhead or brown trout, and the Knife, which has all three.

Other groups involved in the trout study include the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Lake Superior Steelheaders Association, Minnesota Trout Unlimited, the Arrowhead Fly Fishers, Advocates for the Knife River Watershed, Minnesota Steelheader and the Two Harbors High School Enviro Club.

“There’s a lot of physical work that’s going to be needed putting in the arrays (receiving antennas) and making sure they stay in place,” VanDeHey said. “We are going to need a lot of help, and we think we have it lined up.”

For more information about the project, contact Peterson at nick.peterson@state.mn.us or 218-302-3272.

Related Articles

Mild winter likely set stage for Lake Traverse fish kill

Minnesota lake ice-out starts month early

DNR tightens open water fishing regulations for Upper Red Lake

Minnesota DNR says Mille Lacs walleye fishing will be catch-and-release until mid-August

These 5 Colorado dude ranches are spectacular in winter 

Jordan McLaughlin skied far higher than someone his size should be able to elevate for a rebound in the fourth quarter of Friday’s win over Cleveland to snag a defensive rebound. He quickly turned, looked up court and saw a wide-open Kyle Anderson streaking down the floor.

McLaughlin whipped the ball and hit Anderson in stride, and Anderson capitalized with an authoritative dunk to put Minnesota up 13 with seven minutes to play.

Those are the plays McLaughlin has always brought to Minnesota. The combination of effort, skill and smarts allow the point guard who’s small in stature to have a huge impact on the contest. He dictates pace and generates movement. McLaughlin is the definition of a spark plug.

In that way, he’s always been valuable in whatever minutes he’s received. He is an asset who Timberwolves coach Chris Finch knew he could plug in and play for a needed jolt.

Now, the need is to have McLaughlin on the floor every game, no matter the opponent or situation.

Because you can’t leave someone this good on the pine for all 48 minutes.

“J-Mac is playing otherworldly right now. He’s just come in and changed the game for us. Shooting with so much confidence,” Finch said. “Making all the normal J-Mac plays. Getting 50-50 balls. Competing for the ball in the air. Flying around. Getting his hands on stuff.”

The latter has always been there for McLaughlin. But it’s the shooting that’s been a clear separator this season. The perceived Achilles’ heel for the 27-year-old floor general has always been his outside shot. But he’s shooting 45 percent from deep this year.

Over his last 19 games, McLaughlin is a blistering 22 for 37 from beyond the arc. That includes his 4 for 4 showing from deep against the Cavaliers.

“J-Mac has been unbelievable. It’s great to see the ball go in the hole the way that it is, because he works harder than anybody. He’s always in the gym early, staying late, and he’s proving a lot of people wrong in the sense that he probably came in not being known as a shooter and he might be our best 3-point shooter at the moment,” Mike Conley said. “We trust him. He’s been out there doing his thing, and he’s earning his time on that court.”

Finch has had to be creative to find that time, but he’s making any possible effort to get McLaughlin minutes, even with Minnesota having strong, veteran point guards in Conley and Monte Morris. On Friday, that meant trotting out a three point guard lineup, which was also effective for the Wolves.

Good basketball players find a way to make any situation work. And McLaughlin is a good player. Over the last month, Minnesota is out-scoring opponents by 18 points per 100 possessions when McLaughlin is on the floor, easily giving him the team’s best net rating in that span.

Everything McLaughlin is doing at the moment closely resembles the basketball he played in the latter portion of the 2021-22 campaign, which culminated with the guard closing in Minnesota’s Game 6 defeat to Memphis in the first round of the playoffs.

That year, McLaughlin was a net rating king who shot 40 percent from three over the final two and a half months of the season. That performance led to increased expectations last year. Unfortunately for McLaughlin, a calf strain derailed his campaign. Even when he returned, he obviously wasn’t himself. There was no explosion or quickness. The jump shot fell off the map. He looked like a shell of himself.

But those memories are quickly fading. McLaughlin’s play this season suggests last year was an anomaly linked only to the injury. Because he again looks like a must-play point guard capable of igniting an offense.

“I feel good right now. Body feels good, developing a good rhythm right now,” he said. “Everybody on this team is playing well, so just happy to be able to help contribute to winning.”

Indeed, Minnesota’s offense is finally starting to generate a consistent flow in which everyone moves and thrives. That’s the type of basketball Finch desires. It’s the type of basketball McLaughlin’s mere presence on the floor breeds.

“He’s a guy that’s like a natural ball-mover. He’s a natural just with his high IQ, making plays and getting loose balls, just keeping plays alive. When you’re on the court with somebody like that, you can be live at any point,” Conley said. “So he definitely affects the game every time he comes in, for however long he plays. So it’s just been a blessing, obviously, to be on the same court with him at the same time and kind of get all of our games going.”

The past week-plus has signified some of Minnesota’s best offense of the entire season.

“It’s great. You know where guys are going to be, you know what they’re going to do,” McLaughlin said. “You start to find a rhythm. You know you’re going to be getting the ball on offense, you move freely when everybody is rotating and flying around, so we’re in a good spot right now.”

Consider it the Jordan McLaughlin effect.

Related Articles

Timberwolves have six in double figures in win over Cleveland

Timberwolves’ evolving Anthony Edwards is playing some of best basketball of his career

Alex Rodriguez, Marc Lore submit financial documents to buy Timberwolves and Lynx, report says

Charges: Timberwolves employee stole high-ranking team official’s hard drive containing personal and work information

Short-handed Timberwolves put up stiff fight, fall at horn to Denver

“I think he’s an energy guy and that’s something that we need,” Naz Reid said. “So I mean, definitely, definitely need him on the floor.”