Sometimes, when a place with which you once had a strong personal association is in the news, one can't help but reflect upon it. I spent 4 years in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-Saint Paul), including some of my formative years. It's where I met my wife. It's where I was on 9/11.

Minnesota often evokes the stereotypical upper Midwest: people of Scandinavian descent, social democrats, farmland. It's Fargo and Lake Wobegon. Minnesota nice.

But I was always struck by the state's surprising ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity.

While the white population remains predominant, African-American, Asian-American, and Hispanic populations are all fast-growing. This public sign from Minneapolis - written in English, Hmong, Spanish, and Somali - is fairly typical of the city's diversity.

Chris Rock once joked that "The only black people in Minnesota are Prince and Kirby Puckett."

But there's actually a rather rich history of African-Americans in Minnesota, from Dred Scott of the famous slavery case to the noted playwright August Wilson to, well, Lizzo.

Somewhat uncharacteristically, Minnesota (specifically Duluth) was also the site of a 1920 public lynching of three African-Americans.

Bob Dylan, who was born in Duluth, referenced the incident in his song "Desolation Row."

It is nonetheless surprising and saddening to see the news emerging from Minneapolis and the Twin Cities. Some of the businesses damaged in the violence were ones I frequented. Fortunately, various friends and acquaintances there appear to be okay. [END]