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It happened one summer morning at flea markets while picking up stuff for our newly purchased cabin on Kelly Lake in Faribault. I turned a corner and ran straight into what I thought was another customer. My eyes traveled to his face for my “sorry” as I realized, OMG, it was Bud Grant (Obituary and other coverage, March 12).
I was so shocked that I left without buying anything. But I told my husband Chris, whom I had never suspected of idolatry or having an affinity for flea markets. The next day, he took a day off from work and went to Bud’s clearance sale, buying Viking gear and a deer skull. He asked Bud if he could tell his wife that he shot that deer. “No,” came the reply, “but you can tell her it died on my land.” Now the skull wears a Viking hat and has pride of place on the porch of our cabin. rest in peaceCoach Grant.
Judy Canney, Bloomington
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My husband and I bought some shelves at a men’s clothing store in Dinkytown after that store closed. After we paid for our shelves and finished shipping, Frank asked if they’d found any forgotten treasures while searching the boxes. Indeed they did. Bud Grant was one of the male models for the store’s ad campaign and they still had all the stills. (He looked great in these photos too!)
Emilie Quast, Minneapolis
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I remember Bud Grant as the influential Minnesotan who felt that Aboriginal treaty rights to fish Mille Lacs were outdated and should be ignored. Not always a shining example of Minnesota Nice.
Elaine Frankowski, Minneapolis
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I’m sure there will be many stories about Bud Grant from Minnesota. He had a good long life. i have my own story He was a serious man about hunting and was sometimes stopped by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Years ago, when I was working at DNR headquarters in St. Paul, I was a little late for an important meeting on the top floor. I stood near the elevator on the ground floor, impatiently waiting for it to open. When it happened there was Bud Grant also standing near the door trying to leave. I blurted out, shocked at being so close to an icon: “Oh, it’s you!” As he passed me, he said with a Mona Lisa smile, “Unfortunately.”
Paul Stole, Fosston, Minn.
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I take offense at the Star Tribune Editorial Board’s comments on the death of Bud Grant (“Bud Grant: A North Country Icon,” March 12). that this community is made up of a growing number of Africans, Hispanics and Asians. My conclusion was that we shouldn’t memorialize a person of Bud’s stature given his European background and the fact that he didn’t have any black assistant coaches on his staff of teams he coached.
Back then, there weren’t many assistants that pro football teams have today — maybe 10 or 12 assistants on Grant’s staff compared to the 20 to 30 assistants they have on today’s NFL rosters.
The statement of the editorial smacks of awakening, like everything that is written in your left-wing newspaper. Can’t you just end the death of a true Minnesota hero gracefully and not give it a divisive twist?
Larry Auge, Burnsville
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Thank you Bud Grant.
Thank you for the countless memories you have given us on the sports fields. Thank you for being a leader in protecting the environment and the use and conservation of our natural resources. Thank you for your love of nature. Thank you for showing us how to balance fame and family and for emphasizing the importance of family values. Thank you for your sensible thoughts. Thank you for participating in Innocent Practical Joke. Thanks for your good sense of humor. Thank you for respecting those around you and showing us how to treat people with dignity. Thank you for your annual garage sales. Thanks for being friends with Sid Hartman.
To the Grant family, thank you for sharing your father with us. Bud appeared to have been a grandfather or uncle of Bud we all. He really was a man among men.
Jerry Jacobson Jr., St Louis Park
COMPASSION FOR ANIMALS
Peter M. Leschak (“A Better World Could Begin With Less Cruelty to Animals”, March 12) asked, “Does contemporary research meticulously confirm what we already feel, already know?” about the sentience of other species. The answer is yes.”
In 2012, the world’s leading neuroscientists, meeting in Cambridge for the Francis Crick Memorial Conference on Consciousness in Human and Non-Human Animals, issued the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness. It “stated unequivocally” that “the weight of evidence suggests that humans are not unique in possessing the neurological substrates that generate consciousness” and that these differ from “non-human animals, including all mammals and birds, and many other creatures”.
The neurophysiologist Christof Koch, one of the authors of the declaration, then wrote that “the principle of sensation is a clear call to action in both the private and public spheres”. He is now a vegetarian.
Peter Joria, Winona
PREGNANCY CENTERS
The March 12 front-page article, “Trial Endangers Mission,” discusses the services and life coaching provided at pregnancy centers, which are largely funded by donors. Gov. Tim Walz’s budget proposal would cut state funds for the 33 locations that receive them. Customer testimonials describe how they were able to receive ultrasound scans, access to food and diapers, and emotional support with their decisions. They find that a culture of living, like adoption, is being discussed. Abortion is guaranteed in Minnesota, but these centers give women more options. It seems fair enough to send funds to organizations that really do support women well past a due date.
Barbara Schweiger, Mendota Heights
CHARGE EV
The problem with the March 12 letter “EV Charging: The math as I see it” is that the author left out a very important piece of information. He mentions his car charges at night. Well, what about everyone else’s car, assuming there’s a lot more to charge? Does he think prices will stagnate?
And why do people forget to calculate the cost of mining and depleting valuable elements as part of the math equation? They do this because they are ill-informed or because it contradicts their narrative. There is now a real crisis of what to do with worn wind turbine blades. Many of the elements for batteries come from godforsaken countries like China, Russia and African countries that use slave labor.
The reality is that the math doesn’t work. We’ll be “Cold California” with rolling blackouts. That’s the inconvenient truth.
Andy Page, Orono
