The Old Village project in Lake Elmo just got a new push forward. ]]> From a concert pianist in South Korea to a woman suffering from depression in Germany to schoolchildren in Japan, Zach Sobiech touched millions of people around the world with "Clouds," his song of farewell to family and friends. ]]> Fridley-based Medtronic is eliminating 2,000 jobs worldwide including about 500 positions in Minnesota. ]]> Dogged by scandal, and with his press secretary presumably now curled up in the fetal position and breathing into a brown paper bag, it's obvious President Barack Obama is in need. ]]> A mechanic says that his co-workers at a Twin Cities car dealership accosted him with gay slurs and threats and that when he complained to superiors, the company did nothing. ]]> As we ate our picnic on the bank of the St. Croix River, my daughter and I imagined what it must have been like more than 150 years ago. Instead of the motor boat zipping up the channel, we would have seen massive logs of white pine floating downstream. The clatter and grind of the nearby sawmill would have drowned out the song of warblers. ]]>