Eric Roper
Columnist
News & PoliticsSince joining the Minnesota Star Tribune in 2009, he has covered the Twin Cities metro area, the city of Minneapolis, the state Legislature and Congress. A native of New York City, Roper lives in south Minneapolis. He is interested in the hidden systems that make urban life possible, as well as Minneapolis history. Roper is a graduate of the George Washington University and was named "Young Journalist of the Year" by the Society of Professional Journalists' Minnesota chapter in 2013. In his spare time, he is an amateur woodworker who enjoys learning new furniture-making skills.
Latest from Eric Roper
Roper: Plentiful ideas to fix Nicollet Mall show it has a bright future
Readers had no shortage of suggestions for Minneapolis’ signature street, including greenery, museums and buskers.
June 5, 2025
Let’s talk about the future of Nicollet Mall. Join our live blog now with columnist Eric Roper
Roper is chatting online with readers today from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
June 3, 2025
Roper: Downtown St. Paul still awaits the return of state workers
There were some signs of activity on Monday, but more people are expected later this week.
June 3, 2025
Roper: To save Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis, we need more doors
Minneapolis should get serious about small storefronts as it looks to restore the mall’s image as “Minnesota’s Main Street.”
May 29, 2025
Roper: Let’s celebrate improvements to the local bus
A lot has changed in the last decade, with more promising upgrades to come.
May 23, 2025
Roper: We have bigger regional priorities than a Mall of America water park
Bloomington’s $160 million subsidy is derived from a regional tax sharing pool. So we should all be paying attention.
May 20, 2025
'This is an uprising': An oral history of the 6 days after George Floyd's murder
Protesters, police, Gov. Tim Walz and neighbors chronicle the upheaval that changed Minneapolis and spread across the world.
May 19, 2025
Roper: I will be obsessively curious and occasionally crusading about Twin Cities issues
Let’s take a page out of local newspaper history to improve civic dialogue.
May 17, 2025
Half a century late, a tribute to two trailblazing Minneapolis residents
Our new podcast “Ghost of a Chance” is centered on the lives of a couple who made their home a hub for the Black community in 1920s Minneapolis
February 13, 2025
New podcast follows reporter's search for answers about his Minneapolis home's former owners
Eric Roper traces the lives of a trailblazing Black couple who owned his Minneapolis house in 1917, revealing a history of the city he hadn’t heard before.
February 10, 2025
