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The Minnesota Star Tribune is adding four advice columnists as part of a broader effort to expand its roster of outside contributors and provide readers with specialized, Minnesota-focused perspectives.
Psychotherapist Tonya Lester, advice writer Adrienne Lee, veteran editor Julie Pfitzinger and longtime Minnesota journalist Richard Chin will write about relationships, family responsibilities, communication and social customs, the newspaper announced.
The additions extend a contributor strategy the Star Tribune began developing in 2024 with Strib Voices, an Opinion section initiative designed to introduce readers to writers from different regions, generations, professions and political backgrounds. The newspaper initially selected 11 contributing columnists and asked them to write regularly for about a year.
The inaugural group included political commentators, journalists, academics and specialists in subjects ranging from cannabis and government to Native American issues, religion, food and Minnesota life. Most were expected to write once or twice a month.
In October 2025, the Star Tribune refreshed the program by retaining four contributors and adding four others. The second group was built around defined areas of coverage, including Generation Z, menopause, disability issues, history, transportation, civil rights and northeastern Minnesota. The newspaper said the first Strib Voices group produced more than 100 columns in its opening year. One contributor, Iron Range writer Aaron Brown, later joined the newspaper’s full-time staff. The Star Tribune said the program was intended to broaden the demographic, geographic and ideological range of its commentary.
The four new advice writers represent a similar approach outside conventional political commentary: recruit contributors with recognizable expertise, give each a clearly defined subject and invite readers to participate by submitting questions.
Lester is a psychotherapist who specializes in relationships and communication. Her column will provide practical guidance for difficult personal situations and include language readers can use when approaching challenging conversations.
Lester’s work has appeared in The New York Times. She writes the Staying Sane Inside Insanity blog for Psychology Today and is the author of Push Back. She divides her time between St. Paul and Brooklyn, New York.
Lee will write Ask Adri, addressing relationships, identity, communication and community. Her perspective is informed by her experience as a multiracial Black woman, mother, divorcee and lifelong Minnesotan.
Lee approaches advice as a way to help readers develop perspective rather than simply declaring their choices right or wrong. She appears regularly on Jason DeRusha’s WCCO Radio program and also writes on Substack. She lives in the Twin Cities with her children and her poodle.
Pfitzinger will write about the pressures facing members of the Sandwich Generation — adults who are simultaneously helping aging parents and raising children or supporting young adults.
A former managing editor of PBS Next Avenue, Pfitzinger has covered issues affecting the nation’s growing population of adults 50 and older. She will research questions submitted by readers and consult knowledgeable sources to help families make decisions about caregiving and competing financial and emotional responsibilities.
Pfitzinger lives in the Twin Cities and is the mother of two millennials.
Chin will write Minnesota Manners, examining questions of etiquette and social behavior through a distinctly Minnesota lens. The column will address such familiar dilemmas as how to escape an extended Minnesota goodbye, when it is acceptable to take the last cookie and when someone may comfortably promote their own accomplishments.
Chin will consult local experts as he responds to readers’ questions. He began his Twin Cities journalism career at the St. Paul Pioneer Press and later joined the Star Tribune. He lives in St. Paul.
The advice columns differ from Strib Voices’ opinion commentary, but both initiatives reflect the Star Tribune’s increasing use of contributors with strong individual identities and defined areas of expertise. The model allows the newspaper to add coverage and perspectives without limiting its columnist roster to traditional staff journalists.
The Strib Voices project also provides one path into that lineup. Star Tribune editors have said many of the writers selected as contributing columnists first attracted attention through guest commentaries. The newspaper continues to accept those submissions as it searches for writers with distinctive voices, subject-matter knowledge and strong connections to Minnesota. The original contributing roster was explicitly designed to change over time as different subjects became more relevant to the state.
Readers will be invited to submit questions for Lester, Lee, Pfitzinger and Chin to answer in future columns.
The Minnesota Star Tribune traces its history back 159 years and employs more than 250 full-time journalists. The news organization has won 10 Pulitzer Prizes, including a 2026 award for breaking-news coverage.
