Chili isn't looking so bad after the Vikings 3-13 2011.

​In December 2006, fresh off an offensively bereft 9-7 loss to the hated Green Bay Packers, Brad Childress took the podium at Winter Park, cleared his throat and uttered the following preposterous statement:

"I know it's a kick-ass offense when it's properly executed."

Over a year after being unceremoniously shown the door by the Vikings, Brad Childress is getting a chance to resurrect the ass-kicking days of yore. Today, he was hired as the Cleveland Browns new offensive coordinator.

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John Fruetel will succeed former fire chief Alex Jackson, who retired earlier this year amid criticism.

​John Fruetel, a longtime Minneapolis firefighter, was officially appointed to chief of the department today after a unanimous vote from the City Council.

The appointment of Fruetel (that's pronounced FREE-tel, we're told) comes just weeks after embattled former chief Alex Jackson announced he would retire. In his last few months, Jackson was criticized by the Council for how firefighter overtime pay had contributed to the department's budget problems.

In a statement released today, Mayor R.T. Rybak sounds optimistic that Fruetel will bring welcome change to the department.

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Mark Dayton has reason to smile -- his GOP adversaries are about as popular as a kick in the pants.

​Minnesotans apparently haven't held last summer's government shutdown against the governor. Instead, they're blaming Republicans.

14 months after defeating Republican Tom Emmer by less than one percent of the vote, Mark Dayton is now "one of the most popular Governors in the country."

A poll released this afternoon by Public Policy Polling shows that 53 percent of Minnesotans approve of the job the former senator is doing, compared to 34 percent who disapprove. According to PPP, there are only seven governors with higher approval ratings.

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An atheist baby currently presides over Minneapolis' warehouse district.

​Minnesota Atheists suggest that babies are born atheists in new billboards popping up around the Twin Cities.

"We are all born without belief in gods. Learn how to be a born-again atheist," says one of the billboards, which are visible at 725 Washington Ave. N. in Minneapolis and University & Snelling in St. Paul.

Infants that reject religious dogma? Perhaps Minnesota Atheists are giving babies too much credit, but in any event the cute-infant-clad billboards certainly are eye-catching.

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Amy Ann Romero is not a good mother

​Amy Ann Romero abandoned her newborn baby in the woods, where the baby died, according to a criminal indictment just unsealed in Sibley County.

Romero allegedly gave birth to Ava Juanita Aune on the morning of April 28, 2001, then abandoned Ava in the woods later that afternoon. The baby died.

Romero, 29, had been living in Milan, Missouri, when she was arrested by police last Friday. She was extradited to Minnesota earlier this week

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In a move that some suggest is undemocratic and hasty, the legislature may legalize wolf hunting.

​Yesterday, gray wolves were removed from the federal protection list, putting the animals under the control of the Minnesota DNR. And before the day was through, legislators were already developing plans to introduce a wolf hunting season later this year.

Ed Boggess, director of fish and wildlife for the DNR, told legislators that "there's been a pent-up enthusiasm, a pent-up demand to hunt wolves." But some wolf experts aren't so sure "pent-up demand" is a good reason to expose the relatively scarce animals to the tender mercies of hunters.

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The U of M rejects more than half its applicants.

​The Business Journals' study of which Minnesota colleges are most selective contains some findings that won't surprise you, and some that might.

On the "not surprising" side of the ledger is the fact that Northfield's Carleton College is the most selective school in the state, admitting 31 percent of applicants with an average entrance score of 1,486.

"Possibly surprising" is the fact that the University of Minnesota is more selective than almost all of the state's private colleges, including Hamline, St. Thomas, Augsburg, and Gustavus.

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Any good history has to start at the beginning

​It's about time. This month's stem-to-stern editorial redesign is the first since 2001.

As with most large newspapers, complete redesigns are infrequent. In this publication, it's occurred roughly every eight-to-ten years. The decision to update our look was made over a year ago, and it's the result of collaborations among several Village Voice weeklies.

Curiously, although City Pages' publishing history includes several significant changes, its visual history is separate from that. Major changes to editorial design have occurred independently of other factors--even name changes and change of ownership.

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If the latest polling is accurate, Minnesotans shouldn't worry about this guy come November.

​All signs point toward a blue November in Minnesota, at least as far as the presidential race is concerned.

A new Public Policy Polling poll indicates that Barack Obama is on track to cruise to a comfortable win here no matter which Republican contender ultimately emerges as the GOP candidate.

In a summary of the poll, PPP's Dustin Ingalls writes: "It's beyond me why anyone lists Minnesota in even the lean D column." In other words, barring some sort of unforeseen economic meltdown, catastrophe, and/or scandal, Obama can count on Minnesota's support this year.

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Franken supports marriage equality, though he might not have a firm grasp on how widely his stance is shared.

​Not that there was much doubt about his stance to begin with, but Senator Franken has made it clear that he supports marriage equality.

In a video released yesterday by the Human Rights Campaign, Franken points out that he's been married to his wife, Franni, for 36 years -- "many of them happy." He says he believes "everyone should be able to marry the person they love, and I think our government should help people make those loving, life-long commitments."

He later asks viewers to "join me and the majority of Americans who support marriage equality." There's only one problem with that -- recent polling indicates a plurality of folks in Franken's left-leaning home state actually support restricting marriage to one man and one woman.

Video after the jump.
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