Good morning,

It’s Friday, March 6. Before I give you the 21-fart-gun sendoff for break, please check out some of the best stories we’ve had this week.

On investigations, a piece about increasing restricted research. For city, Minneapolis loses $203 million due to ICE operations. On campus, a proposed Charlie Kirk statue. For opinions, why the “American Other” is ourselves. For arts, a Mitski album review and for sports, womens hockey advances to conference semifinals.

Keep an eye out for our content over spring break!

Godspeed,

As the University of Minnesota courts additional defense dollars, secret research projects have ballooned in recent years, according to public data. 

University policy generally mandates the free exchange of ideas between researchers, the public and international collaborators. However, exceptions may be made for restricted research projects with limitations on who can work on them and how they can be disseminated to the public, when sponsors require them.

Federal agencies — especially those oriented around national security, like the U.S. Department of Defense — often require some degree of secrecy as a stipulation of research funding, including the exclusion of researchers affiliated with U.S. adversaries like China or Iran.