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Minneapolis, MN

Should I massage my older dog? This Minneapolis masseuse says yes. And she can teach you how to do it.

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Should I massage my older dog? This Minneapolis masseuse says yes. And she can teach you how to do it.


After a taxing day of snoozing on the couch, sniffing hydrants and lunging at squirrels, my best friend Jenny needed a massage.

The fact that Jenny is a dog wasn’t an obstacle thanks to Heidi Hesse, a Minneapolis resident and owner of Sound Hound Canine Massage.

If anyone could teach me how to rub Jenny the right way, it would be Hesse.

Canine massage isn’t just the latest pet perk. It can help improve flexibility and movement or alleviate joint or muscle pain for a dog suffering from ailments like arthritis. It can boost the immune system and help with healing and reduce scar tissue after surgery, Hesse said. It can even reduce stress or separation anxiety.

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“Some dogs just don’t know how to relax,” she said.

Since she started her business in 2016, most of her clients — from dachshunds to Great Pyrenees — have been older dogs, although she once got booked to give a dog a massage as a treat for its fourth birthday.

Unlike many of Hesse’s clients, Jenny doesn’t have a health or behavioral issues that I was trying to fix. I was just interested in keeping my 9-year-old, 40-pound, mixed-breed rescue dog mobile as she ages. I decided to learn some massage techniques that I could practice with Jenny while we’re loafing on the couch watching Netflix.

“There’s a lot more involved than just petting,” said Hesse, a graduate of the Chicago School of Canine Massage and certified with the National Board of Certification for Animal Acupressure and Massage. “It’s a great way to bond with your dog.”

You may not have heard of animal massage, but it’s been around for decades. As with humans, it’s used to help with injuries and promote recovery and performance among athletes — racehorses and dog agility competitors.

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The “father of animal massage,” according to Hesse, was sports masseuse Jack Meagher, who massaged pro football players and equestrian competition horses back in the 1970s. He wrote books about preventing injuries to two- and four-footed runners.

Now Hesse, who had a long career as a sound engineer for film and television, offers one-on-one hourlong massages for dogs in their homes ($70 plus tax and possible travel charges). She also has been teaching basic dog massage through Minneapolis Community Education and St. Paul Parks and Recreation.

What it’s like

When she came to my house, Hesse asked about Jenny’s health and history. At 9, my dog isn’t young, but she’s still pretty spry.

Hesse brought a pad that dogs can lie on for a massage, but it was easier to have Jenny stay where she spends most of the day: on the couch.

Hesse started playing “Through a Dog’s Ear” on her phone. It’s a collection of slow, lower-octave piano pieces that are supposed to be particularly calming for canines.

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Then, she kneaded Jenny’s pectoral muscles and stroking what she called the “sea of tranquillity” acupoint on her sternum.

“It’s a nice calming point,” Hesse said.

Hesse also stroked the calming “yin tang” acupoint between Jenny’s eyes before moving on to long, slow, circular strokes, cross fiber friction on the sides of the neck, compression on the triceps and biceps, circular friction on the sides of the torso and mild shoulder blade rocking to stretch the trapezius muscles.

“It’s a little tight in the neck, but not significantly so,” Hesse said as she worked.

She used her fingers to vibrate and stimulate Jenny’s hamstrings and pressed on an acupressure point on her ankle.

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“This is great for hind end weakness,” Hesse said.

Then she showed me how to do “ear glides,” slow, soothing strokes along the ears that help calm and relax dogs.

We finished up with petrissage — rolling and kneading the skin — which Hesse said is helpful for the fascia connective tissue.

For the most part, Jenny seemed to like her massage. Sometimes she wiggled with pleasure. Sometimes her eyelids drooped like she was about to fall asleep. Other times, she interrupted the massage to sneeze, yawn, lick her groin or give Hesse a kiss. Once she jumped off the couch to give some affection to the photographer.

Afterward, Hesse gave me a report about what she observed in Jenny with information like “Latissimus dorsi (large fan muscle on side of torso) mildly tight with stringy trigger point in the right latissimus dorsi.”

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Hesse said Jenny seemed more comfortable than most dogs getting their first massage. In general, I think she just enjoyed the attention.

Hesse said if I wanted to try some massage myself, I should make sure to keep my movements slow and do a little bit at a time, five to 10 minutes every other day to start.

“The more she gets used to the massage, the more she will allow,” Hesse said.

I wouldn’t say Jenny was a changed dog after her first massage. (After Hesse was done, Jenny went right back to napping.) But she did seem to enjoy the special dog treat Hesse gave her for being such a good girl.

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Minneapolis, MN

Country star hit in the face onstage with X-rated item

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Country star hit in the face onstage with X-rated item


Celebrities often deal with unruly fans at their concerts, so it’s not the first time Wallen has had something thrown at him. Last year, an irritated fan chucked a boot at the country singer as they waited for him to sign an autograph. Instead of signing it, he turned to throw it away from where it came from.

I Had Some Help recently enjoyed five undisrupted weeks at the top of the charts, allowing the Cowgirls singer to take the crown for the most weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in the 2020s from Taylor Swift.

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Wallen is currently in the North American leg of his One Night at a Time World Tour, performing at stadiums around the globe. He’ll be performing at shows across the US until August 9, before jetting off to Europe for a slew of more shows from August 28.

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Many of Wallen’s North American concerts had to be cancelled and rescheduled last year after the singer needed to treat vocal fold trauma, which the National Institute of Health explains is “caused by excessive or improper use of the voice”.

He was able to return to the stage a month later after being given the all-clear by his doctors.

On April 7, Wallen was arrested on three felony counts after he allegedly threw a chair off the bar roof of a six-storey building in Nashville.

A group of police officers were on the ground outside the building when the chair landed about 1 metre away from them. They entered the building and went up to Nashville’s Chiefs Bar, and staff identified Wallen as responsible for throwing the chair.

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Later that month, the country singer addressed concerned fans by sharing a statement accepting fault for the incident on X.

Morgan Wallen’s One Night at a Time tour is taking him across North America and Europe over the next few months for a slew of stadium shows. Photo / AP

“I didn’t feel right publicly checking in until I made amends with some folks. I’ve touched base with Nashville law enforcement, my family, and the good people at Chief’s. I’m not proud of my behavior, and I accept responsibility,” Wallen wrote.

“I have the utmost respect for the officers working every day to keep us all safe. Regarding my tour, there will be no change.”

Despite his apology, Wallen’s arrest has landed him in hot water with the Nashville Metro Council. In a 30-3 vote last month, Nashville council members rejected an application to install a billboard sign atop Wallen’s under-construction This Bar & Tennessee Kitchen in central Nashville, reported People.

Explaining her decision, Councilwoman at Large Delishia Porterfield pointed to the singer’s controversial past.

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“We want to make sure that Nashville was a supportive place for everyone, so I don’t want to see a billboard with the name of a person who’s throwing chairs off balconies and who is saying racial slurs, using the n-word, so I’m voting no,” Porterfield said.

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Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis’ contested housing development plan plows forward

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Minneapolis’ contested housing development plan plows forward


Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and other government officials celebrated moving forward with the city’s housing development plan, the 2040 Comprehensive Plan, on Tuesday.

The plan had been in a years-long court battle. Opposing organizations alleged that the city should have conducted an environmental review before approving the plan. 

The 2040 plan aims to establish more densely built and affordable housing for Minneapolis’ future development. 

“This is a day that has been six years in the making, in that when Minneapolis recognized that we had an affordable housing shortage, we recognize that we like so many other cities throughout the country needed to increase our supply of housing. The 2040 plan helped us get there,” Frey said.

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Legislation in the 2024 session clarified the bill, allowing for stalled housing projects to begin again. 

“Our legislative intent was very clear that this was a bill to end this lawsuit and to defend the Minneapolis 2040 plan,” said Rep. Sydney Jordan, DFL-Minneapolis. “We believe in this plan. We took huge steps this year to defend it and we will continue to do so as necessary.” 

Jack Perry, the attorney for opposing groups like Smart Growth Minneapolis and Minnesota Citizens for the Protection of Migratory Birds, said their fight is far from over. They filed an appeal with the Supreme Court. 

“Almost every project is financed and it is pretty hard to finance something when the authority is based upon a 2040 plan that is tied up in litigation,” Perry said. “The mayor says they’re going forward. That’s all fine but the actual developers will have to worry about this litigation. He may not because it’s not his pocketbook that’s being opened up to build things based upon a foundation of a plan that is highly suspect.”

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The press conference celebrating the 2040 plan was held at Wakpada Apartments, a new complex that’s a product of the 2040 plan.

One of the apartment’s developers, Sean Sweeney, said the 2040 plan has allowed him to be creative and “do things that benefit the community.”

“I’ve worked in several markets around the country, and I can say without a doubt that being a developer in Minneapolis, especially now with the 2040 plan, is an absolute dream,” Sweeney said. 

The plan began in 2018. Since then, Minneapolis has invested over $360 million into affordable rental housing and homeownership programs.

“Minneapolis is being seen around the country as a leader in the affordable housing space, we’re seen as a leader in this push to desegregate cities. And we’re seen as a municipality to copy and to replicate in the work that we’re having right now,” Frey said.

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Minneapolis, MN

32-year-old charged with hiding body of Minneapolis woman

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32-year-old charged with hiding body of Minneapolis woman


A 32-year-old Iowa woman was charged on Tuesday with concealing the body of Liara Tsai, 35, of Minneapolis.

Court records show that Margot Lewis made her first appearance in Olmsted County Court Tuesday morning.

According to a criminal complaint, authorities were called to a one-vehicle crash at the intersection of I-90 and Highway 42 in Olmsted County on Saturday.

Based on tire tracks, authorities believe the driver, identified as Lewis, was speeding eastbound on I-90 when she went into the median.

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Bystanders told responding deputies there appeared to be a deceased or injured person in the car.

Inside, deputies found a body wrapped in a bed sheet, a blanket, a futon-style mattress and a tarp, court documents state. The person, later identified as Tsai, was obviously deceased and authorities said she didn’t seem to have been killed in the crash. She was cold to the touch and there was dried blood on the blanket.

Investigators later found a large wound on the right side of Tsai’s neck.

Lewis was medically cleared at the hospital and then booked into Olmsted County Jail. She did not respond audibly to law enforcement.

Lewis’ mugshot is not yet available on the Olmsted County Jail roster. This article will be updated when it becomes available.

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The Medical Examiner confirmed on Sunday that Tsai was killed before the car crash.

Monday evening, Minneapolis police and members of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension executed a search warrant of Tsai’s home on 16th Street East and found a scene “indicating violence.”

Investigators have not announced any arrests for Tsai’s death.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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