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She hated authority until she became boss. Here's how she treats her employees.

She used to work in the kitchen. Now she's the boss.

Kim Bartmann describes herself in a few different ways.

She's a self-professed tree hugger. She was a cook who never wanted to work in a restaurant again, but now she owns eight of them. She says she comes from a "punk-rock culture" and was "very anti-authoritarian" until she had to step and be the boss.


How does a free-spirited, eco-friendly food enthusiast become a booming restaurateur in Minneapolis?

In college, Kim supported herself by working as a cook. She saw lots of her coworkers being treated like crap and vowed never to work in a situation like that again. When she went into business, her main priority was creating a culture where both employees and customers were treated well.

She built her businesses on a set of rock-solid values and always made sure to put the important stuff first.

For her newest venture — Tiny Diner — those values include paying her employees a living wage and giving the kitchen workers free meals. Compared to the national average, where waiters earn around $21,600 per year, that means Kim's commitment to her values can make a significant improvement in her employees' lives.

At the Tiny Diner, Kim and her team have created an atmosphere that encourages folks not only to eat, but also to sit and chat for a while.

"I think that small business relies on diversity at the end," Kim says, explaining that in a diverse and connected city like Minneapolis, "what we see today is that restaurants are replacing some of the more traditional community gathering spots, and that's really fun."

And she gets props for doing all of this while also being kind to the environment.

Her team installed solar panels on the building to maximize their natural resources, and the diner also grows 70% of its food in a garden out back.


What Kim is doing is something that a lot of businesses could replicate pretty easily.

Her strategy is fairly simple. She wins by keeping her employees happy and creating an eco-friendly environment that appeals to a wide variety of customers.

Plus, she's doing it in a neighborhood that no one wanted to touch.

When she first started working in South Minneapolis in 1983, she says "it was perceived as not a good neighborhood, which is a complete misperception," adding that Tiny Diner has been full since it opened.

One customer who has lived in the neighborhood her whole life said she appreciates Tiny Diner because she's "not about supporting big chains, so places like this, I love. And I love the garden outside, too. I think that's awesome."

That's right — mom and pops shops for the win. Keep doing you, Kim!

You can check out the Tiny Diner in action by watching the video below:

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Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

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via Google and Freepik

Google's new personal information removal submission page.

In the internet era, the idea of personal privacy is all but a myth. With a few keystrokes just about anyone can get your home address, phone number, email, age and the names of your family members. The fact that this information is readily available puts us all in the dangerous position of being the victim of fraud, stalking and violence.

What makes the situation even worse is that our information was put online without any of our consent.

The good news is that Google just made a big change that gives us all a little more control over our personal information. On April 27, the company announced it will allow anyone to request removals of their personal information from its Search feature.

“Open access to information is a key goal of Search, but so is empowering people with the tools they need to protect themselves and keep their sensitive, personally identifiable information private. That’s why we’re updating our policies to help people take more control of their online presence in Search,” Michelle Chang, Google’s Global Policy Lead for Search, announced on the company’s blog.

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via Pexels

A woman sitting cross-legged on a yoga mat

Everyone wants to know how long they will live and there are many indicators that can show whether someone is thriving or on the decline. But people have yet to develop a magic formula to determine exactly how long someone should expect to live.

However, a doctor recently featured on the "Today" show says a straightforward test can reveal the likelihood that someone aged 51 to 80 will die in the near future.

NBC News medical contributor Dr. Natalie Azar was on the "Today" show on March 8 and demonstrated how to perform the simple “sit to stand test” (aka sit-rising test or SRT) that can help determine the longevity of someone between 51 to 80.

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An 8-year-old snuck his handwritten book onto a library shelf. Now it has a 56-person waiting list.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel— written by "Dillon His Self"—captured the hearts of his local librarians and their patrons.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel captured the hearts of his local librarians.

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.

But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.

Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" (written by "Dillon His Self") in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads "Made in Idho" [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children's section.

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Becca Moore and Raul Torres having margaritas.

Becca Moore is a popular TikToker with over 800,000 followers who's known for her funny, laid-back takes on dating. Like any influencer-type she was at the Coachella music and arts festival in Indio, California recently. While she was at Coachella, she was robbed of her phone, rental car keys and wallet.

“I went to Coachella this weekend and I thought this guy was kinda hitting on me but then he just robbed me,” Becca says at the beginning of her three-minute TikTok video with over 3 million views. After the festival, she was left with no ride, money, or means to get in contact with friends and family. She was stranded in the desert.

Becca’s friend’s hotel called her an Uber so she could get to a local store to buy a new phone. The driver she was incredibly lucky to be connected with was a lot more than a guy with a car in a time of need, he was a guardian angel named Raul Torres from Fresno, California, six hours north of Indio.

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44 years ago he became her protector after a terrible act. Today, they've been reunited in love.

Betsy and Irv are finally getting the happy ending they deserve. Together.

It’s pretty safe to say that everyone loves a good love story.

There’s a whole genre of music and movies dedicated to the idea of someone being swept off of their feet after circumstances tried to keep them from their true love. Romance novels could single handedly keep public libraries and bookstores afloat. Everyone loves "love" and the story of Betsy and Irv just takes the cake. Betsy Sailor attended Penn State University as a business major, which was almost unheard of in 1978 and Irv Pankey attended the university while playing football. The pair’s paths never crossed, until an unfortunate incident bonded the two forever.

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