Why does Minneapolis keep planting trees under power lines? After a few years, the trees are pruned into "ridiculous V shapes" to keep them from hitting power lines, a Curious Minnesota reader points out. December 12, 2020 — 8:16pm Related coverage For years Rick Polenek has walked around his Minneapolis neighborhood and noticed big trees with odd, V-shaped gaps through the branches. They were planted under power lines by the city, a decision by planners who had to know the trees would eventually need pruning, he said. So Polenek turned to Curious Minnesota, the Star Tribune's community-driven reporting project fueled by questions from readers.