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Minnesota has its first confirmed case of avian flu in a dairy cow. A state veterinarian shared what farmers and consumers need to know. The entire state is officially out of a drought. We found out how we got here and what it could mean for the rest of the summer.
We met the organizers of Trans Joy Fest this weekend in Duluth. A nature center set to open near Two Harbors is meant to be a sanctuary for people of color. We talked to its founder about plans for the space and resistance the project has been facing from some local residents.
We checked in with our sports contributors for the latest news in Minnesota sports.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Minority owners of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Alex Rodrigeuz and Marc Lore, have teamed up with billionaire and former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg to take control of the Wolves.
In other news, the Lynx extinguished the LA Sparks on Wednesday. They’ll play in Phoenix on Friday night. The Twins lost to the Yankees on Wednesday, continuing a 0-5 loss streak. They’ll play again Thursday in New York.
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It’s Pride Month, and folks across the state are celebrating. This weekend is Trans Joy Fest in Duluth, put on by the non-profit Trans Northland.
Co-directors Ana Kruger and Sean Hayes joined MPR News guest host Nina Moini to share how they’re supporting the northern Minnesota trans community.
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A nature-based retreat center planned outside Two Harbors is aiming to provide a restorative getaway for people of color. But Maji ya Chai is getting pushback from local residents over concerns of noise, traffic and other impacts. 35 residents of Silver Creek Township have appealed the Lake County planning commission’s April decision to grant the sanctuary a conditional use permit.
The founder of Maji ya Chai, Rebeka Ndosi, joined MPR News guest host Nina Moini to share her goals for the new center.
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More than 40 cows on a central Minnesota dairy farm have fallen ill with avian flu. This morning, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health confirmed it's the first case of the disease in a dairy herd in the state.
Health officials have confirmed cases in 10 other states around the country, including neighboring South Dakota. Dr. Brian Hoefs, state veterinarian and executive director of the animal health board, joined MPR News guest host Nina Moini to break down the situation.
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Minnesotans have been dealing with consistent rainfall over the past few weeks. According to the drought monitor out Wednesday morning, the state of Minnesota is officially no longer in a drought, after two years of drought conditions. It seems like this wet, warm spring has really made up for our dry winter.
Senior climatologist with the state Kenny Blumenfeld joined MPR News guest host Nina Moini to explain this sudden shift.
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A Maple Grove man heads to Paris next month to compete in the sport of taekwondo at the Summer Olympics. Alasan Ann, 23, will represent Gambia, where his father was born and where he holds dual citizenship.
It’s an amazing journey, especially given that he was shot in his right thigh in the Twin Cities while out with friends just a few months before his qualifying tournament. Fortunately, the bullet did not hit bone or arteries, and he was able to heal in time to compete and win.
“It was one of the scariest moments of my life,” he told MPR News. “Everything you’ve worked for can just be taken away. It helped me not take anything for granted.”
The World Taekwondo Federation describes the sport as “one of the most systematic and scientific Korean traditional martial arts, that teaches more than physical fighting skills. It is a discipline that shows ways of enhancing our spirit and life through training our body and mind.”
Ann said he first fell in love with taekwondo when he was 6 years old. He said it offered him the self-discipline that he needed.
“At first I did not like at all, because you realize it was meant to focus you and no kid wants to be focused right away, but it helped me out a lot,” he said. “I made some lifelong friends, and by the time I was 10 I was in it fully.”
Ann explained there are two sides of taekwondo: the traditional, and the sport. When someone first starts learning, they do the traditional and learn basic kicks. He compared the sport side to boxing where you get points for hitting. Matches are two minutes long. It became a full-medal Olympic sport in 2000 at the Sydney Olympics.
He said he’s excited about the food in Paris and he’s looking forward to the opening ceremony.
“I’ve always watched it as a kid, and now I’m gonna be in it,” he said. “That’s going to be insane. I’m just so excited to be able to share that moment with the people who have supported me.”
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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The city of Minneapolis is looking at advancing a contract agreement with a 21 percent pay boost for police officers. We'll speak with a city council member who's advocated to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department in the past.
Stormy weather continues this afternoon. MPR's Chief Meteorologist will join to break down what we can expect, plus this week's forecast.
Credit card debt is on the rise nationwide, and Minnesota is no exception. We'll consult a financial counselor and a non-profit director.
Plus, inside a local effort to use humor to bridge political divides.
A Maple Grove man will represent Minnesota in the Summer Olympics taekwondo competition. He'll update us on his training with two months to go.
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Minneapolis police could get a raise of more than 21 percent if their next three-year contract is approved by the City Council. By next summer, they'd be among the highest paid officers in the state. The union, the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, ratified an agreement with the city late Monday night with a vote of 301 to 63. The earliest that city council members could vote on the contract would be next week. And in the past, their votes on police contracts have been split, with some members of the council pushing for reforms to hold officers accountable for misconduct. The Minneapolis Police Department is currently working under a contract that was adopted in early 2022 and expired later that year.
Joining MPR News Guest Host Nina Moini to talk about the tentative agreement is Councilmember Robin Wonsley, who represents Ward 2 on the east side of the city.
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This week much of the state has been rattled by numerous thunder storms. And it looks like we may not be done just yet. MPR Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner joined MPR News Guest Host Nina Moini to talk about where all of that rain has gotten us so far.
Get the latest forecast and detailed weather updates on the Updraft blog.
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Saka dawa is winding to an end. The sacred Tibetan Buddhist month of celebration and prayer surrounding the enlightenment of Buddha was led in part by 17-year-old Jalue Dorje from Columbia Heights, Minn.
That’s because when Dorje was a young child, the Dalai Lama confirmed that he is a reincarnation of a lama, or holy leader, from Tibet. That means he is destined to be a Buddhist monk and leader of peace. He's been studying to become a monk ever since.
When he graduates from Columbia Heights High School in 2025, he plans to move to the Himalayas to continue his studies. For now, though, outside of Dorje’s daily studies and prayers, he’s an avid sports fan and sees participating in and watching sports as a way to practice his faith.
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The family of Ricky Cobb II is speaking out about a decision to drop charges in his killing by a state trooper last year. We'll hear what they said to reporters this morning.
And we'll learn more about fallen Minneapolis Police Officer Jamal Mitchell from some of those who knew him best.
Are you listening to the show through earbuds? We'll learn how on-demand listening is affecting our hearing.
We'll meet a Minnesota high schooler who's been studying to become a monk since he was a baby, when the Dalai Lama identified him as a reincarnation of a holy leader.
Plus, we'll go behind the scenes of new Ojibwe and Lakota language dubs of Star Wars and The Avengers.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Indigenous communities in and around Minnesota are taking the future of their language into their own hands in exciting new ways. There are two upcoming Indigenous language dubs coming to screens this year — Marvel’s “The Avengers” and “Star Wars: A New Hope.”
Thomas Draskovic is a Lakota language and culture specialist in St. Paul. He voices Nick Fury in the Lakota language dub of “The Avengers,” which comes out on Disney+ June 14.
Anton Treuer is a professor of Ojibwe language at Bemidji State University. He voices several stormtroopers and a droid announcer in the Ojibwe language dub of “Star Wars: A New Hope,” which will be released later this year.
Both joined MPR News Guest Host Nina Moini to discuss their roles and the importance to Native communities.
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The family of Ricky Cobb II is asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Cobb’s killing by a Minnesota state trooper Ryan Londregan last July. The move comes after murder and manslaughter charges against Londregan were dropped this week by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty.
At a press conference in the Hennepin County Government Center on Tuesday morning, members of Cobb’s family called for groups like the NAACP of Minneapolis to peacefully protest the decision.
“We’re asking for call to action, from the NAACP, civic organizations, our divine nines, the churches, all of those ‘progressives’ that say that they reside in Minnesota — all of those good folk that have good common hearts and good spirits that reside here in Minneapolis,” said Cobb family attorney Bakari Sellers.
Cobb’s brother Rashad Cobb said the system failed his brother.
“The only ones who can run around playing wild, wild west games are the ones who are supposed to uphold the law?” Rashad Cobb said. “When we don’t uphold the law, we do time or we get charged for the crime. So why do we look at police who murder and don’t get charged?”
Moriarty has said she made the decision partly after hearing defense attorneys argue that Cobb was reaching for Londregan’s gun and that the trooper was in fear for his life. Sellers said he’s never seen a prosecutor drop charges based on such a commonplace defense argument.
“Every officer in the United States of America that’s been charged or accused of shooting someone unarmed has stated that they have been in fear for their life,” Sellers said. “So trooper Londregan’s excuse is not anything new.”
Sellers said Moriarty also told the family that her office didn’t have enough manpower to prosecute the case. The prosecution’s case was thrown into disarray when the lead attorney removed himself from it.
Charges dropped against state trooper Ryan Londregan in the shooting death of Ricky Cobb II
Governor hasn’t ruled out reassigning state trooper case to attorney general
As charges are dismissed Moriarty defends decision to charge state trooper and criticizes ‘political circus’
Moriarty received approval from the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners to bring in an outside law firm at a cost of up to $1 million. Outside attorneys from Steptoe LLP made their one appearance in court last month.
The special prosecutors released recommendations for the State Patrol from the case, including a prohibition on shooting into or from a moving vehicle and a greater emphasis on de-escalation.
The prosecution was controversial from the very start, with police groups organizing protests at court hearings and calling for Gov. Tim Walz to remove Moriarty from the case.
Moriarty has condemned the “political circus” around the case and accused Londregan’s supporters of harassing members of Cobb’s family outside hearings, which an official with the Minneapolis Police and Peace Officers Association denied.
Cobb was fatally shot during a traffic stop on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis in July of 2023. Londregan and a partner were seeking to force Cobb from his vehicle when he shifted the car into drive and it began to pull away. Londregan fired multiple times into the car. Cobb’s car came to a stop at the side of the freeway and he was declared dead at the scene.
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Public schools in Minnesota have a growing need to be equipped for a wide range of temperatures. School years in the state can be hot and muggy on either end and freezing in the middle.
And if students are uncomfortable, it’s difficult to focus on learning. A high school on the East Side of Saint Paul is wrapping up its first year with a new heating and cooling system that draws energy from the ground.
The district plans to install more of these geothermal systems at two other schools as part of its goal of cutting greenhouse gas pollution. The district is joining a larger wave of investments in geothermal energy.
Sahan Journal climate and environment reporter Andrew Hazzard wrote about the district’s switch and joined Minnesota Now to talk about it.
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The World Health Organization says more than 1 billion teens and young adults are at risk of permanent hearing loss due to “unsafe listening practices.”
Those unsafe habits are made up largely from the rise of daily earbud use.
Peggy Nelson is an audiology professor at the University of Minnesota. She joined Minnesota Now to explain day to day risks to our hearing outside of people who work with loud machinery or attend the occasional rock concert.
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Each month, Dr. Jon Hallberg joins MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about topics that are important to your health and take a deep dive into medical news.
Hallberg is a family medicine physician at Mill City Clinic and a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
In this installment of Vital Signs, he addressed how weight loss drugs are changing the conversation around obesity and the new reality of marijuana usage.
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On Monday, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced she will drop murder charges against the state trooper who shot Ricky Cobb II last summer.
A juror in the Feeding our Future trial was offered a $120,000 bag of cash if they voted to acquit. An MPR News reporter who’s been following the trial broke down the situation.
We heard about memorial plans for Officer Jamal Mitchell who was shot and killed in the line of duty in Minneapolis last Thursday.
Plus, education programs for students who qualify for migrant status are kicking off for the summer. We spoke with a program coordinator about their value.
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Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty has dropped charges against state trooper Ryan Londregan in the shooting death of motorist Ricky Cobb II.
Londregan was one of three troopers who tried to arrest Cobb during a traffic stop last summer in Minneapolis. Cobb tried to drive away and Londregan shot into the vehicle. Londregan pleaded not guilty to murder and assault charges last month.
Moriarty explained the choice to drop charges in a press conference Monday morning. Some of Moriarty’s most pointed statements were aimed at a prominent law enforcement association, which she accused of helping the defense drum up a “political circus,” making the situation more difficult for the family of Ricky Cobb II.
MPR News reporter Estelle Timar-Wilcox joined guest host Nina Moini to break down what Moriarty said in the press conference. Imran Ali, the General Counsel for the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, then responded to the county attorney’s remarks.
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Monday marked a major development in the Feeding Our Future trial. The FBI has seized the cell phones of all seven defendants after an unnamed woman visited the home of a juror late Sunday and gave $120,000 to her father-in-law and promised to deliver more money if the juror voted to acquit.
MPR News correspondent Matt Sepic has been following the trial for the past month. He joined MPR News guest host Nina Moini to debrief the impacts of the attempted bribery.
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