Episodes
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The number of international students in Minnesota whose visas have been revoked is growing. Some are taking legal action against the federal government. We talk to the lawyer representing two students who are suing to stay in the U.S. and study.
A Twin Cities organization has been trying to close the reading gap among Black students for decades. We hear why they won't be deterred by threats to DEI programs.
Plus, Minnesotans are gearing up for spring planting season, but that comes with warnings of invasive pests.
Will those spring flowers get some April showers? Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner has the forecast.
And Minnesota Women's Press is celebrating 40 years. We learn about the magazine’s legacy.
The Minnesota Music Minute was “by my side” by SoulFlower and “All Mine” by Sarah Morris was the Song of the Day.
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Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education sent letters to state leaders that said schools could lose federal funding if they failed to follow the Trump administration’s interpretation of civil rights laws. That includes DEI programs that “advantage one’s race over another.” If schools do not follow this order, the Trump administration says they could lose federal funding.
A Minneapolis organization is working to support Black students and fill gaps it sees in the education system, regardless of whether schools turn away from DEI initiatives. Terrica Pledger is the leader of the Sankofa Reading Program with the Network for the Development of Children of African Descent, also known as NdCad. She joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about her work.
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Episodes manquant?
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Forty years ago Wednesday, the first issue of a new, biweekly newspaper went out across the Twin Cities. The idea was to share stories “about women, by women and for women,” according to Minnesota Women’s Press’ current owner and editor, Mikki Morrisette. The publication is now a monthly magazine that is published online and stocked at more than 360 businesses around the state.
Morrissette joins MPR News host Nina Moini along with Mollie Hoben, one of the founders of Minnesota Women’s Press, to reflect on the magazine’s past and future.
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Wednesday may be the last chance to enjoy sunny spring weather for a few days, with rain on the way. MPR’s chief meteorologist Paul Huttner joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about how this spring is shaping up.
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The warmer temperatures have gardeners across the state getting their beds ready and planting seedlings. Part of that work is keeping plants protected from critters that might snack on them, like bunnies, deer or insects. And there’s a newer threat in town: an invasive species that has become common in the state. They are called jumping worms and they are causing quite a stir with soil and plants.
Erin Buccholz, an integrated pest management specialist at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, joins MPR News host Nina Moini to explain.
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At least three international students in Minnesota have filed lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security and ICE claiming the agencies unlawfully terminated their legal student statuses.
A growing number of students across Minnesota have received notice their student visas have been revoked since President Donald Trump vowed to crack down on immigration.
For the latest, MPR News host Nina Moini talks with David Wilson, an immigration attorney representing two students who have filed lawsuits against ICE, including a student whose lawsuit was filed Tuesday.
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Real ID is really happening. Beginning May 7, anyone who is planning to fly domestically will need this form of identification or a passport. The state's program director of driver services joined the show to share what you need to know before you head to the DMV.
April 15 is Tax Day, and the Trump administration recently announced a major change to how the Internal Revenue Service handles personal tax information of undocumented immigrants.
It's been two years since wells in Stillwater were shut off due to high levels of forever chemicals. Some of the money planned for use to address the problem is now in question. Stillwater’s mayor joined the show to explain.
Our Minnesota Music Minute was "Dusty" by Miss Georgia Peach and our Song of the Day was "Body and Heart" by Drew Medin.
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The City of Stillwater is planning to build a temporary facility to remove PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, from one of its wells. That well and one other were shut off two years ago after showing unsafe levels of the chemicals, according to state health guidelines.
Stillwater is not alone in facing problems with PFAS in drinking water, and while it has secured some funding to do so, the city was one of many around the country that recently missed out on money from Congress. In March’s bill to keep the government running, Congress did not fund special infrastructure projects, or earmarks.
Stillwater Mayor Ted Kozlowski joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about the city’s next steps.
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This Tax Day marks a shift in policy at the Internal Revenue Service, which is responsible for collecting federal taxes.
Earlier in April, the Trump administration announced an agreement which allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to ask the IRS for personal tax information of undocumented immigrants who are under criminal investigation. Several top IRS officials resigned following the announcement.
Caleb Smith joined the show to break down what this means for undocumented Minnesotans. Smith is a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School’s Tax Law Clinic.
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We are less than a month away from the Real ID deadline. Starting May 7, you will need a special driver's license to board a plane, even if you are flying domestically.
According to the Department of Vehicle Services, 60 percent of Minnesotans do not have a Real ID. And many are now rushing to the DMV. Several counties in the Twin Cities are reporting 3-4 hour waits.
Getting a Real ID is a bit of a more complicated process than getting a driver's license. Minnesota Now host Nina Moini talked to Jody-Kay Peterson, the program director of driver services at Minnesota's Department of Public Safety, to answer your questions.
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A game popular with high school students across Minnesota has caused injuries and even death. So why are kids still playing it? We'll talk to a police chief in central Minnesota about how his department and others are navigating these nerf wars.
Some immigrants on humanitarian parole are being told their temporary legal protections have ended. We'll talk to an immigration expert who says some of her clients in Minnesota received letters instructing them to leave the country immediately.
And we'll learn how Minnesota's largest generation has been impacted by multiple economic recessions.
Plus, it's draft night for the WNBA and the Wolves have made the playoffs. We'll get the latest sports news from our sports contributors.
Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Steady Ballin’” by Obi Original and our Song of the Day was “Sinner” by Mike Munson.
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It’s a big week for professional basketball. The WNBA draft is Monday night. And Minnesota Lynx won't have a first-round pick. They traded it for Chicago’s first-round pick next year.
Plus, the NBA playoffs begin this weekend and the Timberwolves have made the cut. Wolves coach Chris Finch says the team has adjusted to changes made after last year’s playoff run – when Karl Anthony Towns was traded.
Joining Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about this and other Minnesota sports news are sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson.
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Millennials are Minnesota’s largest generation by population and are the largest portion of the workforce. That’s according to the most recent state data from 2023 obtained by MPR News.
The generation ranges from age 29 at the youngest and in their early 40s at the oldest. They are an important part of our economy. But they’ve faced a lot of economic headwinds. The 2008 Great Recession and COVID-19. And now there is more economic uncertainty ahead.
Janna Johnson is an associate professor at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. She joined Minnesota Now to break down the importance of the millennial generation and what the possibility of another economic crisis could mean.
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In Minnesota and across the country, thousands of migrants who are in the U.S. with a status called humanitarian parole are being told their temporary legal protections have ended.
Many of these migrants came to the U.S. during Biden’s presidency as the administration attempted to expand legal pathways to enter the country.
The Trump administration is telling some migrants who entered the U.S. through one humanitarian parole program, called CBP One, to leave the country “immediately.”
Ana Pottratz Acosta is a professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law specializing in immigration law and has clients who received the notice to leave. She joined Minnesota Now to break down what this all means and how immigrants living in Minnesota may be impacted.
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A 16-year-old teen in Sauk Rapids was run over by a friend's car while participating in the popular game for high schoolers known as “Nerf Wars.” His injuries were non-life-threatening in this case. That was just two days after local law enforcement issued a warning about safety concerns for high school seniors playing the game.
Sauk Rapids Police Chief Perry Beise joins Minnesota Now to talk about the incident and how to keep students safe.
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Eight-year-old Elena Easley was recently told she shouldn’t be playing football. After she told her mom what happened, they made a TikTok video looking for support that went viral.
MPR News digital producer went to Cambridge to talk to her for Minnesota Now’s “Thank You, Stranger.”
Thank You, Stranger is our series about unexpected kindness in our lives. If you have a story to share about a stranger who made your life a little brighter, we want to hear it.
Contact us at [email protected] or (612) 361-1252.
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A judge has convicted the owner of a Lakeville painting company with a felony for failing to pay his employees for work they did on an apartment building in Minneapolis. Hennepin County says this is the first felony conviction under Minnesota’s 2019 wage theft law – which is one of the toughest in the country.
Joining Minnesota Now to talk about the conviction, plus the enforcement of wage laws more broadly, is Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty.
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Minnesota has made it’s first wage theft criminal conviction. It was after a man underpaid his employees at least 37,000 dollars for their work. We talked to Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty about the office’s effort to protect workers.
Two mothers whose sons were killed by police in Brooklyn Center have been fighting for police reforms. But four years later, the city is reversing course on some of their initial promises.
A Minnesota couple joined the show to talk about their work to make the vanilla bean trade more sustainable.
In our “Thank You, Stranger” series, a group of professional women athletes rally around an 8-year-old girl.
A hub for the Black community in Minneapolis, the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center, is celebrating 100 years.
Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Sculpture Garden” by Semisonic.
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A long-standing community hub of Minneapolis’ Black community is celebrating 100 years. The Phyllis Wheatley Community Center, located in north Minneapolis, marked 100 years in October. But on Friday the center is hosting their centennial gala.
Valerie Stevenson is the interim executive director and has worked with the center for more than 20 years. She joined Minnesota Now to talk about the early years of the center and what 100 years means today.
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While vanilla bean is one of the most popular flavors in the U.S., the crop is not suited to grow anywhere in North America. That means a lot of worldwide shipping from the place that produces the majority of vanilla in the world: Madagascar.
A Lakeland-based company is working to make the vanilla bean trade more sustainable by using wind-cargo ships for transportation.
Husband and wife duo Andy and Sara Kubiak founded the Vanilla Bean Project in 2018 in effort to bring more sustainability to the overseas vanilla bean trade. They joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about Vanilla Bean Project.
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