Minnesota Now

Federal prosecutors announced new fraud charges Thursday related to state programs. MPR News reporter Matt Sepic broke down what prosecutors have alleged so far in other fraud cases ahead of the announcement.Minnesota's construction industry has continued to fare better than the overall economy. But a new survey shows the outlook within the industry is less optimistic than previous years. MPR News reporter Melissa Olson dove into another study showing the economic value of tribal gaming for the state of Minnesota.Plus, a holiday edition of professional help explored how to give money to causes you care about instead of spending it this season.

A choral music nonprofit focused on reflecting the racial and cultural diversity of the the Twin Cities is holding its annual holiday concert this weekend. The show will focus on music from Latin America in a performance called “Navidad Nuestra.”Border CrosSing artistic director Ahmed Anzaldúa, executive director Matthew Valverde joined YourClassical host Tom Crann in studio for a conversation and preview of the program.

A new study from the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association looks at the impact of tribal gaming for the first time in seven years. According to the study, in 2023 tribal casinos employed more than 10,000 people statewide, about 70 percent of whom worked full time jobs. The report also found tribal casinos in Minnesota purchased more than $600 million in goods and services for ongoing operations, and more than half of that amount was purchased from Minnesota vendors. In total, tribal casinos generate $1.7 billion in economic activity for the state.MPR News Native News reporter Melissa Olson broke down the details of the report with Minnesota Now host Nina Moini.

Some 140,000 Minnesotans work in construction. And job growth in the construction industry has continued to outpace the overall economy in recent years, according to the state Department of Employment and Economic Development. A survey of more than 170 construction businesses shows a slightly less optimistic outlook from within the industry for 2026 than previous years. The survey was carried out by the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota, a trade group for contractors across the state. Tim Worke heads the organization and joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk more about the results.

Chances are, you're getting a lot of ads right now inviting you to celebrate the holidays by spending money. The U.S. economy is lopsided toward this time of year. Retailers rely on holiday shopping. And nonprofits, too, depend on end-of-year donations. For the latest in our series Professional Help we asked an expert how to prioritize giving back during the holidays.Our ask: Help me give back during the holidaysOur professional: Nathan Dungan, president and CEO of Share Save SpendHandsOn Twin Cities has this guide for volunteering during the holidays.

Increased Immigrations and Customs Enforcement actions in Minnesota this month have drawn, likely, thousands of community protesters and observers. And confrontations between ICE agents and community members have been chaotic. Today, six Minnesota residents along with the ACLU of Minnesota filed a lawsuit against ICE, alleging that agents have interfered with their rights to free speech and peaceful assembly and have subjected them to harassment, intimidation and unlawful detentions. For more information on the legal case, MPR News host Nina Moini talked with Alicia Granse, an ACLU of Minnesota staff attorney who is leading the lawsuit.

Six Minnesota residents and the ACLU of Minnesota are suing Immigration and Customs Enforcement alleging agents violated rights to free speech and peaceful assembly. The lawsuit comes after recent immigration enforcement actions resulted in chaotic confrontations between community members and federal agents. Minnesota's restaurant industry is on edge as ICE continues to detain and arrest scores of people in the Twin Cities. A prominent chef and restaurant owner shared how he is dealing with the situation.And lawyers for a couple charged with driving off with a Homeland Security agent in their vehicle are disputing prosecutors' version of events. Plus, we met a local musician creating original Hanukkah music.

Prints from a Minnesota studio are among those on display as a part of novel exhibit at the Print Center New York. The project, called “Data Consciousness: Reframing Blackness in Contemporary Print,” is inspired by the ground-breaking data visualization work of W.E.B. Du Bois presented at the 1900 Paris Exposition, which sought to present various aspects of Black life after Reconstruction. This contemporary exhibit draws on updated data from official records, archives and oral testimonies to provide a contemporary look into the same themes explored by Du Bois.MPR News host Nina Moini talked with one of the artists behind the show, William Villalongo, along with Alex Blaisdell, gallery director at Highpoint Center for Printmaking in Minneapolis.

This week, the Jewish community is celebrating Hanukkah. During the holiday season, people often turn to music to get into the holiday spirit. But there is not nearly as much festive Hanukkah music as there is Christmas music. A local musician is trying to change that. Adam Bohanan is putting on a show called “A Very Funky Hanukkah Show,” Thursday night at The Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis where he will share some new original Hanukkah tunes. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about it.

Working in the back-of-house at many restaurants in Minnesota, you'll find a Hispanic or Latino employee. Government labor data shows that the most common occupations for Hispanic or Latino Minnesotans are chefs and cooks. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement have detained hundreds of people in the Twin Cities this month, including many from Latin American countries. ICE agents are now in their third week of an operation in the metro area and their increased activity has put the restaurant industry on edge. For perspective, MPR News host Nina Moini talked with Gustavo Romero, co-owner and chef of the restaurant Oro by Nixta in Minneapolis.

Gov. Tim Walz signed two executive orders to address gun violence across the state Tuesday. We heard reaction from the state lawmaker who represents the area of south Minneapolis where the Annunciation school shooting took place.The governor's executive orders come days after a shooting at a high school in southern Minnesota last Friday left one student dead and the Stewartville community reeling. It's been a turbulent year for farmers. We heard from one of the state's three agricultural mental health specialists on the challenges they're facing.A Minnesota nonprofit is among a list of organizations that has won grant money from the foundation arm of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.Songs recorded decades ago by Minnesota folklorist Ellen Stekert are being released for the first time — with the restoration help of artificial intelligence.Our Minnesota Music Minute was "Streetlights" by Minnesota artist Crescent Moon + Big Trouble. Our Song of the Day was “Gold Tide” by middleson.

Minnesota folklorist and musician Ellen Stekert has released a new album for the first time in decades. But the songs on “Go Ahead Around Songs, Vol. 1” are not new recordings.They were cut years ago in the 1950s and 1960s and were never formally released. With the help of artificial intelligence, those archival recordings have now been restored and assembled into a collection.In addition to her music, Stekert is a pioneering scholar in folklore studies. She taught for many years at the University of Minnesota and became Minnesota's first state folklorist in 1976. Stekert joined MPR News host Nina Moini along with Ross Wylde, who helped produce the album.

This year has been turbulent for farmers: They've faced the ups and downs of trade wars, inflation and the persistent threat of climate change. And it shows. Calls to mental health hotlines for agricultural workers like the Iowa Concern hotline ticked up this fall compared to numbers from last fall. And a representative from the national Farm Aid hotline reported that more than 50 percent of their callers said they were “financially stressed.”Tracie Rutherford Self is one of three agricultural mental health specialists working for the state of Minnesota. She spoke to MPR News host Nina Moini about what that increased need looks like for farmers, and how she helps.

The creator of ChatGPT has promised to donate more than $40 million to nonprofits across the country. It is the first round of philanthropy from the rebranded nonprofit arm of OpenAI. A portion of the new funding is coming to Minnesota. Two Twin Cities-focused organizations, COPAL and Merrick Community Services, are among more than 200 recipients nationwide. Kate Kelly is the development director of Merrick Community Services, which provides social services in St. Paul's East Side neighborhood. She joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about what the organization will do with the money, including their exploration of AI as a tool for their work.

Governor Tim Walz signed two executive orders Tuesday aimed at gun violence prevention. The first expands outreach and education on extreme risk protection orders, which is a law that allows for guns to be taken away from people deemed to be a risk to themselves or others. It also will promote safe firearm storage. And lastly will look to require insurance companies to provide data on the cost of gun violence. The second executive order establishes a statewide safety council. Rep. Emma Greenman, DFL-Minneapolis, who represents the area of south Minneapolis where Annunciation is located, joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about it.

Jewish Minnesotans are condemning a mass shooting in Australia marking the first day of Hanukkah that left 15 people dead. It follows another shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island on Saturday where two students were killed. We'll hear from one local rabbi affected by both tragedies. An MPR News investigation shows Planned Parenthood in Minnesota is facing strife amid staff complaints and financial pressures. We'll hear more about the situation. Plus, we'll meet a Duluth foster parent who's just won an award for her work building connections between foster and birth families. And a food shelf operator talks about how he's responding to an ongoing uptick in demand. Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Happy Hollow” by Pert Near Sandstone and our Song of the Day was “8 Days (of Hanukkah)” by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings.

The Minnesota Wild had a big weekend. It started with a major trade. A star player for Vancouver came to St. Paul. And three former Wild players are now Canuck. The move seems to be paying off so far. Joining Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about this and what was overall a pretty good weekend for Minnesota sports are sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson.

The weekend brought news of multiple horrifying shootings. On Friday, a shooting in the parking lot of Stewartville High School in southern Minnesota left a student hospitalized in critical condition and the gunman dead. Then, Saturday afternoon a gunman targeted students at Brown University, which killed two people and injured 9 more. And Sunday, here in the U.S. we woke up to news of another mass shooting, this time in Australia. Officials are calling it a terrorist attack. Two gunmen targeted and killed 15 people and injured dozens more at a Hannakuh celebration. Rabbi Adam Stock Spilker is the senior Rabbi at Mount Zion Temple in St. Paul. His son Eiden is a recent Brown University graduate who now works there. He was in the building where the shooting happened over the weekend. Less than 12 hours after the shooting at Brown, the shooting in Australia unfolded. Rabbi Spilker said the shooting half-a-world away still hit home in Minnesota, especially for the Jewish community.

Food shelves across the country are seeing increased demand. And a new survey carried out by the University of Minnesota Extension and Minnesota-based nonprofit Foundation for Essential Needs provides a closer look at the need. Among the takeaways from the nearly 10,000 Minnesotans who responded this past spring: more than half say they got half or more of all their food from a food shelf. Dom Korbel is with Community Pathways of Steele County in Owatonna. He's joined Minnesota Now to share how he uses the results of the survey to stock the shelves and what the need looks like ahead of the holiday season.

A movement in Minnesota and nine other states calls for an approach to child welfare that maintains connections between foster and birth families, so they can work together to give children love and support. It's called the Quality Parenting Initiative, or QPI. For Jessica Gunnarson, this strategy was a natural response to her personal experience on different sides of the child welfare system. Gunnarson is a foster parent in Duluth and she's receiving an award this week from the initiative. And Kate Rickord works with the Youth Law Center, a national group behind QPI.Gunnarson and Rickord joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about the unique approach to foster care.

A Somali American U.S. citizen was detained by ICE amid the agency's continued operation in the Twin Cities. We'll hear from the man who was arrested about what he experienced, plus the federal government's response to other incidents like this.Minnesota's economy is struggling on some key indicators like workforce growth. We'll talk to an economist who says immigrants have a critical role to play.Plus parents at the largest elementary school in St. Paul Public Schools are protesting overcrowding in the building. And if you're in Northern Minnesota, did you catch that mysterious flash across the night sky the other day? Our reporter set out to identify the unidentified object.Plus, a podcast looks back at the first open heart surgery in Minnesota.Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Mr. Revival” by Your Smith and our Song of the Day was “Prayer for Mim in the Color Marigold” by Liz Draper.

Before the 1950s, heart surgery was widely regarded as a guaranteed instant death for a patient. It just wasn't done, no matter how badly it was needed. So it took a lot of guts for the pioneering doctors to take on the first lifesaving heart surgeries for pacemakers and heart-lung machines. A screenwriter is telling the winding story of the one of the first open heart surgeries, which took place in Minnesota, and all of the drama, scandal and millions of lives saved that went along with it. That screenwriter's name is Jamie Napoli, and he created the new six-episode documentary podcast called “Cardiac Cowboys.” Napoli joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about the podcast.

During this snowy start to winter, a group of volunteers have been busy shoveling for their neighbors. Nikita Godette is coordinating a large effort in St. Paul, leading the Facebook group “Saintly City Snow Angels.”Godette spoke to Minnesota Now producer Ellen Finn about why she thinks its important for neighbors to come together to help neighbors in the winter.

This past Saturday, people across northern Minnesota and Wisconsin saw a long flash of sparkling white and green light trail across the night sky. People captured it on video and it went viral on social media. But no one was exactly sure what it was. Maybe a meteor? A comet? Santa doing a test run with Rudolph? MPR News Duluth reporter Dan Kraker made it his mission to find out after seeing the spectacle himself. He joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about what he learned about the so-called “space junk.”

Parents at St. Paul Public School's Hmong language and culture school are preparing to keep their kids at home Monday amid an ongoing dispute with the district over overcrowding concerns. The boycott on Monday takes place ahead of a Tuesday meeting where the school board will vote on next steps. Enrollment at the PreK-8 Txuj Ci school has grown tremendously in recent years. But the district has not been able to find enough space to keep all students under one roof. That's led to several temporary short-term solutions that have left many parents frustrated. Tensions have boiled over to the point where some parents say they may even pull their kids from the school entirely. Sahan Journal's Becky Dernbach has been following the story and joined Minnesota Now to share her reporting.

A recent report from the Minnesota Chamber Foundation found the state's economy is slipping in national rankings. The state ranks near the bottom in terms of workforce growth and net migration — which means more people are leaving the state than moving here. Much of the growth that is happening in the state's labor force is made up of foreign-born workers. They've driven 60 percent of workforce growth in recent years, according to the Chamber Foundation. These numbers point to a different conclusion from the one President Donald Trump made recently in a dehumanizing tirade about Somali Minnesotans, when he said they “contribute nothing.” Concordia University Economics Professor Bruce Corrie has done a lot of thinking and writing about the contributions of immigrants to the state's economy, including as a response to the President's comments. He joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about his analysis.

Minneapolis leaders are sharing reports of racial profiling and arrests of U.S. citizens by ICE. City Council Member Jamal Osman talked with Minnesota Now about what he witnessed in a chaotic confrontation with ICE agents in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.Minnesota's survey of students shows their mental health is getting better. But for the first time the results include a look at the impact of social media use.Plus, a local researcher may have found a new way to kill emerald ash borers and save ash trees. Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner joined with snow totals plus details on when the next round could arrive. And 15 years ago this week, the state was digging out of another winter storm. That one led to the collapse of the Metrodome. MPR News host Nina Moini talked to a man who was in the stadium when it happened.

Much of Minnesota woke up Wednesday buried in a fresh layer of snow. It's a fitting scene, since this week is 15 years since one of the state's most infamous snow events. Early in the morning on Dec. 12, 2010, the roof fell in at what was then the Minnesota Vikings' stadium, the Metrodome. Minnesota Now looked back at MPR News coverage of the collapse and talked with the only person who was in the arena when it happened. Peter Eisenschenk, former building operations manager of the Metrodome, joined MPR News host Nina Moini to share what he remembers.

A shiny green beetle has transformed city streets and forests in parts of the United States. The emerald ash borer has been found in 59 counties of Minnesota and it has especially affected the southeast corner of the state. The beetle depends on ash trees to survive and reproduce. It lays eggs into their bark. Then those eggs hatch into larvae that feed on the living tissue of the trees, eventually killing them. The larvae become beetles and fly off to other trees. Scientists at the University of Minnesota have found several species of parasitic fungi that can interrupt this cycle by killing emerald ash borer. Colin Peters is a Ph.D. candidate and lead author of a recent study about using these fungi to protect ash trees. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about his research and what it could mean for Minnesota's one billion ash trees.

The state released new health data Wednesday about students across Minnesota. The 2025 Minnesota Student Survey shows that students are generally reporting better mental and physical health than they did when they took the survey last, back in 2022. But they were asked about a new topic this time around: social media and screens. That was where students reported a bigger struggle. University of Minnesota professor Jodi Dworkin studies how technology shapes child development and she helps parents navigate children's use of social media and screens. Dworkin joined MPR News host Nina Moini on Minnesota Now.

Minneapolis' Somali community continues to be on edge, following a confrontation between ICE agents and community members. It happened Tuesday afternoon in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis where a large Somali community lives. Federal agents used chemical irritants to push through a crowd that blocked their vehicles as they checked identifications of people in the area. ICE officials say they did not make any arrests Tuesday. Minneapolis City Council member Jamal Osman, who represents that area, said he saw at least one young Somali person detained. The incident was the latest in an ongoing operation targeting some Somali people in the state. MPR News host Nina Moini talked with Osman for more about what he saw.

The lawyers of several people detained by federal immigration authorities in the Twin Cities are suing for their release. We talked to one attorney about the case he's making on behalf of his clients. A metro area county is using AI to answer non-emergency calls to its police line. We found out why. We learned about a new substance use disorder treatment program designed for people who are on the autism spectrum. As the self-driving taxi company Waymo runs tests in Minneapolis, we found out what lawmakers are saying about regulation. A Minnesota paleontologist just made a really cool discovery. He took us back to when dinosaurs roamed the badlands.Our Minnesota Music Minute was “I'm Not Giving Up on You” by Mike Kota and our Song of the Day was “Ma and Hank Williams” by Luke Hendrickson.

Those who have faced it know it well: substance use disorder does not discriminate. But addiction treatment can look different for everyone. That's why Fraser, a Minnesota-based autism services program, has launched a new substance use disorder treatment program specifically for Minnesotans on the autism spectrum. To get a better picture of how their services look different from a traditional addiction treatment program, Aric Jensen, the vice president of the outpatient and community-based mental health program at Fraser, joined MPR News host Nina Moini.

Since an immigration operation launched in the Twin Cities on Dec. 1, federal officials have not said exactly how many people they have detained, have in custody for deportation proceedings or who has been released after questioning. Of those detained by ICE in the last week, several lawsuits have been filed on their behalf in an effort to secure release.Attorney David Wilson represents several of those individuals. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about his clients.

Digging for dinosaurs is a dream job for young children around the world. For a Winona State University professor, that is his job, and he's just made one of the rarest dinosaur discoveries in the world. The fossils discovered in the Badlands of North Dakota is 66 million years old and may be what's called a “dinosaur mummy.” That means skin and tissue from the dinosaur could still be intact. Joining Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about his discovery is Winona State geoscience professor and paleontologist Lee Beatty.

When someone in Dakota County calls the police non-emergency line it isn't a dispatcher that answers the phone, but rather an AI assistant. The change is so that the dispatch center, which is already understaffed, can focus on emergency calls in the county. Dakota County is one of the first in the Twin Cities metro to establish an AI assistant for non-emergency calls. Joining Minnesota Now to explain how this works is the executive director of Dakota 911, Heidi Hieserich.

It has been one week since an ICE operation began in the Twin Cities. Augsburg University was at the center of an immigration arrest over the weekend. We'll talk to the university's president about what unfolded between students and agents on campus.We'll learn more about the tools ICE agents use to get data about who to arrest — and where to find them. Plus, the federal government announced it will no longer recommend newborn babies immediately receive a hepatitis B vaccine. We'll talk to the state epidemiologist about that.And the Vikings finally won over the weekend! Though it may be too little, too late in terms of their chances for the playoffs.Our Minnesota Music Minute was "A Case of You" by Prince and our Song of the Day was "Snow Days" by Trip Shakespeare.

A federal vaccine advisory committee has voted to end the longstanding recommendation that all babies get the hepatitis B vaccine on the day they're born. The committee decided to recommend the birth dose only for babies whose mothers test positive for hep B, and in cases where the mom wasn't tested. Otherwise, parents can wait until their baby is two months old. Public health leaders have criticized the action, pointing to evidence that the vaccine has successfully prevented thousands of illnesses and no documented evidence of harm from the birth doses. Joining Minnesota Now to explain what this means for vaccine access for babies in Minnesota is Dr. Ruth Lynfield, the Minnesota Department of Health state epidemiologist.

Vikings fans have a reason to rejoice after a rough few weeks.  Some of the spectators at U.S. Bank Stadium Sunday had snagged tickets for a bargain – there were seats available for about $35. Then they saw the Vikings shut out the Washington Commanders, with a final score of 31-0.Still, the Vikings would need to win all of their remaining games and there needs to be some pretty specific outcomes for the rest of the league. Minnesota Now sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined host Nina Moini to talk about what would need to happen for the Vikings to have a post-season and shared the latest in other sports headlines.

Reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Twin Cities have spiked since Dec. 1, when the agency says it began an operation here. ICE has released only selective details of 19 arrests. The operation is one of the latest to focus on a United States metro area as the Trump Administration pursues its goal of mass deportations. The federal agents trying to meet the government's quotas have a growing set of tools to help them find people to arrest and deport. For more, MPR News host Nina Moini talked with Stevie Glaberson, director of research and advocacy for the Center on Privacy and Technology, a think tank based at Georgetown Law.

It's been one week since an immigration enforcement campaign launched targeting some Somali Minnesotans. Federal authorities disclosed there have been 19 arrests so far. That includes people from countries other than Somalia.Over the weekend, Augsburg University was at the center of an ICE action. The university said masked ICE agents arrested an undergraduate student outside a residence hall Saturday afternoon. The agents also allegedly pointed their weapons toward a crowd of staff and students that formed in response. Augsburg University is in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, where a large concentration of immigrant families lives. Augsburg University President Paul Pribbenow joined Minnesota Now for more on the events that unfolded on campus.

Following xenophobic comments from President Donald Trump and an immigration operation targeting some Somalis in the Twin Cities, a local Somali Republican with aspirations to run for office is now questioning his political future. With the first half of the school year winding down, mental health and addiction struggles are becoming unmanageable for some students. We checked in with a counselor in Chisago county.We also learned more about St. Paul's growing homeless encampment as temperatures reach frigid lows.And mountain lion sightings led two Duluth schools to go into lockdown Wednesday. We got more details about the big cat.Plus, a tour of the hard-won University of Minnesota's men's gymnastics gym. Our Minnesota Music Minute was “The Holly and the Ivy” arranged and performed by Peter Ostroushko. Our Song of the Day was “Hans Painted with Flowers” by Steven J. Schmidt.