Minnesota Now

Minnesota Now: Sept. 16, 2026

Minneapolis Public Schools has announced plans for potential school closures. As many as 16 buildings could lose K-12 programming. MPR News education reporter Elizabeth S

In Resmaa Menakem's new play 'Mothership,' AI stands for 'ancestral intelligence'

In a recent interview with host Sanni Brown for MPR’s Carbon Sound, Minneapolis-based therapist and author Resmaa Menakem shared this advice for creatives: “Do the weird

What 15 years of data show about post-high school pathways for greater Minnesota graduates

Minnesota’s most recent high school graduates have spent this summer and fall beginning their next steps. What follows high school is different for each individual, but a

Parent: Proposed Minneapolis school closures will disrupt learning, drive more families away

The Minneapolis school district announced plans Tuesday night to close more than a dozen of its schools. MPR News education reporter Elizabeth Shockman joined Minnesota N

St. Paul council president: After Pig's Eye, city needs to change approach to encampments

It’s been more than a month since the City of St. Paul shut down an encampment where more than 100 people lived. Since then, seven people from the Pig’s Eye encampment ha

Minnesota Now: Sept. 15, 2026

Both leading candidates for Minnesota governor say officials in the Walz administration should be fired for their handling of fraud in state programs. They were respondin

In a first, new Minneapolis Fire Chief Reginald Freeman comes from outside department

Minneapolis swore in its 19th fire chief, and the department's first ever outside fire chief hire, last week. Chief Reginald Freeman has a pretty unusual resume for a Min

Lynx forward Natasha Howard releases memoir

These days, Natasha Howard is jersey no. 1 on the Minnesota Lynx. She returned to the team this season after nearly a decade of competing on other WNBA teams and internat

Justice Bus provides free mobile legal services across greater Minnesota

Later this week, a royal blue cargo van will roll into Faribault and Northfield, offering no-cost legal help to community members. The Justice Bus is a mobile office set

Report takes deep dive into the Walz administration fraud response

A new Minnesota Star Tribune report is taking a closer look at how the Walz administration responded to fraud allegations across state government and why it took years fo

Minnesota Now: Sept. 14, 2026

Leaders of major artificial intelligence companies are calling for more regulation of AI. President Donald Trump is dismissing those concerns and says more regulations wo

Vikings win home opener after Kyler Murray injury, plus Gophers and Twins news

For the Minnesota Vikings, the very beginning of the new NFL season was rough. Starting quarterback Kyler Murray left the field with a concussion early in Sunday’s home o

Minnesota to stop use of hotel rooms to house people in mental health crises

Starting this week, Minnesota will no longer allow the use of hotel rooms to provide what’s called “crisis respite.” It’s a Medicaid-funded program aimed at providing car

St. Thomas AI ethics expert: Independent body needed to regulate fast-growing technology

The CEOs of the country's top AI companies are unifying in their call for a global slowdown on AI development, after two former researchers at Anthropic shared concerns t

Minnesota Now: Sept. 10, 2026

It’s been 25 years since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 unfolded and left nearly 3,000 people dead. We reflected on how that day forever changed our lives. We heard stori

Selby Ave. JazzFest marks 25 years of bringing people together through music

This weekend will be the 25th annual Selby Ave. JazzFest in St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood. What started as a way to bring people together post-9/11 has now grown into a c

'A new season': Ely prepares for fall festival as it continues to recover from wildfires

The wildfires in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are officially fully contained after nearly two months. That doesn’t mean all the fires are fully extinguished.

Teaching 9/11 to a generation of students born after that tragic day

As the tragic events of 9/11 began to unfold 25 years ago, millions of teachers and students were just starting their school day. Among them was Waseca High School socia

Minnesota Now: Sept. 9, 2026

A Somali man who had been living legally in the Twin Cities is now in ICE detention in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Adam Abdullah was arrested in St. Paul in December and has no

Hispanic Heritage Foundation to recognize 'the people of Minnesota' in 39th annual awards

Hispanic Heritage Month officially begins next Tuesday. Congress established the month in 1988 to celebrate Latino history, identity and culture in the U.S. Since then, i