Afleveringen
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A teacher and coach sexually assaulted students at a Minneapolis charter school. Now the state's highest court has ruled that the school is liable for failing to vet him. We learn more details from a journalist following that story.
One in twenty U.S. kids have developmental challenges caused by drinking alcohol during pregnancy. A Minnesota-based organization is working to change that.
A woman expresses her gratitude towards a stranger halfway across the world in our series Thank You, Stranger.
The decline in American Christianity is slowing. Researchers join the show to talk about new data on religious life in the state.
Mardi Gras is coming up next week in New Orleans. A local restaurant is bringing New Orleans-style food to Minnesota.
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In 2010, 52-year-old Lisa Korslund was diagnosed with leukemia while she was living in Switzerland. Her doctors told her she needed a bone marrow transplant, and she needed to find a match.
A match is based on human leukocite antigens. It's important to have a very similar genetic makeup as your donor and donors are typically siblings or other family members.
But none of Korslund’s siblings were a match.
Minnesota Now producer Ellen Finn spoke to Lisa Korslund, who now lives in Edina, about the stranger halfway across the world who saved her life.
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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Thousands of people will travel to New Orleans this weekend ahead of Mardi Gras. Also known as Fat Tuesday, it falls on the last Tuesday before the Christian fasting season of Lent. Besides colorful beads and parades, people traditionally spend the day eating rich and fatty foods.
You don’t have to go to Bourbon Street in New Orleans to celebrate. A new restaurant brings the cuisine to the Twin Cities. Lagniappe opened just five months ago in the rebuilt Coliseum Building on Lake Street in Minneapolis.
Lagniappe’s owner, Chris Montana, and the restaurant’s mixology consultant, Daniel Victory, joined Minnesota Now from New Orleans to talk about the festivities.
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A new poll from the Pew Research Center indicates that the decline of Christianity in the U.S. has slowed.
Churches across the U.S. say they have lost members over the past century, indicating a larger trend of declining religious life in the United States.
Greg Smith, the Pew Research Center senior associate director, and Penny Edgell, a professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota and an advisor to this study, joined Minnesota Now to talk about the poll’s results.
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About one to five percent of school-age children in the United States are living with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders — known as FASDs — developmental challenges caused by drinking alcohol during pregnancy. The numbers are higher for children in foster care.
A Minnesota-based organization called Proof Alliance is working around the country to raise awareness of FASDs and support people who are impacted by them.
DaKota Morgan, a participant in the organization’s youth programs who has an FASD, and Proof Alliance’s Executive Director, Mollie O’Brien joined Minnesota Now to talk about their work to raise awareness about FASDs.
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A Minneapolis charter school can be held legally responsible for hiring a gym teacher who sexually assaulted students, according to the Minnesota Supreme Court, who ruled on the case Wednesday. Adam Hjermstad was convicted in 2021 for the sexual assaults of students where he taught and coached basketball.
One of the survivors and his family sued the charter school Harvest Best Academy for hiring Hjermstad. Sahan Journal education reporter Becky Dernbach joined Minnesota Now to talk about how the Supreme Court’s ruling could have implications for schools across the state.
Former teacher, coach in Minneapolis faces new charges of sexually assaulting children
Minneapolis charter school may be liable for hiring teacher who sexually assaulted student, court rules
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A new report looks at the contributions of immigrants to Minnesota's economy. It found that foreign-born workers are making up an increasing share of the state’s workforce. We talk to an official behind the report about what that means for the state's economy.
A food bank in northern Minnesota is expanding to feed more people in the area. They are opening a new facility. We hear from the CEO of Second Harvest Northland.
Plus, rain in February! We check in with meteorologist Sven Sundgaard for the forecast.
And we go Out to Lunch, this time with Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth. We hear about everything from her love for spicy food to her unconventional path into politics.
The Minnesota Music Minute was Bob Dylan’s song “Girl from the North Country” and “Alive (For the Second Time)” by Faux Pseudo was the Song of the Day.
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For our newer segment Out to Lunch, we get out of the studio and into the community, where news and life is happening. We sit down with people you may have heard from on the show and get to know them at a deeper, personal level over lunch.
In this episode, we hear a conversation with the Republican Speaker of the House, Lisa Demuth. Earlier this month, she became the first Black person and Republican woman to hold the role in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Speaker Demuth has served in the House since 2018 and represents the Cold Spring area, just southwest of St. Joseph. Before becoming speaker, she served as the Republican House Minority Leader when Democrats had full control of the House, Senate and the governor's office.
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Second Harvest Northland will celebrate finishing the first phase of a newly-renovated food bank Thursday in Duluth.
The organization serves 15 counties in northern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin in an area spanning more than 27,000 square miles. They first identified the need for a larger facility in 2019.
Through a fundraising program called "Nourish the Northland," they raised $20 million to revitalize the food bank.
Second Harvest Northland CEO and President Shaye Moris joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about what’s next for the food bank.
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If you stepped outside recently, you definitely felt it. It’s starting to feel like spring!
Mild weather has wiped out most of the snow we got earlier in February. That has pushed events like the Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon to move further north in search of better snow. But it is welcome news for those who are feeling ready for winter to be over.
MPR meteorologist Sven Sundgaard joins MPR News host Nina Moini with an outlook on the changing season.
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The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and Chamber Foundation released a report Wednesday highlighting the impact of immigrants in Minnesota’s workforce. The report builds on 16 years of research examining the role of immigration in the state’s economy. The Chamber released their first immigration report in 2007.
Sean O’Neil is the director of economic development and research at the chamber and presented the report’s findings at the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce Workforce Summit in Brooklyn Park. MPR News host Nina Moini talks with him.
Find more reporting from MPR News on our website.
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Minnesota students are missing a lot of school, according to the latest data. Some lawmakers and advocates say better data would help create solutions to bring them back to the classroom. We learned about a set of bills aiming to do that.
From research groups to food shelves, Minnesota organizations have money stuck in legal limbo after the Trump administration moved to cut that spending. An expert broke down how this funding works.
A huge share of the overdose deaths in the state in recent years have happened in Minneapolis. A local journalist followed a group working on a strategy called harm reduction.
A new published collection featuring Minnesota writers turns scientific studies into poetry and prose about the needs of animals.
Our Minnesota Music Minute was “I Figured” by Lutalo and our Song of the Day was “Halfway There” by Jon Sullivan Band.
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In Minnesota, deadly drug overdoses doubled between 2018 and 2023. In Minneapolis, those deaths are disproportionately represented. In 2022, Minneapolis had nearly a quarter of the opioid deaths in the state, while the city only makes up eight percent of the population.
Southside Harm Reduction is on the front lines trying to prevent deadly overdoses in Minneapolis. They were featured in a new story and photo essay by local photojournalist Tim Evans. His essay “What Harm Reduction Really Looks Like” was co-published in The Nation and the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.
Evans joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about his essay.
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It’s been more than a month since President Donald Trump took office. The president’s executive orders since then have included cuts to funding that goes toward nonprofits and research facilities.
The cuts highlight the complex financial relationship between the federal government, state agencies and nonprofits.
Kris Norman, a professor and program director at Hamline University Center for Public Administration and Leadership, joined Minnesota Now to explain the nuts and bolts of federal government funding to state and nonprofit programs.
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On Tuesday afternoon, Minnesota lawmakers began considering legislation to help make sure students are showing up to school. According to the most recent data from the Minnesota Department of Education, in 2023, more than a quarter of students missed at least 10 percent of school.
Some lawmakers say there needs to be more effective ways of tracking who is missing a lot of school and who completely withdraws.
Matt Shaver testified Tuesday before lawmakers. He is the policy director for Ed-Allies, an organization advocating for students in Minnesota. He joined Minnesota Now to talk about why absenteeism is so harmful, why children are missing school and how new legislation could change how we track who is missing school.
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Poets and authors are turning scientific studies into creative writing projects in a new book from the University of Minnesota Press. “Creature Needs: Writers Respond to the Science of Animal Conservation” includes work by four Minnesota authors, including Claire Wahmanholm. Wahmanholm joined Minnesota Now along with Christopher Kondrich, a co-editor of the book.
MPR News host Nina Moini talked to Wahmanholm and Kondrich about bringing science into creative writing, nature’s hand in poetry and the process behind the book.
Wahmanholm will host a panel about the book at Milkweed Books in Minneapolis on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m.
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A deadline looms Monday night for thousands of federal workers: prove that you have done work in the last week or resign. It has plunged employees and agencies into confusion. A law professor helps answer whether the move by Elon Musk is legal.
Monday marks three years since the start of the war in Ukraine. A Minnesota doctor has helped hundreds of Ukrainians get access to free prosthetics.
Plus, as we approach Ramadan, we talk to a local Muslim deli that imports thousands of dates to help people celebrate one of the holiest months of the year.
And believe it or not, baseball season is back. The Minnesota Twins’ spring training is underway. We have the latest from our sport contributors on the Twins’ preseason, plus more on an injured Timberwolves team.
The Minnesota Music Minute was “The Fortuneteller Foretold” by Ukrainian Village Band and the Song of the Day was “Everything is Happening” by Luke Zimmerman.
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The Minnesota Timberwolves get a do-over after losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Minneapolis late Sunday, 123 to 130. The two teams will play again Monday on the Thunder's home court.
Oklahoma City is the top-ranked team in the Western Conference and Minnesota is missing multiple starters due to injuries. Contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson join MPR News host Nina Moini with the latest on the Wolves, plus Twins spring training and other sports news.
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The Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts on Friday. During this time, Muslims observe a strict fast from dawn until sunset. That means the breaking of the fast at sunset, known as iftar, is a special event. The fast is usually broken with dates and a drink, depending on the culture.
Since August, Muslim deli Holy Land in northeast Minneapolis has been prepping for an influx of customers. The deli has imported more than 26 kinds of dates from at least eight different countries.
Majdi Wadi is the CEO of Holy Land. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini in studio to talk about Ramadan and preparations for the holiday.
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Monday marks three years since Russia invaded Ukraine. It has become Europe’s largest conflict since World War II. Tens of thousands have been killed, entire cities have been reduced to ruins and millions of Ukrainians became refugees.
In Minnesota, a doctor has been helping those who have lost limbs in the war. The Protez Foundation, based in Oakdale, has provided hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians prosthetics.
Dr. Yakov Gradiner is the chief medical officer of the organization and Ukrainian-American. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini to reflect on the last three years.
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