Minnesota Now

The southeastern U.S. has captured our attention over the last month with the barrage of hurricanes that have passed through the region, causing mass destruction from wind and floodwater. The storms harken back memories of the nation’s last extreme hurricane — Ida ripped through part of the Gulf Coast in 2021.

Minnesota is more connected to the flooding and land loss that region faces than you might think. The way we control the Mississippi River has serious implications on the future of that land.

Minnesota journalist Katie Thornton looked into that connection in a sprawling report about the politics of dams and levees in The Guardian. She joined the program to share what she found.

The Minnesota Lynx are in New York for the first game of the WNBA finals. They tip off against the New York Liberty at 7 p.m.

These are the top two teams in the WNBA. New York is coming back to try to win a title after losing to the Las Vegas Aces in last year’s finals. The Lynx are in the finals for the first time since 2017, when they won their fourth championship.

Lynx fans say this finals run could be the start of something big.

“I would say they’re almost there as a dynasty level,” said Lynx fan Devin Xiong. “No matter what, this is the start of something, I think it is the start of something.”

Joining the program to talk about how they got here is Lynx President of Business Operations Carley Knox, who’s worked for the team since 2010.

One in 16 Somali-Minnesota 4-year-olds has autism. That’s compared with one in 53 of their classmates.

The data comes from a 2023 Centers for Disease Control autism survey, with help from two University of Minnesota researchers who are tracking the rise in overall diagnoses over the years.

For another perspective on this data, Dr. Deeqaifrah Hussein is on the line. She is the executive director of special education with Minneapolis Public Schools.

The Minnesota Supreme Court is considering a challenge to a deal between the Minneapolis school district and teachers’ union. The agreement in question ended a Minneapolis teachers’ strike two and a half years ago and included job protections for teachers of color.

Before the agreement, Minneapolis Public Schools would have to lay off teachers in order of seniority, so the last ones hired would be the first let go. Now the district can exempt teachers from underrepresented groups from that rule. But a Minneapolis resident sued over this provision, saying it’s unconstitutional. What the court is weighing is whether a taxpayer, who helps fund the district, has legal standing to sue over something like a union contract.

Sahan Journal education reporter Becky Dernbach has been following this and she joins MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to break it down.

Hurricane Milton is approaching Florida’s west coast and is expected to make landfall Wednesday night or early Thursday morning. Here in Minnesota, there is special attention on the storm because so many Minnesotans now live there or have a second vacation home there.

For the past few days, hundreds of thousands of people have evacuated their homes, clogging hotels and highways to get out of the path of the hurricane. One of them is St. Paul resident Tim Dykstal.

Tim lives in Minnesota, but drove down to Florida to stay in a shared family condo and play golf in Palm Harbor, about a mile inland from the coast. He left the condo and is taking shelter in a hotel to ride out the storm. MPR News host Cathy Wurzer talks with him.

Hurricane Milton is barreling towards Florida’s gulf coast as a catastrophic Category 4 storm with winds of 145 miles per hour. We talk to one Minnesotan who went to Tampa on vacation and is now taking cover in a shelter.

The Minnesota Supreme Court is looking at whether a Minneapolis resident has the right to sue Minneapolis Public Schools over something in its teacher contract. We break down the arguments.

Plus, a Minnesota man is looking to squash his own record for the world’s largest pumpkin. That would be more than 2,700 lbs.! We check in with him as he gets ready to transport this year’s pumpkin to a competition in California.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Candy” by Cameo.

Our Song of the Day was “june” by “honeygrl”.

Did you know that the world’s largest pumpkin on record was grown right here in Minnesota? It weighed in last fall at nearly 2,750 lbs. Now its grower Travis Gienger is working to beat his own record at the upcoming Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival in California.

For 30 years he has been working to grow the perfect pumpkin. He joins MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to share how he does it.

While Oct. 7 marks the horrific attack on Israel, it also marked the start of a wider war. Since that day the Israel Defense Forces have killed more than 40,000 Palestinians according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Minnesota is home to hundreds of Palestinian families, including Lyla Abukhodair and her family. She lives in Duluth and in 2023 she opened a Palestinian restaurant called Falastin, which translates to “Palestine” in Arabic.

The last year has been filled with highs and lows as a Palestinian business owner. Lyla joined Minnesota Now to talk about her experience growing up on the Iron Range with family on the West Bank.

Every month, we talk about topics important to your health and what’s top of mind in the doctor’s office. The segment started with good news: Minnesota saw an 11 percent drop in drug overdose deaths.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer and Dr. Jon Hallberg, a family medicine physician at Mill City Clinic and a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, discussed the reasons death rate has declined and how doctors have changed their approach to prescribing painkillers over Dr. Hallberg’s career. The pair also discussed the rise in AI over medical communication programs like MyChart and in the doctor’s office.

Hospitals throughout Minnesota are postponing non-emergency procedures as a result of an IV fluid shortage. The IV fluid shortage is one of the many ripple effects of Hurricane Helene.

M Health Fairview, Allina and Hennepin Healthcare are rescheduling their patients. Baxter North Cove supplies 60 percent of the country’s IV fluid bags and closed down production indefinitely at its facility in North Carolina after the destruction of the hurricane.

Now Minnesota hospitals are scrambling to conserve those critical fluids. The Minnesota Hospital Association is leading that charge. The director of the association, Dr. Rahul Koranne joined the show to detail plans to conserve IV fluids.