Thousands of Minnesotans are shopping for MNSure health insurance plans as the marketplace opened up this week, but some are bracing for higher premiums. We explore how rates have changed and whether a compromise in Congress would provide relief.

It's been one month since Minnesota's first state-licensed recreational cannabis business opened in Duluth. We learn about the triumphs and hiccups so far.

And we stay in Duluth to hear from our reporter Dan Kraker about sustainability in cemeteries.

Plus, our show Minnesota Now turns 4 this week! We talk to the composers behind the program’s theme music.

For Prince fans, we get the glimpse of the new Prince musical debuting in Minneapolis.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Purple In The Sky”, by Nur-D. Our Song of the Day was “Particle Physics” by Motion City Soundtrack, featuring Patrick Stump.

It’s been one month since Minnesota’s first state-licensed microbusiness dispensary opened in Duluth. Legacy Cannabis began selling flower and other products on Sept. 16, more than two years after recreational cannabis was legalized in Minnesota.

Legacy Cannabis Duluth lead consultant Josh Wilken-Simon joined MPR News host Nina Moini to share how business has been going.

The MNsure health insurance marketplace opened Wednesday for Minnesotans to shop for 2026 plans, but the costs they’ll see may be discouraging.

Premiums on the individual marketplace are 22 percent higher on average compared with 2025. That increase does not account for the expiring federal tax credits that are at the center of the federal government shutdown. If the credits do expire, premiums will be even higher.

About 190,000 Minnesotans get their health insurance through the marketplace. They can’t sign up for a plan until open enrollment begins on November 1st. In the meantime, navigators like Jonathan Marchand are beginning to walk people through the options.

Marchand is the Community Services Manager for United Community Action Partnership in Willmar. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini on Minnesota Now.

This Saturday marks four years since MPR News kicked off the noontime news program, Minnesota Now. The show was started to give our audience longer conversations with newsmakers, experts, and our neighbors around the state to help us understand our world better.

The show is full of different guests and music every single day, except for one key element that stays the same — the theme music. To celebrate Minnesota Now’s fourth birthday, MPR News host Nina Moini spoke to local musicians Aby Wolf and Joe Horton, who composed the show’s theme music.

There's a growing interest in green burials, where people are buried without toxic embalming chemicals, expensive caskets and burial vaults. But there aren't many places in Minnesota to do this.

MPR News correspondent Dan Kraker recently published a story about a proposed green cemetery near Duluth and some of the pushback the proposal has received from local residents. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini to share more, as part of a weekly check-in with MPR News reporters in Greater Minnesota.

After years in development, the stage adaptation of “Purple Rain” is finally making its debut in Minneapolis, where the story and the music first took shape.

Inspired by Prince’s 1984 classic, “Purple Rain” tracks a young Minneapolis musician chasing stardom while wrestling with love, rivalry and the echoes of his past. Performances begin Thursday at the State Theatre in Minneapolis.

MPR News arts reporter Jacob Aloi has been following the show and joined MPR News host Nina Moini to share more.

Several Minnesota mayors are asking state lawmakers to let them regulate guns at the city level, after the tragic shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School. We talk to Rochester's mayor about why she joined these calls and what restrictions she wants to bring to her city.

As we march into the third week of a federal government shutdown, we talk to a national and a local leader about how it could impact hunger levels in the state.

We talk about our state's wet weather this week and get the forecast for the weekend from MPR’s chief meteorologist.

Plus, you may have heard of actor Dallas Goldtooth, who has roots in the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Minnesota. His background is in comedy, but he's taken on a more serious role in the new show “The Last Frontier.”

The Minnesota Music Minute was "Countryside" by Brian Just and "The Ghoul on the Hill" by Los Straitjackets was the Song of the Day.

This week has been soggy for much of Minnesota. Whether you are celebrating some long-awaited rain or bummed about the dark and cloudy days, MPR News Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner has both good and bad news for every perspective. He joins Minnesota Now host Nina Moini with the forecast.

On Wednesday, federal employees will receive their first paychecks since the nation's government shut down more than two weeks ago. The money they are taking home is significantly less than what they normally get. As the shutdown continues, food shelf leaders in the state are preparing for potentially increased demand.

At the same time, a national leader on ending hunger in the United States happens to be visiting Minnesota. Claire Babineaux-Fontenot is CEO of the nonprofit, Feeding America. She met with Second Harvest Heartland CEO Sarah Moberg to discuss the shutdown and other issues facing their network of organizations. MPR News host Nina Moini talked with them both on Minnesota Now.

Mayors across the Twin Cities metro and beyond are calling for the Minnesota Legislature to repeal a state law that prevents cities from enacting their own gun regulations.

The call comes in the wake of the August shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School. Two children were killed, and dozens of others were wounded during a back-to-school mass.

MPR News host Nina Moini talked with one of the mayors pushing for a state law change, Kim Norton of Rochester.