Minnesota Now

Starting this Thursday, local theaters across the Twin Cities will be filled with unique projects, plays and performances as part of the Minnesota Fringe Festival. In all, there will be hundreds of performances over 11 days.

“Manasu” is a play featuring a South Asian queer love story, with an all South Asian cast. Divya Maiya is the playwright and director of the show and the co-founder of the South Asian Arts and Theater House in the Twin Cities. She joined Minnesota Now to talk about the show and the Fringe Festival.

New data is out about gun deaths in Minnesota. They creeped up in 2024, despite new laws to keep weapons out of the hands of potentially violent people. We got the details on how advocates are taking action.

If you've tried to buy gold or silver recently, you know those prices are remarkably high. It's driven by uncertainty around federal tariff policies. We'll hear from a jeweler about how her business is impacted.

We learned more about how uncertainty for immigrant workers under the Trump administration is playing out in rural Minnesota.

A new play with the Minnesota Fringe Festival this weekend highlights queer relationships in the South Asian community. We talked to the playwright.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Broken Wing” by Good Night Gold Dust and our Song of the Day was “Sleight of Hand (feat. Aby Wolf & Omaur Bliss)” by Joey Van Phillips.

The price of gold and silver has been surging. This year has seen international gold prices rising nearly 30 percent, driven by increased demand for secure investments amidst the ongoing economic uncertainty surrounding President Trump’s tariff policies and global political tensions. Last month, silver hit its highest price in more than 13 years.

Cheryl Lais has run Heirloom Jewelry out of the Hopkins Antique Mall since 2002. She sells one-of-a-kind, vintage jewelry pieces. She joined Minnesota Guest host Chris Farrell to talk about how rising gold and silver prices have impacted her business.

Foreign-born workers play a major role in Minnesota’s agricultural and hospitality sectors. Many of these workers have come to the United States on temporary visas or have some other legal status, while many others are undocumented.

President Donald Trump’s efforts to restrict immigration and step up enforcement have caused uncertainty for some workers with and without legal status. Ma Elena Gutierrez, the founder of the immigration advocacy organization Fe y Justica, and Fernando Quijano, a University of Minnesota extension educator for community economics based in Moorhead, joined Minnesota Now to discuss how this uncertainty is carrying over into the rural economy.

A new report that looks at gun violence in Minnesota found that gun deaths increased year-over-year in 2024. The analysis by Protect Minnesota found 564 Minnesotans lost their lives to gun violence in 2024. That’s slightly up from 530 people in 2023.  

It’s in contrast to what’s happening in the United States. CDC data shows a 5 percent decrease in gun deaths in 2024. More than 44,000 people died of gunshot wounds last year, compared to 46,000 in 2023.

Joining Minnesota Now to help us dig deeper into this report is Maggiy Emery, the executive director of Protect Minnesota.  

Powerful storms swept across the state Sunday night and we're tracking severe storms again later Monday. We'll check in on storm damage and get the latest forecast from MPR News Meteorologist Mandy Thalhuber.

For decades, Minnesota has been a hub for Fortune 500 companies. We'll learn about the changing landscape for how businesses thrive here.

Plus, less people are crossing into Minnesota from Canada this summer. We'll check in with two Grand Marais businesses that rely on tourism.

And more people are entering retirement with more debt. We'll learn what's behind this trend.

The Lynx home game winning streak has been snapped. We'll catch up with our sports contributors Wally and Eric.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “There You Are (Beautiful)” by Kiss the Tiger and our Song of the Day was “Tequila and Pills” by Thomas and the Shakes.

The Minnesota Lynx are currently the No. 1 team in the WNBA. On Wednesday night, they’ll face off against the No. 2 team, and arguably their league rival, the New York Liberty. It will be the first time the two teams will play against each other since the Lynx had a heartbreaking loss against the Liberty in the WNBA finals.

Plus in golf, the weather itself was a player in this weekend's 3M Open golf tournament in Blaine. Golfer Kurt Kitayama won the trophy under sweltering heat before the storms rolled in.

Joining Minnesota Now to give us the latest sports headlines are contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson.

In a 12-part series for our sister station Marketplace called “Buy Now, Pay Later” we look at the trend of people entering retirement with a lot of debt. On Minnesota Now for the next two weeks, we’ll be sharing some stories from this series.

We'll start by looking at the changes over decades to America’s social safety net.

This series was produced in partnership with Next Avenue, a non-profit news platform for older adults with Twin Cities PBS.

Summer is a busy time for road trips and travel on the North Shore. But data from the Department of Transportation shows that fewer people are crossing from Canada into Minnesota.

This June, there were about 16 percent fewer people traveling in by car compared to last June. That’s about 26,000 fewer people who came to visit our state.

Earlier this year, MPR News host Angela Davis and Minnesota Now guest host Chris Farrell traveled to the Minnesota-Canada border to talk about how the U.S. tariffs on Canada have affected the relationship between the two nations.

Minnesota Now is checking in on how that relationship may have slowed summer traffic into the states. John Fredrikson is an owner of the Gunflint Lodge & Outfitters in Grand Marais, and Kirsten Brune is a manager at the restaurant My Sister’s Place also in Grand Marais. They spoke to Farrell about the changes they are seeing.

A derecho is possible across central and southern Minnesota late Monday into Monday night, bringing a significant wind threat. Wind gusts over 75 mph are possible, along with heavy rain and embedded tornadoes within the line.

MPR Meteorologist Mandy Thalhuber joined MPR News guest host Chris Farrell to explain what a derecho is and other severe weather threats heading our way.