Minnesota Now

Almost 15 years ago, University of Minnesota professor Myles Shaver made some keen observations about Minnesota's unusually high number of Fortune 500 companies. His research showed that the state’s strong business landscape comes from talent in one field attracting talent from other fields to the region.

The business landscape has changed over the years since Shaver published his research in the 2012 book called "Headquarters Economy." So he's working on a brand new batch of research about Minnesota's economy and why big business thrives here.

Shaver joined MPR News guest host Chris Farrell to talk about the changing business landscape in Minnesota.

Clean up from Sunday night's severe weather and another round is coming Monday night. As of noon, Xcel Energy is reporting 25,000 people are still without power across the state.

Reporter Estelle Timar-Wilcox is tracking storm damage and joined Minnesota Now guest host Chris Farrell.

Minnesota-based UnitedHealth is under investigation by the Department of Justice for its Medicare billing practices. It’s just the latest in a string of setbacks the powerful insurer has faced recently. We learn more from a Wall Street Journal reporter.

Housing in the Twin Cities is pricier than ever. We hear how first-time buyers can cope.

And young people are losing confidence in their future social security benefits. We break down why.

Plus, summer is the time to swim. But for adults who didn’t learn during childhood, developing water skills can be daunting. We have tips on trying it out.

And we hear the story of how early miners on the Iron Range contributed to a bedrock of U-S transportation.

Today’s Minnesota Music Minute was “You Are There” by Connie Evingson. The Song of the Day was “Light Switch” by Fall Risk.

Did you know that a major part of the American transit system as we know it got started on the Iron Range in Minnesota? The Greyhound Bus Museum in Hibbing, Minn., tells the story of how the bus line began more than 110 years ago, toting miners from town to town in northern Minnesota.

Ron Dicklich has a long history of his own capturing and telling the stories of the Greyhound bus. The volunteer director at the Greyhound Bus Museum and former state senator joined Minnesota Now to share more.

We all need a little help to get through life sometimes. From everyday questions to more complex problems, we’re asking the experts to lend us a hand.

Throughout the series Professional Help, we’ll hear some direct advice, for us not-so-direct Minnesotans.

Summer is a great time to enjoy the Land of 10,000 Lakes. But for adults who didn’t learn to swim during childhood, developing water skills can be daunting. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 40 million adults in the U.S. do not know how to swim.

Minnesota Now producer Ellie Roth asked an expert about learning to swim as an adult.

Our ask: Help me learn to swim as an adult.

Our professional: Molly Belk, Aquatic Program Manager at V3 Sports, a North Minneapolis organization that teaches families to swim and aims to close the racial gap in swimming safety.

Find more information about V3 Sports swimming lessons on their website.

Confidence in the future of Social Security among younger adults is at a 15-year low, according to a new survey from AARP, the interest group focused on issues affecting Americans over 50.

AARP has been tracking public attitudes and opinions about Social Security for decades. AARP Minnesota Director Cathy McLeer and Doug Craig, a retire and volunteer with AARP Minnesota, joined Minnesota Now to discuss the study’s findings and the impact of Social Security in Minnesota.

Housing prices in Minnesota and the Twin Cities metro are hitting all-time highs. The latest report from Minnesota Realtors looked at the housing market in June and found that statewide, median home prices rose to a record high of $370,000.

In the Twin Cities alone, the median price is $401,000. It’s the first time the metro has seen median prices over $400,000.

Andy Babula, the director of the Real Estate Program at the University of St. Thomas, joined Minnesota Now to break down what this means for the housing market and first-time home buyers.

UnitedHealth Group said Thursday it is cooperating with civil and criminal requests from the United States Department of Justice over its Medicare practices. The Wall Street Journal reported in May that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the Minnesota-based company for criminal Medicare fraud.

This comes after a civil probe into UnitedHealth the newspaper reported earlier this year and a series of articles about the company’s billing practices. The Wall Street Journal found UnitedHealth had received billions of dollars from Medicare for diagnoses that some doctors said were incorrect or irrelevant. Wall Street Journal reporter Anna Mathews joined Minnesota Now to talk about the reporting.

Extreme heat is sweeping across parts of the state and some of the humidity may be due to something called corn sweat.

And we track the chance of severe weather and get the latest forecast from MPR chief meteorologist Paul Huttner.

Minnesota researchers have found that obstetric care is dwindling across the country. The decline is hitting rural communities the hardest.

Plus, we learn more about plans for a massive data center in southeastern Minnesota. A Minnesota Star Tribune report is finding a lot of secrecy around the process.

Minnesota-based Minnetonka Moccasin is making reparations after appropriating Native designs.

Eight murals will be going up in north Minneapolis this weekend as part of a new art festival.

Today’s Minnesota Music Minute is “Not Going Home” by Frankie Torres. “Grod” by Charlieboy is the Song of the Day.

Minneapolis will be home to eight new murals after the MPower Northside Arts Festival on Saturday. The festival will scatter local artists to paint murals at grocery stores, churches and other businesses along the West Broadway corridor.

Festival organizer Melodee Strong joins MPR News host Nina Moini with details.

Editor’s note: Participating artist Esther Osayande was unable to join to do technical difficulties.