Minnesota Now

A new 15 percent tax on recreational marijuana products goes into effect July 1. It’s one of the highest taxes on such products in the US. We heard from a business owner and a lawyer on how this could impact the budding industry.

The state’s newest budget lowers funding for Minnesota’s disability waivers system. We learned more about the program and how the measure could impact people with disabilities.

A new Supreme Court ruling allows parents to pull their children from a classroom when public schools use LGBTQ+ plus themed books in lessons. An advocate joined the show to explain.

We heard a conversation with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver on his partnership with the Minnesota Lynx to promote gender equity.

The state Legislature voted to cut funding for nursing homes and the state’s disability waivers system to help balance the budget.

The disability waivers system is linked to Minnesota’s Medicaid program and provides home and community-based services to those with disabilities, helping them live in a community rather than an institution. In 2023, around 70,000 Minnesotans used disability waivers.

Lawmakers say the cuts will “slow the growth” of the program. Linda Wolford, the government relations director for the Minnesota Council on Disability, joined Minnesota Now to explain.

The U.S. Supreme Court has sided with parents who want to pull their children out of the classroom when public schools use LGBTQ+ themed books in lessons.

In recent years, there’s been an uptick in parents asking school boards to ban books, especially ones that feature marginalized sexualities and genders.

Imam Hassan is the advocacy director at Gender Justice in St. Paul. The organization is holding a panel on the results of the decision Tuesday evening.

Hassan joined Minnesota Now to explain how the ruling could play out in Minnesota.

July 1 marks the first day several new laws go into effect. That includes raising the tax on retail marijuana sales. Tax on recreational marijuana products is now 15 percent plus sales tax, jumping from 10 percent prior.

That makes it one of the highest cannabis taxes in the country, according to data compiled by the Tax Foundation.

This increase is coming as the state is starting to hand out its first licenses to business owners.

Jen Randolph Reise is the founder of North Star Cannabis Consulting. Erin Walloch is the CEO of CannaJoyMN, a south Minneapolis store that sells marijuana seeds and hemp-derived products and is in the process of obtaining a micro-business dispensary license.

Both Reise and Walloch joined Minnesota Now to talk about their perspectives on the tax increase.

U.S. Senators are voting Monday on President Donald Trump's "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act." The bill proposes major cuts to Medicaid, tax breaks and new money for national defense and immigration enforcement. We'll hear from U.S. Senator Tina Smith in Washington D.C.

General Mills and other major food producers are moving away from the use of artificial dyes in their products. We'll break this trend down with an expert.

Plus, a Minnesotan has a new memoir out about her experience with epilepsy.

And a photographer is turning her passion project into action to protect the state's most iconic bird.

The Timberwolves have re-signed some fan favorites and the Xcel Energy Center has a new name. We'll get the latest sports news from Wally and Eric.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Hand in the Air” by The Gated Community and our Song of the Day was “Villain” by Betty and the Rubble.

You likely know it as “the X” or the Xcel Energy Center. The home of the Minnesota Wild and the Minnesota Frost now has a new name: Grand Casino Arena. The 14-year naming rights contract begins Sept. 3.

The partnership brings together sports and gambling. Sports betting legislation has failed to pass for two consecutive years at the State Capitol.

Sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined Minnesota Now to talk about the new name, along with the latest players to ink a deal with the Timberwolves and the Lynx dominating performance.

Minnesota-based General Mills is among three major food producers that say they will be pulling artificial dyes from their U.S. products starting in 2027.

The shift comes nearly two months after U.S. health officials said they would encourage food producers to phase out petroleum-based artificial food coloring.

Joanne Slavin, a professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota joined Minnesota Now to break down this shift.

More than 55,000 people in Minnesota have epilepsy, a condition that causes people to have seizures. That's according to the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota.

Stacia Kalinoski was forced to become an expert on the causes and symptoms of epilepsy when she began having seizures about 20 years ago. As they continued on-and-off, Kalinoski fought to pursue her dreams of working in journalism and her love of long-distance running.

It’s now been ten years since she had brain surgery for the condition. And she’s out with a memoir, “Racing Uphill: Confronting a Life with Epilepsy.”

The U.S. Senate is nearing its self-imposed July Fourth deadline to vote on President Donald Trump’s proposal of tax breaks and spending cuts. It’s what he’s calling the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.’

Senators are on the floor in Washington and are expected to spend the entire day hearing amendments and voting. Democratic U.S. Sen. Tina Smith joined Minnesota Now from Washington to explain.

In a special edition of Minnesota Now, we dedicate the full hour to a conversation with Keon West. He is the author of the book released this year called "The Science of Racism: Everything You Need to Know but Probably Don't — Yet."

The book lays out decades of scientific research about racism and its consequences, as well as efforts to address racial inequality.

Now a social psychology professor at the University of London, West spent an earlier phase of his academic career in St. Paul. He attended Macalester College and graduated in 2006. MPR News host Nina Moini recently talked with West at the school’s alumni weekend.