Minnesota Now

Artificial intelligence is having a growth spurt and there are a few ways to approach the quickly evolving technology. You can resist it, help advance it, ignore it or learn to use it.

Minnesota State University Moorhead is going with that last option and launching a new Institute of Applied AI. An anonymous donor provided funding to start the institute, which the university plans to open in the fall.

For a closer look at these plans, Jason Trainer, the university’s vice president of enrollment management and strategic efforts, joined Minnesota Now to talk about the program.

Members of the American Indian community in south Minneapolis are mourning the loss of four people, all of whom are Native. The victims died in two separate shootings earlier this week, that were 13 hours apart. So far Minneapolis Police say no arrests have been made.

On Thursday, more than a hundred people joined a community prayer in south Minneapolis.

MPR's Native News reporter Melissa Olson spoke with Robert Lilligren, president and chief executive officer of the Native American Community Development Institute, about the reaction from the community and how they're supporting each other.

The Minnesota Legislature has a newcomer. Republican Senator-elect Keri Heintzeman has been elected to represent the Nisswa area. We talk to her about her priorities as she joins the capitol late in the session.

As President Donald Trump celebrates his first 100 days, we hear about the economic impacts his policies have had on Minnesotans.

Plus, Wednesday marks 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War. We talk to a poet who is working to commemorate the stories of Lao people who came to Minnesota in the aftermath.

Paul Huttner shares how many tornadoes touched down in our region from this week’s severe weather.

And the Walker West Music Academy, a pillar of the Rondo community, is teaching music to all from a new home.

The Walker West Music Academy recently celebrated the opening of its new space on Marshall Avenue in St. Paul. What started as a music program in the lower level of a duplex has grown into a beloved nonprofit music center and a pillar of St. Paul’s Rondo community.

Walker West provides community music education to more than 300 students a week. They hope to offer education to more students, kids and adults alike, at the new space.

MPR News host Nina Moini talks with Executive Director Braxton Haulcy about Walker West’s plans.

Fifty years ago Wednesday, Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese Army and the U.S. war in Southeast Asia came to an end. In the aftermath, more than three million people to fled their homes in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Many eventually came to the United States and Minnesota. Now, a group of writers is using poetry and creative writing to document the stories of Lao refugees and their descendants over the last 50 years.

Bryan Thao Worra is leading this effort by the SEALit Center, a literary organization, and the Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota. They received one of 14 grants from the Minnesota Historical Society to recognize the state’s Southeast Asian diasporas. Worra is the Lao Minnesotan poet laureate and chair of the community board of the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans.

He joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about the project — and why poetry and prose are his chosen tools for working with history.

President Donald Trump has now been in office for 100 days. He held the first rally of his current tenure last night in Michigan to mark the milestone.

MPR News has been fanning out across the state to find out what Minnesotans think of Trump’s job performance so far. MPR News editor Annie Baxter spearheaded the effort and joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about it.

The Twin Cities missed out on the severe weather that came through the state earlier this week. But the weather ahead has the potential for rain and temperatures in the 80s. MPR News Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner joins MPR News host Nina Moini with the forecast.

The race to fill Democratic Sen. Tina Smith's seat in Washington just got more crowded. U.S. Rep. Angie Craig announced Tuesday she is pursuing the job, joining a growing field of candidates. We find out what this means for Minnesota politics.

We hear from Minnesotans about President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office.

Plus, a Minnesota medical system is taking racial information out of pregnancy tests and screenings in an effort to remove bias.

And two podcast hosts are keeping track of new medical breakthroughs in the state.

A new girls flag football league launched last weekend. We talk to a father-daughter duo who are part of one of the fastest growing sports in the country.

The Minnesota Music Minute was “Who Walks in When I Walk Out” by Sugar on the Roof. The Song of the Day was “Return of the Swamp Thing” by Oof & BRUTE.

Between Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota Medical School, and companies like 3M, it's no secret that Minnesota is a hub for medical startups and innovation. But it often takes years for new treatments and practices to hit the mainstream.

Two Minnesotans in the health care industry started a podcast called “Patient Innovations” to inform patients and medical providers about the cutting-edge medicine coming out of the state. Co-hosts Rashmi Kandwal and Mary MacCarthy joined Minnesota Now to talk about the podcast.

There haven’t been many options for girls who want to play football on a team. But that’s changing thanks to the explosive rise of flag football, one of the nation’s fastest-growing high school sports.

Fifteen states have created official high school programs. While Minnesota is not one of them, 51 schools across the state are now competing in a league supported by the Minnesota Vikings.

Sartell High School head football and flag football coach Scott Hentges and his daughter, Maya Hentges, joined Minnesota Now to talk about their flag football team and the impact its having at high schools around the state.