Minnesota Now

M Health Fairview says it’s found a way to help eliminate racial and ethnic bias in pregnancy and delivery care by removing race as a factor for various screenings and tests related to pregnancy.

By July, all pregnant patients at M Health Fairview will be universally screened for various maternal and fetal conditions. That includes diseases that are usually prominent in a certain racial group, like sickle cell disease or spina bifida.

The goal is to make sure no patient gets missed for diseases that may normally only be screened for people of certain backgrounds.

Melissa Hassler, the director of nurse midwives at M Health Fairview, joined Minnesota Now to talk about the changes.

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig announced Tuesday she will skip a run for a fifth term and instead throw her hat into the race for U.S. Senate.

Craig is among a few prominent DFL candidates hoping to succeed U.S. Sen. Tina Smith in 2026. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and former state Senate Minority Leader Melisa López Franzen have also joined the race.

MPR News senior politics reporter Dana Ferguson joined Minnesota Now to discuss the news and the state of the race.

Republicans held onto a state Senate seat after a special election. Keri Heintzeman was elected Tuesday to replace Republican lawmaker Justin Eichorn, who resigned a month ago after criminal charges.

Heintzeman won the seat with nearly 60 percent of the vote. She will represent the Nisswa area in the Legislature. Senator-elect Heintzeman joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about her priorities.

Severe thunderstorms are forecasted to move in across Minnesota, with a significant threat of tornadoes, heavy rain, damaging winds and large hail. We'll talk to MPR meteorologist Mandy Thalhuber about what to expect and how to prepare.

The rate of Black home ownership has fallen over the past 50 years in Minnesota. We'll learn more about a new study examining disparities with Census data.

Plus, the University of Minnesota is facing accusations that it mishandled plagiarism allegations against a star professor. We'll hear the latest.

A new program is bringing dance education to elementary schools in Minneapolis.

And the Timberwolves are one win away from moving forward in the playoffs. We'll get the latest sports news from contributors Wally and Eric.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “RED EYE” by anni xo and our Song of the Day was “Lights On” by Enemy in the Sky.

The Timberwolves are going back to Los Angeles with a 3-1 lead in their playoff series against the Lakers. At the start of the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game in Minneapolis, the Wolves were lagging by 10 points. But they came back to win 116 to 113.

Now the Wolves need to win one more time to move to the next round of the playoffs. The next game is on Wednesday. The Lakers will be at home, and for them, it's make-or-break.

Joining Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about this and other sports news are our contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson.

A new partnership is providing dance education at every Minneapolis Public Schools elementary school. The city is set to approve $350,000 per year so the district to expand dance programming.

Joining Minnesota Now to talk about the new programming is two people who are closely involved. Lori Ledoux is the K-12 arts content lead with Minneapolis Public Schools and Anat Shinar is the artistic director with Young Dance, the organization providing the programming within the district.

A new report by the state of Minnesota reaffirms what many housing researchers have known: far fewer Black Minnesotans own their homes compared to white Minnesotans. And the rate of Black homeownership has fallen since the 1970s, only widening that gap.

Jeff Howison, a state demographer, recently looked at these trends in more detail using U.S. Census data that includes more specific racial and ethnic identities.

He joined Minnesota Now to talk about what he learned.

A second round of storms is expected to move across the Upper Midwest Monday afternoon. It could bring destructive winds, large hail and strong tornadoes to central and southeastern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities metro.

The National Weather Service has put the region at a level 4 out of 5 risk for severe weather, with other parts of the state at level 3 risk.

Joining Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to explain what this means and how to stay safe is MPR Meteorologist Mandy Thalhuber.

The social media company X, formerly known as Twitter, is suing to block Minnesota's law that bans people from using deepfakes to influence elections. The company says the law violates free speech protections. We learn more about the ins and outs of the lawsuit.

Hmong and Lao veterans who served during the Vietnam War are getting recognition. We learn about new veteran benefits passed by the Minnesota Senate.

Plus, the city of Brooklyn Park is rethinking where it will allow sex offenders to live. We talk to a police inspector about his efforts to create residency restrictions in the city.

A woman will tell the story of her race to say goodbye on our series Thank You, Stranger.

And it’s the first day of the Minneapolis Institute of Art's floral exhibit Art in Bloom! We get caught up on the annual celebration of spring in Minneapolis.

The Minnesota Music Minutes was “SGL” by Now, Now and the Song of the Day was “I Like It” by Rachel Kurtz.

The social media platform X, run by Elon Musk, has filed a federal lawsuit challenging a Minnesota law barring the use of deepfakes to influence an election.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday against Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, claims the law — passed with bipartisan support in the Legislature in 2023 — violates free speech rights.

The law made it a crime to post fake videos that could be used to influence an election. Legislators were concerned that deepfakes, made with AI and digital editing, could be used to spread misinformation about candidates. It carries potential penalties of fines and prison time.

Alan Rozenshtein, a University of Minnesota law professor who specializes in technology and the constitution, joined Minnesota Now to talk about the lawsuit.