Minnesota Now

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.

For many adults, booking routine dentist appointments isn’t always top of mind.

Research shows the COVID-19 pandemic causes big interruptions in routine and preventative appointments, especially in dental care. According to a study by the Federal Reserve, it’s also the type of health care people most frequently skip because they can’t afford it. Cost isn’t the only barrier, there’s also a widespread dentist shortage and powerful emotions like fear, shame or anxiety that can make it difficult to get to the dentist.

Minnesota Now producer Alanna Elder decided asked an expert for some advice on how to get back to the dentist.

Our ask: Help me get back to the dentist

Our expert: Dr. Shivan Nelson, dentist and dental director for Community Dental Care

Listen to more Professional Help segments here.

A new study has found traffic in Minnesota is getting worse due in part to the increase in trucks and SUVs on the roads.

The study was co-authored by David Levinson, a transportation professor at the University of Sydney in Australia. Levinson previously worked at the University of Minnesota for ten years. He talked with Minnesota Now senior producer Aleesa Kuznetsov about his research.  

For decades, Minnesotans and Canadians have been friends and trading partners, easily moving and trading across our shared border. But President Donald Trump’s tariff policies and calls for Canada to become the United States’ 51st state have raised questions about Minnesotans relationship with our neighbors to the north.

MPR News host Angela Davis and MPR News senior economics contributor Chris Farrell headed to Thunder Bay, Ontario to hear how people who live near the Minnesota-Canada border feel about tariffs and their impact on the relationship between our countries.

Their special “Our Canada Connections” airs Monday at 9 a.m.

Davis and Farrell joined Minnesota Now to share some of what they heard.

A new report from the CDC indicates autism diagnoses are increasing in the U.S., but the reason as to why is pitting members of the Trump administration against scientists, researchers and community advocates. 

In a press conference Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. argued autism is a preventable disease.  

“This is part of an unrelenting upward trend,” Kennedy said. “Overall, autism is increasing in prevalence at an alarming rate. The epidemic is real.”

Kennedy’s comments have drawn pushback from scientist who research autism and community advocates who work to dispel misinformation about autism and vaccines. The CDC says rising autism rates are most likely due to better and earlier screening, as well as access to autism evaluations.

Mahdi Warsama, the CEO of the Somali Parents Autism Network, joined Minnesota Now to talk about how his organization is actively working to combat misinformation about autism and provide resources in Minnesota’s Somali community.

The number of international students in Minnesota whose visas have been revoked is growing. Some are taking legal action against the federal government. We talk to the lawyer representing two students who are suing to stay in the U.S. and study.

A Twin Cities organization has been trying to close the reading gap among Black students for decades. We hear why they won't be deterred by threats to DEI programs.

Plus, Minnesotans are gearing up for spring planting season, but that comes with warnings of invasive pests.

Will those spring flowers get some April showers? Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner has the forecast.

And Minnesota Women's Press is celebrating 40 years. We learn about the magazine’s legacy.

The Minnesota Music Minute was “by my side” by SoulFlower and “All Mine” by Sarah Morris was the Song of the Day.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education sent letters to state leaders that said schools could lose federal funding if they failed to follow the Trump administration’s interpretation of civil rights laws. That includes DEI programs that “advantage one’s race over another.” If schools do not follow this order, the Trump administration says they could lose federal funding.

A Minneapolis organization is working to support Black students and fill gaps it sees in the education system, regardless of whether schools turn away from DEI initiatives. Terrica Pledger is the leader of the Sankofa Reading Program with the Network for the Development of Children of African Descent, also known as NdCad. She joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about her work.

Forty years ago Wednesday, the first issue of a new, biweekly newspaper went out across the Twin Cities. The idea was to share stories “about women, by women and for women,” according to Minnesota Women’s Press’ current owner and editor, Mikki Morrisette. The publication is now a monthly magazine that is published online and stocked at more than 360 businesses around the state.

Morrissette joins MPR News host Nina Moini along with Mollie Hoben, one of the founders of Minnesota Women’s Press, to reflect on the magazine’s past and future.

Wednesday may be the last chance to enjoy sunny spring weather for a few days, with rain on the way. MPR’s chief meteorologist Paul Huttner joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about how this spring is shaping up.

The warmer temperatures have gardeners across the state getting their beds ready and planting seedlings. Part of that work is keeping plants protected from critters that might snack on them, like bunnies, deer or insects. And there’s a newer threat in town: an invasive species that has become common in the state. They are called jumping worms and they are causing quite a stir with soil and plants.

Erin Buccholz, an integrated pest management specialist at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, joins MPR News host Nina Moini to explain.

At least three international students in Minnesota have filed lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security and ICE claiming the agencies unlawfully terminated their legal student statuses.

A growing number of students across Minnesota have received notice their student visas have been revoked since President Donald Trump vowed to crack down on immigration.

For the latest, MPR News host Nina Moini talks with David Wilson, an immigration attorney representing two students who have filed lawsuits against ICE, including a student whose lawsuit was filed Tuesday.