Minnesota Now

Real ID is really happening. Beginning May 7, anyone who is planning to fly domestically will need this form of identification or a passport. The state's program director of driver services joined the show to share what you need to know before you head to the DMV.

April 15 is Tax Day, and the Trump administration recently announced a major change to how the Internal Revenue Service handles personal tax information of undocumented immigrants.

It's been two years since wells in Stillwater were shut off due to high levels of forever chemicals. Some of the money planned for use to address the problem is now in question. Stillwater’s mayor joined the show to explain.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was "Dusty" by Miss Georgia Peach and our Song of the Day was "Body and Heart" by Drew Medin.

The City of Stillwater is planning to build a temporary facility to remove PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, from one of its wells. That well and one other were shut off two years ago after showing unsafe levels of the chemicals, according to state health guidelines.  

Stillwater is not alone in facing problems with PFAS in drinking water, and while it has secured some funding to do so, the city was one of many around the country that recently missed out on money from Congress. In March’s bill to keep the government running, Congress did not fund special infrastructure projects, or earmarks.

Stillwater Mayor Ted Kozlowski joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about the city’s next steps.

This Tax Day marks a shift in policy at the Internal Revenue Service, which is responsible for collecting federal taxes.  

Earlier in April, the Trump administration announced an agreement which allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to ask the IRS for personal tax information of undocumented immigrants who are under criminal investigation. Several top IRS officials resigned following the announcement. 

Caleb Smith joined the show to break down what this means for undocumented Minnesotans. Smith is a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School’s Tax Law Clinic.

We are less than a month away from the Real ID deadline. Starting May 7, you will need a special driver's license to board a plane, even if you are flying domestically.

According to the Department of Vehicle Services, 60 percent of Minnesotans do not have a Real ID. And many are now rushing to the DMV. Several counties in the Twin Cities are reporting 3-4 hour waits.

Getting a Real ID is a bit of a more complicated process than getting a driver's license. Minnesota Now host Nina Moini talked to Jody-Kay Peterson, the program director of driver services at Minnesota's Department of Public Safety, to answer your questions.

A game popular with high school students across Minnesota has caused injuries and even death. So why are kids still playing it? We'll talk to a police chief in central Minnesota about how his department and others are navigating these nerf wars.

Some immigrants on humanitarian parole are being told their temporary legal protections have ended. We'll talk to an immigration expert who says some of her clients in Minnesota received letters instructing them to leave the country immediately.

And we'll learn how Minnesota's largest generation has been impacted by multiple economic recessions.

Plus, it's draft night for the WNBA and the Wolves have made the playoffs. We'll get the latest sports news from our sports contributors.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Steady Ballin’” by Obi Original and our Song of the Day was “Sinner” by Mike Munson.

It’s a big week for professional basketball. The WNBA draft is Monday night. And Minnesota Lynx won't have a first-round pick. They traded it for Chicago’s first-round pick next year.

Plus, the NBA playoffs begin this weekend and the Timberwolves have made the cut. Wolves coach Chris Finch says the team has adjusted to changes made after last year’s playoff run – when Karl Anthony Towns was traded.

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

Millennials are Minnesota’s largest generation by population and are the largest portion of the workforce. That’s according to the most recent state data from 2023 obtained by MPR News.

The generation ranges from age 29 at the youngest and in their early 40s at the oldest. They are an important part of our economy. But they’ve faced a lot of economic headwinds. The 2008 Great Recession and COVID-19. And now there is more economic uncertainty ahead.

Janna Johnson is an associate professor at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. She joined Minnesota Now to break down the importance of the millennial generation and what the possibility of another economic crisis could mean.

In Minnesota and across the country, thousands of migrants who are in the U.S. with a status called humanitarian parole are being told their temporary legal protections have ended.

Many of these migrants came to the U.S. during Biden’s presidency as the administration attempted to expand legal pathways to enter the country.

The Trump administration is telling some migrants who entered the U.S. through one humanitarian parole program, called CBP One, to leave the country “immediately.”

Ana Pottratz Acosta is a professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law specializing in immigration law and has clients who received the notice to leave. She joined Minnesota Now to break down what this all means and how immigrants living in Minnesota may be impacted.

A 16-year-old teen in Sauk Rapids was run over by a friend's car while participating in the popular game for high schoolers known as “Nerf Wars.” His injuries were non-life-threatening in this case. That was just two days after local law enforcement issued a warning about safety concerns for high school seniors playing the game.

Sauk Rapids Police Chief Perry Beise joins Minnesota Now to talk about the incident and how to keep students safe.

Eight-year-old Elena Easley was recently told she shouldn’t be playing football. After she told her mom what happened, they made a TikTok video looking for support that went viral.

MPR News digital producer went to Cambridge to talk to her for Minnesota Now’s “Thank You, Stranger.”

Thank You, Stranger is our series about unexpected kindness in our lives. If you have a story to share about a stranger who made your life a little brighter, we want to hear it.

Contact us at [email protected] or ‪(612) 361-1252‬.