Minnesota Now

The city of St. Paul has a new council member. On Wednesday morning Matt Privratsky swore in as the interim council member for Ward 4, replacing City Council President Mitra Jalali after she resigned in January. He now represents the area of St. Paul that includes Hamline-Midway, Como and parts of Macalester-Groveland. Council member Privratsky could have a pivotal role in casting tie-breaking votes on important measures.

Council member Privratsky joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about his background, the contentious decision around who got his seat and how he’ll spend the four months in his role before a special election to permanently fill the seat.

A judge approved Minnesota's new rules for cannabis businesses, moving the recreational market closer to becoming reality. We heard from one industry voice about the regulations and found out what it will take for dispensaries to open.

A state lawmaker is championing a group of bills to prevent abuse at daycare centers. He's motivated by his own family's experience and he joined the show to talk about it.

Five Minnesota counties have signed agreements with ICE to help with immigration enforcement. We learned what that cooperation includes.

For the latest in our Wander and Wonder series, we travelled to the small town of Madison, Minnesota.

Voyageurs National Park turned 50 years old Tuesday. A former superintendent shared her memories of the park.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was "House" by Self-Evident and our Song of the Day was "Lie, It's Alright" by Cosmic Orphan.

Minnesota's only national park turned 50 years old Tuesday. Voyageurs National Park was created on April 8, 1975. The park preserves about 220,000 acres of lakes, islands and forest along the Canadian border near International Falls. While the park is being celebrated all this year, it's creation was not without controversy.

Barbara West served as park superintendent from 1995 to 2005. She spoke to reporter Dan Kraker about some of the issues she dealt with in her role and what she loves about Voyageurs. 

A package of bills aimed at protecting infants and toddlers at childcare centers is making its way through the Minnesota House. The bills are authored by Republican Rep. Nolan West, after his family discovered that their daughter was abused at a daycare center in Blaine. 

Rep. West joined Minnesota Now to talk about what happened at the daycare center he sent his daughter to, what the proposed bills would do if they became law and where childcare oversight falls short.

The state of Minnesota took a huge step towards creating its recreational marijuana industry. The Office of Cannabis Management announced that a judge has approved the rules that will govern the marijuana market.

Kurtis Hanna is the director of government relations and public policy at Blunt Strategies, a cannabis consulting firm. He joined Minnesota Now to talk about the new regulations and how soon we could see dispensaries selling recreational marijuana.

Five counties in Minnesota recently made agreements with ICE to help with immigration enforcement. What that means is different depending on the county, and its separate from previous agreements to hold ICE detainees in three local jails around the state.

Sahan Journal reporter Andrew Hazzard is following this story. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini to explain.

This conversation was produced by Alanna Elder.

Stocks took a nose dive Monday morning as higher U.S. tariffs triggered massive sell-offs. So what does this mean for your wallet? We answered that question with MPR News economics contributor Chris Farrell and a financial counselor.

Food shelves around the country are scrambling in the face of federal funding cuts. We talked to one Twin Cities food shelf about how they are adapting.

A new state agency is trying to learn more about the needs of queer Minnesotans through a survey that will be an in-depth look at the community for the first time in 30 years.

Minnesota native Paige Bueckers won her first NCAA national title with University of Connecticut. We got the recap of that game and more with sports contributors Wally and Eric.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was ‘Walk Home’ by Bon Iver and our Song of the Day was ‘Magic Trick’ by Orange Goodness.

Paige Bueckers' college basketball career ended with a national championship on Sunday. She walked off the court with a couple minutes left in the game, hugging her coaches as the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team finished the game 23 points ahead of the University of South Carolina. The star guard from Hopkins dealt with multiple injuries during her time as a Husky, but she said after the game the whole experience was worth it.

Bueckers is now expected to be the No. 1 pick at the WNBA draft. Sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about Bueckers’ victory and other Minnesota sports updates.

Wally Langfellow is the founder of Minnesota Score Sports Magazine and co-host of the sports talk show 10,00 Takes. Eric Nelson is the other host of that show and Minnesota Vikings NFL reporter for CBS' Eye on Football and Sirius XM.

One of the state’s newest agencies is trying to learn more about the needs of queer people in Minnesota. Lawmakers created the Council on LGBTQIA2S+ Minnesotans in 2023. That’s the same year the Legislature passed the trans refuge law, making the state a destination for people fleeing bans on gender affirming care and discrimination in other states.

Through the end of May, the council is conducting a survey to guide its work in the future. It says it is the most comprehensive survey of LGBTQ+ Minnesotans in 30 years. Emma Watts, executive director of the council, joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about what they hope to learn and how the agency will use the results.

Minnesota food shelves are scrambling to find other sources of food after federal funding cuts. For PRISM and its food shelf in Golden Valley, the cuts come at a time of growing need.

Alisha Weis is the advancement director with PRISM. She joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about next steps for the food shelf.