Minnesota Now

MPR News political analysts Chas Anderson and Todd Rapp dive deeper into the primary results and what they mean for the November midterm. Anderson, a Republican, is the CEO and senior principal at Park Street Public. Rapp is a DFL political analyst with Rapp Strategies.

Tuesday is primary election day. The polls are open across the state until 8 p.m. MPR News reporters are out talking to voters, and will share what issues are standing out as voters choose candidates to send to the November election for governor, senator and other races.

In St. Paul, voters may see a question on their November ballots about the right to repair for renters.

A nurse practitioner is reconnecting with patients who were living in a homeless encampment that the City of St. Paul cleared last week. We’ll hear from her about her work.

Imagine 89,000 EV chargers in the Twin Cities metro. That's what's needed to keep up with demand, according to the Metropolitan Council.

Is it heaven? Is it Iowa? We'll go to Major League Baseball's new “Field of Dreams.”

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Decision Day” by Field Report, and our Song of the Day was “Is It Far Or Is It Close” by Author.

It’s been about a week since the city of St. Paul cleared a homeless encampment at Pig’s Eye Park near the Mississippi River. An estimated one to two hundred people were living there.

Now that it's closed, many former residents are now staying in another encampment a few miles upriver. The city has said it also plans to clear that encampment, plus one other in St. Paul, in the coming months. It hasn't set a timeline for those closures. A spokesperson said the city is doing an after-action review of the first one and considering its next steps.

Nurse practitioner Kat Donnelly is trying to stay connected with patients who have been staying in encampments in St. Paul. She joined MPR News host Nina Moini to share perspective on the situation.

A new report from the Metropolitan Council has found that there is a significant gap between public electric vehicle charging supply and projected demand.

Right now, in the Twin Cities metro, there are just over 2,000 public EV charging ports. By 2040, in the next 14 years, that will need to increase to roughly 90,000 EV chargers. It’s based on an estimate of 1.2 million EVs on the road in the metro by that time.

Joining Minnesota Now is the person behind this report, Tony Fischer. He is a transportation planner with the Metropolitan Council.

You likely recognize the quote “If you build it, he will come.” It took off in the American lexicon from the 1989 Iowa baseball film, "Field of Dreams." People have been coming to that Iowa baseball diamond in the middle of a cornfield for more than 30 years now — to visit the movie site.

Now, Major League Baseball and the town of Dyersville, Iowa have built something new. It's a professional field alongside the film set. On Thursday evening the Twins and the Phillies will face off on it, and the game will stream live on Netflix. The St. Paul Saints will play at the field Tuesday evening against the Iowa Cubs.

Jacque Rahe knows the field well. She’s the executive director of the Dyersville Economic Development Corporation and has been helping manage the “Field of Dreams” site for years. She talked to MPR News host Nina Moini about the first game at the new field, and why “Field of Dreams” has resonated with fans for so long.

A judge has ruled that a right to repair ballot initiative must be on the ballot for St. Paul residents. Right to repair would allow renters to take on smaller repairs if their landlord has not, and then get reimbursed.

St. Paul city council had voted to reject the ballot initiative citing concerns it may conflict with state law. That led the organization behind the initiative, Safe Homes St. Paul, to file a lawsuit.

On Monday, a Ramsey County judge ruled that the city couldn’t keep the measure from voters.

And Aug. 11 is the deadline for the city to get the measure on November’s ballot, and the court is ordering the city to do so. The city of St. Paul filed an appeal with the Minnesota Supreme Court, which denied their request.

Joining Minnesota Now host Nina Moini about what’s next is Cole Hanson, with Safe Homes St. Paul.

Minnesotans will decide on Tuesday who will be on the November ballots. We'll hear more about the key races in this year's primary.

And a coalition of dozens of northeast Minnesota businesses are calling for more help with wildfire recovery.

Our neighbors in Wisconsin will also be heading to the polls Tuesday. We'll have more on the Governor race there that's seen several shakeups.

And asylum seekers are facing a new rule change that some lawyers worry could make more people vulnerable to deportation. The federal government says it's meant to help clear the backlog of cases.

Plus, A Minnesota Lynx player made history. Kayla McBride made 10 3-pointers in a Lynx win over the Dallas Wings. We'll hear more about it and get more Minnesota sports updates.

More than 80 businesses have signed a letter asking the state for help after wildfires in northeast Minnesota forced closures around the Boundary Waters during what is normally the busiest time of year. It comes after Gov. Walz said there would not be a special session held to address the economic impacts of the fire.

MPR News host Nina Moini spoke with two of those businesses owners, both based in Ely, who voiced their concerns: Elli Piragis, general manager of Piragis Northwoods Company, and Abby Dare, owner and operator of The Meadows Gallery and Studio.

The Minnesota Lynx are the first team in the WNBA to secure a spot in the playoffs this fall. As they beat the Dallas Wings yesterday 103 to 90, guard Kayla McBride lived up to her nickname: McBuckets.

She made 10 3-pointers, breaking the WNBA record for 3s in a single game.

Plus, a check in on Minnesota Vikings training camp and the Minnesota Twins are back home after a close series with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Minnesota Now sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about the latest sports headlines.

A new story from Sahan Journal looks at a change in federal immigration policy and what it means in Minnesota.

The policy has to do with affirmative asylum seekers, or people who applied for asylum with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Under a new rule, USCIS officers can send their applications straight to an immigration judge, without interviewing them first.

The agency said in its announcement the change will help chip away at a massive backlog in asylum cases. But some lawyers in Minnesota say it will land more asylum seekers in court, facing deportation. And it comes as the federal government is rolling back other protections for people who fear returning to their home countries.

Sahan Journal reporter Shubhanjana Das has been covering the story and joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about her reporting.