Minnesota Now

In a speech Tuesday night that echoed his campaign rallies, President Donald Trump celebrated his first six weeks in office and the electoral win that came before. His words were punctuated by protests from Democrats and cheers from Republicans.

Trump won the popular vote by 1.5 percent over former Vice President Kamala Harris. His win was clear, but the results were close enough to reflect the strong divides in our country's politics.

In the series State of Democra-Z, Minnesota Now heard from a group of college-age voters from different points on the political spectrum throughout the presidential campaign. MPR News host Nina Moini checks in with them about the beginning of Trump’s second term and his address to Congress.

• Cori Stockard is a senior at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities and a Democrat.




• Addie Raum is a junior at St. Olaf College in Northfield and a conservative.




• Cory Hallada is a senior at St. Olaf College in Northfield and a Republican.

You didn't think we'd get through another Minnesota March without a doozy of a snowstorm, did you? Minnesotans across the state woke up Wednesday to several inches of cement-like snow on the ground. Minneapolis, St. Paul and the surrounding Twin Cities region declared snow emergencies and southern Minnesota saw blizzard conditions.

Gov. Tim Walz Wednesday morning authorized the Minnesota National Guard to support emergency winter storm operations and help rescue stranded drivers in Freeborn County. By noon, blowing snow was still causing problems on the roads in southern Minnesota. Several highways in the area were closed, including Interstate 90, and no travel was advised for most state highways in multiple southern Minnesota counties.

MPR News host Nina Moini talked with MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner for a closer look at the storm and what’s next. And Bryan Lillie, maintenance superintendent for MnDOT in south-central Minnesota, shares the latest on road conditions in his region.

While some Democratic lawmakers boycotted President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress Tuesday night, others invited former federal workers from their districts as guests to the speech. It was part of a wider campaign to protest the administration’s mass firings and funding cuts.

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar invited Chris Wicker as her guest. As part of the first round of layoffs by the Department of Governmental Efficiency, or DOGE, the Air Force veteran was fired as deputy director of Minnesota’s Small Business Administration Office last month. Wicker joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about his experience attending the speech.

Sloppy weather is on the way for much of the state. We break down what you need to know about a spring storm in the forecast.

An election one week from Tuesday will decide control of the Minnesota House. We learn about the candidates.

Our digital world uses a lot of electricity that has a real-world footprint. We have the latest on one proposed data center in Minnesota.

Parenting is costly, especially with just one income. We learn about a Minneapolis organization's strategy for helping single moms and their families get out of poverty.

Registration opened Tuesday for the Twin Cities marathon. With more people getting into distance running in recent years, we find out why the hobby is getting more competitive.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was ‘Love Me 2’ by Gully Boys and our Song of the Day was ‘Lost Time’ by Loud Mouth Brass.

Registration for the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon opens Tuesday. In 2024, more than 5,000 runners from all over the country took on what’s known as the most beautiful urban marathon in the country. 

Many runners use the Twin Cities Marathon to qualify for the Boston Marathon, one of the most famous races in the world. But due to the popularity of marathon running, it’s becoming more and more difficult to qualify for the Boston race. 

Jeff Metzdorff is the owner of Mill City and Saint City Running. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about the prestige of the Boston Marathon and how more of the Twin Cities running community is vying for a spot in the race.

From food to child care, costs are up for parents in Minnesota. The affordability of raising a family is especially difficult on a single income. The poverty rate for families led by a single mom in Minnesota is about three times higher than families in general, according to estimates by the U.S. Census.  

An organization that started in Minneapolis is working around the country to help single moms get out of poverty. It’s called Jeremiah Program and it’s hosting a summit in Prior Lake and online March 7-9.

Among current and former Jeremiah Program participants who will attend the summit is Lavasha Smith, a graduate of the program. Smith joined MPR News host Nina Moini along with Jeremiah Program CEO, Chastity Lord.

Minnesota’s regulations on power consumption are being put to the test after a clash with the tech giant Amazon. The company has plans to build a data center in Becker. A data center is a physical location that stores computers and equipment.

Large companies like Amazon use data centers to compute enormous amounts of information. Those computers require a lot of energy to run.

State utility regulators are pumping the breaks on the Becker center with concerns over backup generators Amazon included in its proposal.

Jessica Hellman is the executive director of the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment. She joined MPR News host Nina Moini to explore the environmental debate and implications for the data center.

A messy spring storm is headed our way. Southern Minnesota is under a blizzard warning for Tuesday evening and the Twin Cities is under a winter storm warning. What can we expect out of this system? MPR meteorologist Sven Sundgaard joined MPR News host Nina Moini with the latest on winter storm warnings, advisories and weather whiplash.

President Donald Trump’s plan to apply twenty-five percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican exports is set to start tomorrow. We'll hear from an official who oversees the relationship between Minnesota and Canada on how these tariffs could impact the local economy.

The White House is taking control of media access to the president. And it's raising concerns of press freedom. We'll hear from a former White House correspondent from Minnesota.

And it's been fifty years since researchers first gathered to discuss the emerging field of DNA technology. We'll talk to a Minnesota scientist about how the research and its ethics has evolved.

Plus, the puck has dropped for the boy's state hockey tournament. We'll get the highlights from our sports contributors.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “I'm Not Giving Up on You” by Mike Kota. Our Song of the Day was “I Will Dare” by the Replacements.

The high school boys hockey tournament will look a little bit different this year, with some big teams knocked out in sections. Hibbing/Chisholm boys high school hockey are the number seed after beating out Hermantown. It’s the team’s first trip to the state tournament since 2011.

Plus, the playoff picture is shaping up for the Wild and the Timberwolves.

All this gives us a lot to talk about with our sports contributors, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. They joined Minnesota Now with the latest.