Minnesota Now

For our newer segment Out to Lunch, we get out of the studio and into the community, where news and life is happening. We sit down with people you may have heard from on the show and get to know them at a deeper, personal level over lunch.

In this episode, we hear a conversation with the Republican Speaker of the House, Lisa Demuth. Earlier this month, she became the first Black person and Republican woman to hold the role in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Speaker Demuth has served in the House since 2018 and represents the Cold Spring area, just southwest of St. Joseph. Before becoming speaker, she served as the Republican House Minority Leader when Democrats had full control of the House, Senate and the governor's office.

Second Harvest Northland will celebrate finishing the first phase of a newly-renovated food bank Thursday in Duluth.

The organization serves 15 counties in northern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin in an area spanning more than 27,000 square miles. They first identified the need for a larger facility in 2019.

Through a fundraising program called "Nourish the Northland," they raised $20 million to revitalize the food bank.

Second Harvest Northland CEO and President Shaye Moris joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about what’s next for the food bank.

If you stepped outside recently, you definitely felt it. It’s starting to feel like spring!

Mild weather has wiped out most of the snow we got earlier in February. That has pushed events like the Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon to move further north in search of better snow. But it is welcome news for those who are feeling ready for winter to be over.

MPR meteorologist Sven Sundgaard joins MPR News host Nina Moini with an outlook on the changing season.

The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and Chamber Foundation released a report Wednesday highlighting the impact of immigrants in Minnesota’s workforce. The report builds on 16 years of research examining the role of immigration in the state’s economy. The Chamber released their first immigration report in 2007.

Sean O’Neil is the director of economic development and research at the chamber and presented the report’s findings at the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce Workforce Summit in Brooklyn Park. MPR News host Nina Moini talks with him.

Find more reporting from MPR News on our website.

Minnesota students are missing a lot of school, according to the latest data. Some lawmakers and advocates say better data would help create solutions to bring them back to the classroom. We learned about a set of bills aiming to do that.

From research groups to food shelves, Minnesota organizations have money stuck in legal limbo after the Trump administration moved to cut that spending. An expert broke down how this funding works.

A huge share of the overdose deaths in the state in recent years have happened in Minneapolis. A local journalist followed a group working on a strategy called harm reduction.

A new published collection featuring Minnesota writers turns scientific studies into poetry and prose about the needs of animals.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “I Figured” by Lutalo and our Song of the Day was “Halfway There” by Jon Sullivan Band.

In Minnesota, deadly drug overdoses doubled between 2018 and 2023. In Minneapolis, those deaths are disproportionately represented. In 2022, Minneapolis had nearly a quarter of the opioid deaths in the state, while the city only makes up eight percent of the population.

Southside Harm Reduction is on the front lines trying to prevent deadly overdoses in Minneapolis. They were featured in a new story and photo essay by local photojournalist Tim Evans. His essay “What Harm Reduction Really Looks Like” was co-published in The Nation and the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.

Evans joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about his essay.

It’s been more than a month since President Donald Trump took office. The president’s executive orders since then have included cuts to funding that goes toward nonprofits and research facilities.

The cuts highlight the complex financial relationship between the federal government, state agencies and nonprofits.

Kris Norman, a professor and program director at Hamline University Center for Public Administration and Leadership, joined Minnesota Now to explain the nuts and bolts of federal government funding to state and nonprofit programs.

On Tuesday afternoon, Minnesota lawmakers began considering legislation to help make sure students are showing up to school. According to the most recent data from the Minnesota Department of Education, in 2023, more than a quarter of students missed at least 10 percent of school.

Some lawmakers say there needs to be more effective ways of tracking who is missing a lot of school and who completely withdraws.

Matt Shaver testified Tuesday before lawmakers. He is the policy director for Ed-Allies, an organization advocating for students in Minnesota. He joined Minnesota Now to talk about why absenteeism is so harmful, why children are missing school and how new legislation could change how we track who is missing school.

Poets and authors are turning scientific studies into creative writing projects in a new book from the University of Minnesota Press. “Creature Needs: Writers Respond to the Science of Animal Conservation” includes work by four Minnesota authors, including Claire Wahmanholm. Wahmanholm joined Minnesota Now along with Christopher Kondrich, a co-editor of the book.

MPR News host Nina Moini talked to Wahmanholm and Kondrich about bringing science into creative writing, nature’s hand in poetry and the process behind the book.

Wahmanholm will host a panel about the book at Milkweed Books in Minneapolis on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m.

A deadline looms Monday night for thousands of federal workers: prove that you have done work in the last week or resign. It has plunged employees and agencies into confusion. A law professor helps answer whether the move by Elon Musk is legal.

Monday marks three years since the start of the war in Ukraine. A Minnesota doctor has helped hundreds of Ukrainians get access to free prosthetics.

Plus, as we approach Ramadan, we talk to a local Muslim deli that imports thousands of dates to help people celebrate one of the holiest months of the year.

And believe it or not, baseball season is back. The Minnesota Twins’ spring training is underway. We have the latest from our sport contributors on the Twins’ preseason, plus more on an injured Timberwolves team.

The Minnesota Music Minute was “The Fortuneteller Foretold” by Ukrainian Village Band and the Song of the Day was “Everything is Happening” by Luke Zimmerman.