The federal government shutdown caused weeks of turmoil for recipients of the food assistance benefits known as SNAP. In the background, major changes to the program took effect under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” Congress passed this summer.

About 9,000 immigrants in Minnesota are no longer eligible for SNAP, according to the state. And administrators are in the process of implementing work requirements that are expected to impact 29,000 others.

Sophia Lenarz-Coy, executive director of The Food Group, joined MPR News host Nina Moini to explain what’s changed in Minnesota.

For a few seconds, it looked like the Minnesota Vikings had made a comeback to beat the Chicago Bears yesterday. But right after their last-minute touchdown, the Bears scored a field goal. Chicago won the game 19 to 17.

The Vikings now go on to face their division rivals, the Green Bay Packers. While the Vikings will be away at Lambeau Field, high schools football teams will be taking over U.S. Bank Stadium for the state tournament.

Sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about these stories and all things Minnesota sports.

Minnesota-based retail giant Target is encouraging its store employees to smile and interact with customers more. Target shared with MPR News that the employee training program is called “10-4.” At 10 feet within a customer, Target is guiding store employees to smile and make eye contact with customers. And at 4 feet, employees should consider a conversation.

The new guidance has caused quite the conversation, with people reflecting “how do I want to be interacted with when going to a store?”

Joining Minnesota Now is an expert in consumer behavior and psychology, Aaron Sackett. He’s a marketing professor at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business.

Ten years ago this weekend, Jamar Clark was shot and killed by Minneapolis police. His death was a turning point for the Black Lives Matter movement throughout Minnesota. We reflect on changes in policing in the city and on Clark's life with his sister.

We get updated on the conflict between a Minneapolis landowner and the city about an encampment that grew on his property.

MPR News reporter Kirsti Marohn joins us to talk about how battery storage plays a role in the state's shift to clean energy.

Plus, we take you to a booming new Mexican market in Richfield.

For some, when it gets chilly outside, it's time to turn the oven on inside. We talk with chef Amy Thielen about her favorite fall treats.

The Minnesota Music Minute was “Sad Firm Handshake” by Dave King Trucking Company and “Flowers” by Dirty-930 was the Song of the Day.

For many Minnesotans, fall means it's time to get the comforting warm flavors of nutmeg, apple, cardamom and maple to fill the air in the kitchen.

Minnesota-based chef and cookbook author Amy Thielen joined MPR News host Nina Moini to share what recipes she’s thinking about this fall season.

Earlier this month, Minnesota-based Xcel Energy announced it wants to double the amount of lithium battery storage it already planned to install next to its Sherco coal-fired power plant in central Minnesota. The batteries would allow Xcel to store energy produced at its wind, solar, nuclear and natural gas plants across the Upper Midwest.

MPR News reporter Kirsti Marohn has been covering how batteries that store electricity on demand are becoming an increasingly important part of the transition to clean energy. She joined MPR News host Nina Moini to share more about her reporting as part of a weekly check in with MPR News reporters based in greater Minnesota.

On Thursday morning, a judge denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the city of Minneapolis against a landlord who allowed dozens of people to camp on a parking lot he owns.

The city sued Hamoudi Sabri in September to force him to close the encampment. A few days later, the city cleared the encampment after a shooting there killed one person and injured six others.

Sabri’s lawyers argued the city could not move forward with the lawsuit without including the people who had been living in the encampment in the case.

MPR News reporter Cari Spencer was at the courthouse during the hearing and joined MPR News host Nina Moini to explain.

This weekend marks 10 years since the police killing of Jamar Clark. Clark was 24 years old and unarmed when Minneapolis police shot and killed him. The officers said Clark reached for one of their guns during a confrontation outside a party. Some witnesses disputed that Clark reached for the officer’s weapon. No officers were charged with a crime. 

Clark’s death spurred protests and activism that has carried through the police killings of other Black men in Minnesota, Philando Castile in 2016 and George Floyd in 2020.

MPR News host Nina Moini talked to one of Clark’s sisters, Tiffany Burns, to reflect on the 10 years since her brother’s death, which changed Minnesota’s history and her family forever.

The U.S. House of Representatives returns to Washington Wednesday to vote on a bill that would end the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history. We talk to one of Minnesota's representatives, Democrat Betty McCollum, about how she plans to vote.

A new poll led by former Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges shows that female mayors face more harassment. We talk to Mayor Hodges about the results.

Plus, is the Midwest a lost region? A conference is looking to put the study of the Midwest back on the map.

And the northern lights were hard to miss last night! Paul Huttner shares the chances of seeing the aurora glow tonight.

And we go out to lunch with T Williams, who shares his 50 years of activism in Minneapolis.

The Minnesota Music Minute was “2042” by French Brigade and “Hallelujah I Love Her So” by Eddie Corchran was the Song of the Day.

We have all been witnesses to moments in history. But there are people in every community who go a step further by working to shape what happens next. Minnesota Now’s series, Out to Lunch, is a chance to get to know some of those influential neighbors.

MPR News host Nina Moini recently met up with longtime activist T Williams at Soul Bowl, a restaurant inside the V3 Sports health and wellness center in north Minneapolis. He has lived in the neighborhood since moving to Minnesota in 1965.

That year, he became director of the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center. After riots broke out on Plymouth Avenue in 1967, he helped set up the Minneapolis Urban Coalition, a group of corporate leaders, local politicians and community members created to work on poverty and racial inequality in the city.

Now, Williams is sharing a record of his long career advocating for people of color in Minnesota. He wrote a book with co-author David Lawrence Grant. It’s called “Rewind: Lessons from Fifty Years of Activism.”