Govenor Walz signs a bill Monday that will bring relief to folks with medical debt. The new law bans the transfer of medical debt to spouses and the denial of necessary medical care over unpaid bills. We heard from two Minnesotans who are directly affected by this new law.

In the span of a week, Minnesota high schoolers created and ran a mock government. We talked to the teen governors who were elected by their peers.

An outdoor adventure journalist shared her favorite Minnesota locations, plus tips for beginners to get outside this summer.

Pride Month can bring out divisions in our communities. We explored how families and rural communities in Minnesota are building bridges.

Many rural pride events in Minnesota have at some point faced pushback, or even threats. Over the weekend Cook County Pride in Grand Marais received a bomb threat.

Meanwhile, Itasca Pride in Grand Rapids is also facing pushback as they get ready for their first ever celebration this weekend. But despite that, rural pride events are still successful in Minnesota.

Joining MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer is the chair of East Central Pride, Aaron Bombard and a board member of Itasca Pride, Liz Branum.

Monday afternoon Gov. Tim Walz will ceremonially sign a bill into law what’s known as the Minnesota Debt Fairness Act. Starting Oct. 1, the bill will ban medical providers from withholding care from patients with unpaid medical bills. It also requires that thousands of Minnesotans be forgiven medical debt that was transferred onto a spouse after death or whose bills have errors in them.

Two Minnesotans whose lives would have been deeply affected by medical debt joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer. Denis St. Martin from Inver Grove Heights has a son whose medical care was paused after a coding error resulted in a $250,000 bill for their family. And Walt Myers was hit with a surprise $135,000 bill transferred from his wife’s hospice care after she passed away from breast cancer in 2019.

Do you remember what you did last week? I’m guessing most of you didn’t create an entire government with people you have never met — and then run for office, pass laws, or decide court cases. That’s what two groups of high school students in Minnesota were up to. Boys State and Girls State are separate, weeklong programs run by the American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary, respectively.

Toluca Tellaeche Ramirez, an incoming senior at Pine Island High School and this year’s Minnesota Girls State Governor elect, joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer to share more about this crash course in the workings of government.

Tucker Fournier, an incoming senior at Maple Grove High School and this year's Boys State Governor elect also joined the conversation.

The Minnesota Twins have wrapped up their series against the Colorado Rockies with more home runs than they’ve made in a single game this season. They won 17-9 Wednesday.

And in basketball, the Lynx have also had a good week, beating the Las Vegas Aces 100-86 on Tuesday. Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined MPR News guest host Nina Moini to talk about what’s next for both teams.

A report out Thursday morning from the Minnesota Legislative Auditor’s Office says ”actions and inactions” by the Minnesota Department of Education created opportunities for fraud in two taxpayer-funded child nutrition programs.

The report comes in response to federal criminal charges against dozens of people connected to the Twin Cities nonprofit Feeding Our Future. They’re accused of stealing $250 million by submitting falsified meal reimbursement requests.

MPR News correspondent Matt Sepic has been following the criminal cases and joined Minnesota Now guest host Nina Moini with a look at the auditor’s review.

A hiring controversy at the University of Minnesota is getting widespread attention in the academic world. A group of professors at the University of Minnesota are calling on the administration to follow through on a job offer to a scholar whose hiring it recently froze.

Raz Segal is an Israeli historian who was offered a position at the helm of the U of M’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. But because of an article he’d written where he called Israel’s siege of Gaza a genocide, two board members of the center resigned, and The Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas protested the choice along with other Jewish community members. They argue that Segal’s views are extreme and that he had justified Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

In an interview with MPR News, Segal, who is Jewish himself, said that is not true, “I have said exactly the opposite. I’ve described the Hamas-led attack on Israel as a case of mass murder, as war crimes, as crimes against humanity. I’ve been very clear on this for months and months on end.”

The U said in a statement that it is considering the views of those who objected to Segal’s appointment. For his part, Segal said he’s still interested in the position if the University decides to “unpause.”

Hundreds of professors have signed a letter condemning the university’s decision. And the University of Minnesota’s chapter of the American Association of University chapters sent a letter to the administration asking it to do just that. Sumanth Gopinath is president of the chapter and an associate professor of music theory. He joined MPR News guest host Nina Moini.

We have more details on the Minnesota Department of Education’s role in the Feeding our Future fraud case.

We’ll look into academic freedom concerns over the hiring process at the University of Minnesota Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

A commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War begins today in Minnesota. A veteran will share his story.

White Earth Nation will spend the entire weekend collecting oral histories from it’s members. We’ll hear why that’s so important.

And in a new series, we’ll get some direct communication advice for us not so direct Minnesotans.

Today’s Minnesota Music Minute was “May” by Humbird.

We have a new segment we’re debuting on Minnesota Now called “Professional Help.” We all need a little help to get through life sometimes. From everyday questions to more complex problems, we’re asking the experts to lend us a hand. Throughout the series, we’ll hear some direct advice, for us not so direct Minnesotans.

Our Ask: Help me be more assertive

Our Professional: Terri Bly, PsyD, LP - Clinical Psychologist based in Minneapolis

We had to start with something uniquely Minnesotan: Help me be more assertive. We’ve all been in the office when someone won’t take the last cookie and instead keeps cutting it into smaller pieces, or have you ever been stuck in a Minnesota goodbye? We asked a professional to help us through these situations without being typical Minnesota passive aggressive.

This weekend, White Earth Nation will be spending eight hours a day recording the stories of their people. The Historical Preservation interviews is part of new required academic standards known as “Indigenous Education for All.” The state is working with all 11 tribal nations to integrate the history of Anishinaabe and Dakota people into K-12 curriculum.

Joining MPR News guest host Nina Moini is Dana Goodwin Williams, the director of the White Earth Education Division.