Minnesota Now

Minnesota-based Target and other major companies are scaling back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that have been criticized by the White House. We talk about why some of these companies are turning away from DEI and its impact.

Minnesota lawmakers are hitting a reset after a Supreme Court ruling. But will that break the stalemate in the House? MPR News correspondent Peter Cox breaks it down for us.

Plus, a bishop from the Rochester area has become one of the most listened to Catholic leaders living in the U.S. We learn more about his rise in popularity, and what it means for the future of Catholicism.

And we hear from a 74-year-old ultra marathon runner from the Duluth-area vying to become the oldest person to complete the Arrowhead 135.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Getting Older” by Gary Louris and our Song of the Day was “Don’t Leave” by Peter Wolf Crier.

Minneapolis-based Target is the latest of several large corporations — like McDonalds, Walmart and Meta — that have recently said they are rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion goals or DEI. Many of those initiatives were created or expanded under pressure to respond to racial inequality after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

Conservative activists have objected to these efforts saying it gives unfair advantages. And on President Donald Trump’s first day in office a week ago, he signed an executive order removing DEI programs from the federal government.

Sharon Smith-Akinsanya is the CEO of the Minneapolis-based marketing firm Rae Mackenzie Group and founder of the People of Color Career Fair. She joined Minnesota Now with perspective on this turn away from DEI.

Kendrick Lamar and SZA will be performing the half-time show at Super Bowl 59. And a lot of people will be more excited to see them than the two teams playing on the field.

The Philadelphia Eagles are facing the Kansas City Chiefs in a repeat of Super Bowl 57 in 2023. If the Chiefs win, it will be for the third time in a row.

Minnesota Now sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined the program to look ahead to the big game in New Orleans and other Minnesota sports news.

Early Monday morning nearly 200 athletes embarked from International Falls on the Arrowhead Ultra 135, one of the most grueling winter endurance races in the world. Racers bike, run and ski the equivalent of more than five marathons on a snow covered trail across northern Minnesota, carrying survival gear with them.

Among the racers is Michael Koppy, 74, from the Duluth area, who’s vying to become the oldest person ever to finish the Arrowhead on foot.

MPR News correspondent Dan Kraker recently caught up with Koppy, who started running ultras about 25 years ago, when he turned 50.

Bishop Robert Barron of the Winona-Rochester Diocese is undoubtedly the most listened to Catholic leader residing in the United States today. His podcast and YouTube videos, which creates from his studio in Rochester, reaches at least 1.8 million YouTube subscribers. And his unconventional way of spreading information about his faith has a heavy hand in the shifting tide of American Catholicism.

History professor Molly Worthen spent time with Bishop Robert Barron and wrote about it in an article for The Atlantic Magazine. She joined Minnesota Now to talk about the Bishop’s rise.

On Monday afternoon the Minnesota House will be back in order. But it’s more of a restart than a continuation of session business.

That’s because the Minnesota Supreme Court decided last week that Republicans didn’t have enough members present to do anything — with Democrats still staging their boycott. While talks have resumed between party leaders, action on state policies and the budget is on pause for now.

MPR News correspondent Peter Cox joined the program live from the capitol for a breakdown of what’s next for the session.

The power struggle over leadership in the state House of Representatives is headed to court. Minnesota’s supreme court will hear arguments Thursday afternoon from DFLers and Republicans who can’t agree on how to get their session started.

True crime podcasts are huge. But how truthful are they to experiences of the people they cover? A local podcaster is approaching the process differently.

2025 marks 50 years since Hmong people first immigrated to Minnesota. A local organization is working to preserve stories of grandmothers and other elder women through a new art exhibit.

The Current is celebrating 20 years of being on the air.

The Minnesota Music Minute was “Mandy” by She’s Green and the Song of the Day was “Johnny Law” by Frog Leg.

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 Professional Help, we’ll hear some direct advice, for us not-so-direct Minnesotans.

For people who grew up in Minnesota, learning how to stay warm in freezing temperatures is something you learn at a young age. But for new Minnesotans, like MPR archivist Shandi Burrows, learning how to layer your winter gear can be confusing.

Minnesota Now producer Ellie Roth decided to ask a winter layering expert for some advice.

Our ask: Help our new Minnesota friends learn how to layer for cold weather

Our professional: Trent Flegel, retail associate and head of repair at Wintergreen Northern Wear in Ely, Minn.

The Minnesota Supreme Court will hear arguments Thursday over a power struggle in the state House of Representatives. Democratic lawmakers are boycotting the chamber to keep attendance below 68 members, which is the amount of members that has historically been needed for the chamber to start its official work. DFL Secretary of State Steve Simon has said this year is no different.

House Republicans disagree and have gone ahead with business like electing a speaker. So, Simon and DFL lawmakers asked the court to step in with two different cases that could decide who has power in the house. MPR News senior politics reporter Dana Ferguson joined Minnesota Now with an update on the latest.

A Pew Research study finds that 34 percent of U.S. adults who listen to podcasts say they regularly listen true crime podcasts. A Minnesota-made podcast is taking that genre in a different direction.

Minnesota high school debate coach and wedding photographer Celisia Stanton noticed many wildly popular true crime podcasts seemed to ignore some of the systemic issues plaguing the criminal justice system, mainly when it’s related to race. Stanton learned firsthand what the “justice” in “criminal justice” really meant when, in the middle of the pandemic she became the victim of a huge financial scheme that defrauded her of tens of thousands of dollars.

Her podcast, “Truer Crime” aims to tackle some of the systemic issues related to race, victims and sexuality in the criminal justice system. The second season launched on Monday.

Stanton joined Minnesota Now to talk about the podcast’s success and the season two launch party, which is 7 p.m. on Thursday at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis.