Minnesota Now

The Current is celebrating its 20th birthday this week. Since the station launched at 9:00 a.m. on Jan. 24, 2005, it has connected Minnesota to all kinds of music — old and new, popular and underrated, local and otherwise. It’s also helped boost the careers of Minnesota artists.

The Current’s morning host Jill Riley, who’s been with the Current since day one, joined Minnesota Now to take a trip down memory lane and talk about the station’s success.

2025 marks 50 years since Hmong people started immigrating to Minnesota. To commemorate the milestone, a local organization is working to preserve the stories of 50 years and beyond.

Minnesota Zej Zog, a nonprofit that works to preserve Hmong culture, is opening an exhibit this weekend in St. Paul called “Of Distance and Time.” The exhibit captures the stories of Hmong moms, grandmothers and aunts over the age of 65.

Executive director of Minnesota Zej Zog Pang Yang and photographer Richard Leonard Schultz joined Minnesota Now to talk about the project.

The heavy rains and flooding that affected much of Minnesota last spring and summer may seem a lifetime ago. But it’s a weather pattern we are expected to see more of as the state becomes warmer and wetter. These conditions are also hard on wild rice, which needs shallow water, especially early in the growing season.

One way people who are concerned about the future of the plant are working to protect it is through the law. A campaign launching this year asks the state of Minnesota to recognize legal rights for wild rice, as the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and the 1855 Treaty Authority have done.

Leanna Goose is an organizer with the Rise and Repair Alliance, a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and a researcher who is working to reseed wild rice on Leech Lake. She is speaking in a panel discussion Sunday at the Great Northern Festival’s Climate Solutions Series, moderated by MPR News senior reporter Melissa Olson.

Leanna Goose joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about the campaign.

After an arctic freeze across the state more seasonal temperatures returned to Minnesota Wednesday. MPR chief meteorologist Paul Huttner joins Minnesota Now host Nina Moini with information on how cold it got and the weather to come.

Minnesota is joining 21 other states to block President Donald Trump's move to end birthright citizenship, a practice that guarantees U.S.-born children citizenship regardless of their parents' status. A legal expert breaks down how this could play out in court.

A doctor shares his insights on new research that shows a rise in cancer diagnoses among younger women.

And we learn about efforts to give wild rice new legal protections in Minnesota.

Plus, we made it through the coldest temperatures in four years! Chief meteorologist Paul Huttner has details on a winter warm-up.

The award-winning film “Sing Sing” is highlighting theater in prisons. We look at a similar program in Minnesota.

The Minnesota Music Minute was “Change of Heart” by Your Smith and the Song of the Day was “Lights Out” by Martin Devaney.

The American Cancer Society reported last week that young and middle-aged women were diagnosed with cancer more frequently in 2024. The report found that six of the most common cancers are on the rise, including cancers found in the breasts and uterus.

Dr. Schelomo Marmor is an associate professor of surgical oncology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini to explain these cancer trends.

The film “Sing Sing” is showing in theaters and in more than 1,000 prisons around the United States. The movie, which stars Colman Domingo alongside formerly incarcerated actors, portrays life behind bars through the lens of a prison theater program.

Here in Minnesota, the organization Ten Thousand Things does similar work at a smaller scale. In the last year they have brought theater courses into correctional facilities in Shakopee, Stillwater and Faribault. Managing director Stephanie Thompson joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about this work.

Minnesota has joined a multi-state legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, which guarantees citizenship to all babies born in the U.S., regardless of their parents’ legal status.

Supporters of the law say birthright citizenship is enshrined in the 14th Amendment, but Trump and his allies dispute that reading of the amendment. They say there need to be tougher standards for becoming a citizen.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is one of the 22 attorneys general taking part in the lawsuit. He told MPR News the executive order is a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

“I do anticipate this time around, the Trump Administration will be better prepared,” he said. “But those of us who swear an oath to uphold the rule of law and support the Constitution, we’re not gonna just let things go by.”

Jason Marisam, a constitutional law professor at Hamline University and a former Minnesota assistant attorney general, joined MPR News host Nina Moini to break down the case.

One of the many executive orders President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office Monday includes a declaration that the U.S. government recognizes only two sexes: male and female.

The orders reverse the Biden administration’s attempts to broaden gender identity designations on passports and in the federal sphere. To explain Trump’s orders and paint a picture of how they might impact Minnesotans, Jess Braverman, the legal director at the nonprofit Gender Justice in St. Paul joined Minnesota Now.

President Donald Trump has suspended refugee resettlement. We'll talk to one of five resettlement agencies in the state along with a nonprofit helping Afghan refugees about how their work is being impacted and how they're responding.

On his first day in office President Donald Trump signed an executive order recognizing only two sexes: male and female. We talked with a gender rights nonprofit about what this could mean.

A zoning bill meant to create more affordable housing failed in the state legislature last year, but not before it gained bipartisan momentum. We talked with two of its authors about their approach this time around.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Oil Light” by Yonder and our Song of the Day was “Starless Summer Sky” by Marshall Crenshaw.