Minnesota Now

The state has released its first findings about how COVID-19 has impacted the long term health of Minnesotans — almost five years after the pandemic began. We learn about the survey’s findings from the supervisor of Minnesota’s long covid response.

For the first time, Minnesota teachers can become licensed to teach Karen, Somali and other heritage languages. We hear from one of the first licensed Karen teachers in the nation.

Plus, leaders of a new hospitality industry nonprofit will join us to share about their efforts to create a safety net for front and back of house restaurant workers.

And we hear from St. Paul comedian and writer of the hit show Hacks Joe Mande about his new comedy show filmed in Minneapolis.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Dream/Grief” by Laamar and our Song of the Day was “Fade into the Glow” by James Rechs.

A state program created by a 2023 law allows teachers to become licensed to teach heritage languages. Since then, the group of teachers getting a license has been growing.

In 2024, on Minnesota Now we spoke to one of the 15 teachers who became the first in the state to teach Hmong. Now a new group of teachers have become licensed to teach in Somali and Karen.

Sahan Journal education reporter Becky Dernbach wrote about this recently and she joined the program.

Ehtalow Zar is a math teacher who also teaches Karen language and culture at Johnson Senior High School in St. Paul. She’s one of two teachers who just became the first licensed to teach Karen language in the state, and maybe the nation. She joined the program as well.

The state has released its first findings about how COVID-19 has impacted the long-term health of Minnesotans. The Minnesota Department of Health survey showed that four in ten of the people who responded had experienced prolonged symptoms, such as fatigue or brain fog.

Health officials called 20,000 adult Minnesotans who had COVID-19, but only 1,270 people completed the interview. The survey limits means the group doesn’t represent all Minnesotans. But the health department says the input can help the public, health care providers and public health professionals understand long COVID symptoms.

Joining Minnesota Now to talk about the findings of the survey is Kate Murray, the supervisor of the state’s long COVID response.

If you don’t know Joe Mande’s name, you’ve almost certainly seen something he’s worked on. The St. Paul raised comedian has written for and appeared on hit shows like “Parks and Recreation,” “Modern Family” and more recently, “Hacks.”

But before he started as a talented writer, he was performing stand up comedy. Mande shot his second comedy special at the Parkway Theater in south Minneapolis, called “Chill," and it came out on Hulu last month.

Mande joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about his special, TV comedy writing and his Minnesota upbringing.

A new nonprofit has launched to help fill gaps in support for hospitality workers. Help the House Foundation aims to be a safety net for front and back of house restaurant workers. That includes anything from providing resources to help with employees physical health, mental health and general wellbeing.

Its founder, Kate Meier, recognized that while the hospitality industry is built on care and service, those who make it thrive often face challenges in silence. She’s also the owner of Craftmade Aprons in northeast Minneapolis.

Nettie Colόn is a board member on the foundation and the owner of Red Hen Gastrolab Concepts.

Meier and Colόn spoke to Minnesota Now host Nina Moini about the new organization.

Even though it’s chilly, some people may find it’s refreshing to having a real, cold and snowy Minnesota winter after last year’s winter dud. And this week, we’re going to have it all. Snow, freezing temperatures and above average temperatures.

MPR chief meteorologist Paul Huttner spoke to Minnesota Now host Nina Moini about this rollercoaster forecast.

Tuesday is the start of the Minnesota Legislative session. Both chambers gaveled in at noon, but House Democrats were not there. MPR News correspondent Peter Cox has the latest updates from the Capitol.

A Twin Cities journalist moved into a century-old house in South Minneapolis and found an irresistible story.

Plus, there has been a recent development in a proposed pipeline route through a site sacred to many tribal nations. A Native American artist talks about the importance of pipestone and the area where it is found.

And it was painful for many Vikings fans to watch Monday night’s game. We get a rundown of the disappointing end to their season and other Minnesota sports updates.

The Minnesota Music Minute was Tres Leches by Purple Funk Metropolis and Marah in the Mainsail by Bone Crowd was the Song of the Day.

Tuesday at noon was the official start of the Minnesota Legislature’s 2025 session.

It has been a strange start to say the least. A judge ruled Tuesday morning in favor of a DFL lawmaker’s narrow win, although the decision may not bring an end to a dispute about seating him. The tied Senate gaveled in under a power-sharing deal. But the state House of Representatives’ kickoff has been tinged with friction, threats and uncertainty.

MPR News correspondent Peter Cox joined MPR News host Nina Moini from the Capitol.

The Minnesota Vikings’ successful season has come to a familiar end. The team lost 9 to 27 Monday night in a Wild Card game against the LA Rams. The game was moved to Arizona due to the wildfires that continue to burn in California. Next, the Rams will go on to play the Eagles Sunday in Philadelphia.

Sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined MPR News host Nina Moini to put the game in perspective.

It’s a familiar tale: a family moves into a new house that turns out to be visited by the spirits of those who lived there many years earlier. “Ghost of a Chance,” a new podcast by the Minnesota Star Tribune, is not a ghost story. But it brings to life the story of the former residents of reporter Eric Roper’s house, which he bought in South Minneapolis in 2020.

Harry and Clementine Robinson were in the first generation of their families born free in the United States. When they moved into the house in 1919, they were among just a few Black families to own a home in that part of the city. They moved out just a few years later, in 1940.

In the series, Roper and producer Melissa Townsend explore how the reasons for the Robinson’s move — and what happened next — connect to a larger story of segregation that exists in the city today.

For more, MPR News host Nina Moini talked with Roper and Greg McMoore, a community historian in South Minneapolis.