Minnesota Now

Fires at encampments across Minneapolis have once again brought to the forefront efforts to find solutions for unhoused people in the city. We also hear the latest on a new agreement requiring federal oversight of the Minneapolis Police Department.

A wide range of new measures intended to protect renters are now in effect. We find out how these laws could impact victims of domestic violence and recent immigrants.

Minnesota is seeing a housing shortage, especially in the Twin Cities and on the North Shore. We learn how a new Trump administration could impact the state's housing market.

And we meet a Twin Cities author whose debut children's book out today highlights Black barbershops.

Minnesota, like the rest of the country, is grappling with a deepening housing shortage. It's an issue that started way back during the 2008 financial crisis, where housing production slowed to a crawl. Experts say the market is still feeling those effects.

Municipal, state and federal government leaders have pitched a number of strategies to get more houses built and slow the climbing prices of already existing houses. President-elect Donald Trump has ideas of his own. For a preview of what housing policy could look like under Trump, MPR News host Nina Moini talks with Andy Babula, Director of the Real Estate program at St. Thomas University in St. Paul.

Amid the cold weather there have been a string of fires at encampments in Minneapolis. Two encampment fires ignited Monday just six blocks apart. Both were in the Midtown Phillips neighborhood in south Minneapolis.

At the larger of the two encampments, Minneapolis fire officials say propane tanks exploded, causing a large plume of black smoke to rise over the city. At the other encampment, they were able to put out the fire before any explosions occurred.

These incidents follow another fire under similar circumstances less than a month ago, where propane tanks exploded at an encampment in the same neighborhood.

Advocates for the homeless say more than 200 people were displaced in Monday’s fires. Minneapolis fire officials say they did not have an official count.

Minneapolis Council member Jason Chavez represents the area where the encampment fires happened. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about solutions for unhoused people in Minneapolis.

In the highly anticipated match-up between the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions Sunday night, the Vikings blinked. Minnesota lost 31-9 and now goes into the playoffs as the number five seed, out of seven. Detroit got the number one spot.

Now the Vikings are looking ahead to next week’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, the only other team besides Detroit that has beat them this season. It’s a tricky way to start the playoffs. Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about it.

Wally Langfellow is the founder of Minnesota Score Sports Magazine and co-host of the sports talk show 10-Thousand Takes. Eric Nelson is the other host of that show and Minnesota Vikings NFL reporter for CBS' Eye on Football and Sirius XM.

Congress met in Washington D.C. to certify Donald Trump’s re-election Monday. It’s on the same day that a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol four years ago. We hear from Sen. Amy Klobuchar about new rules in place for the day’s process.

Minneapolis leaders are voting Monday on a federal consent decree that would mandate extensive reform to the Minneapolis Police Department.

A new law in Minnesota requires ticket sellers to list the full price of a ticket before fans get to checkout. We hear how that’s impacting local venues around the state.

Did you see the weekend’s Vikings game? It was a hard one to watch. We get the breakdown from our sports contributors on Sunday night’s game plus a recap on the Gopher bowl win.

You have probably had this experience when buying a ticket for a concert or sporting event. As you’re clicking through the online ticketing process, the price you originally saw for your ticket nearly doubles by the time you are ready to give the vendor your credit card information. It’s a common problem across many ticketing platforms, and it’s causing people to spend much more than they intended. That’s changed now that a new state law has gone into effect. It’s known as the Taylor Swift bill. And it requires sellers to list the full price, including fees, on their website before buyers get to checkout.

The bill’s author, State Rep. Kelly Moller, said the inspiration for the bill came from her experience trying to secure tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Minneapolis two years ago. She wasn’t alone in her frustrations — thousands of fans couldn’t get tickets and some paid upwards of 70 times face value to secure tickets.

It prompted lawmakers across the country to introduce bills similar to Moller’s, which was fittingly identified as House File 1989 during session, a number many fans know as both the year Swift was born and the name of her fifth studio album.

Todd Duesing, Hennepin Arts CEO and president, joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about the implications this law will have for fans and local venues in Minnesota. Duesing testified in support of the bill at the Legislature last session.

The Minneapolis City Council is in a closed door session Monday to discuss a new agreement with federal officials which would mandate reforms to the city’s police department.

MPR News reporter Estelle Timar-Wilcox has been covering the city council decision and joined MPR News host Nina Moini about the reform process that has taken several years after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

Lawmakers in Washington D.C. are gathering to count the electoral votes from the presidential election and certify Donald Trump’s win.

It was a process that was largely unknown until four years ago, on Jan. 6, 2021, when then-President Donald Trump, who had lost the 2020 election, attempted to block the certification of President Joe Biden’s win. Trump claimed the election was stolen from him, which was dismissed by various courts and election officials. Rioting by Trump supporters at the capitol that day left four people dead, 140 officers injured and another four officers who later died by suicide.

There have been 1,563 people charged with offenses related to the attack. Fifteen of those people were Minnesotans. There are now new rules in place for the Jan. 6 process, to prevent what happened four years ago. U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar was part of crafting those reforms as chair of the Senate Rules Committee. She spoke with MPR News host Nina Moini ahead of the afternoon’s certification about what the day will look like.

The start of 2025 means new laws going into effect in the state. We get a rundown of those, plus two special elections this month.

The federal government wants to require reform at the Minneapolis Police Department.

And the Vikings are taking an exciting step towards the Super Bowl. They are vying for the top spot in the playoffs on Sunday night.

A taskforce is recommending the state decriminalize psychedelic drugs for therapeutic purposes.

Plus, for many Somali Americans, New Year’s Day doubles as a birthday. We learn about why so many Somali refugees celebrate their birth on Jan. 1.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Compression” by Monica LaPlante.

On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings have the chance to become the number one seed in the NFC playoffs for the first time since 1998 in a primetime game against the Detroit Lions.

Both teams are entering the game with identical 14-2 records. The top seed guarantees home-field advantage throughout the postseason and a first-round bye. The loser, despite finishing the regular season with 14 wins, would fall to the number five seed, forcing them to play on the road in the opening round due to the NFL’s playoff structure.

It’s unprecedented for two teams with records this good to meet so late in the season. To talk about the dominant NFC North Division and the highly anticipated matchup, sports contributors, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined Minnesota Now.

Langfellow is the founder of Minnesota Score Sports Magazine and co-host of the sports talk show 10,000 Takes. Nelson is the other host of 10,000 Takes and Minnesota Vikings NFL reporter for CBS’ Eye on Football and Sirius XM.