Minnesota Now

Minnesota's health department is investigating a salmonella outbreak linked to Chipotle and other quick-service Mexican restaurants.

As of Wednesday morning, state health officials have identified 110 cases and they say jalapeños may be the source.

Minnesota Department of Health epidemiologist Dana Eikmeier joined MPR News guest host Kelly Gordon to share more about the situation.

With the primaries a week away, we'll talk to Secretary of State Steve Simon about how elections staff are preparing for possible threats and working to make sure this year's elections are fair and secure.

Tens of thousands of Hmong and Lao soldiers fought alongside the U.S. in the Secret War in Laos. More than 50 years later, Secret War veterans in Minnesota are now eligible for benefits.

Remember Rosie the Riveter? We'll talk about the life of a Minnesota woman who went to work during World War II.

A new book named after Roseville's "Har Mar" strip mall tells the stories of women living in Turkey and Minnesota.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “You Got It All” by The Jets, and our Song of the Day was "Come to Me" by Lily and Madeline.

Minnesota’s primary elections are on Aug. 11. The winning candidates will compete in the November general election for various local positions as well as seats in the governor’s office and Congress.

MPR News host Kelly Gordon talked with Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat, about how election officials are preparing for potential threats to election integrity and security.

The image of Rosie the Riveter flexing her bicep beneath the words "We Can Do It!" has become an enduring symbol. The iconic poster represents the millions of women who stepped into factories, shipyards and assembly lines during World War II, including Minnesota-raised Jeanne Gibson.

Gibson, who died on July 29 at age 100, grew up in Minneapolis before heading to Seattle to help build Navy destroyers as a welder during the war. She is believed to have been one of the last surviving Rosie the Riveters.

In the decades that followed, she dedicated herself to making sure the stories like hers would not be forgotten, volunteering at the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, Calif.

Tammy Brumley is a fellow volunteer known as the park's "Rosie Wrangler.” She was also a close friend of Gibson’s in her final years of life. Brumley said the women known as “Rosies” were essential to victory in World War II when they took on jobs that had traditionally been for men after millions left to serve in the military.

"They stepped up," Brumley told Minnesota Now guest host Kelly Gordon. "Whether it was typical riveters or welders, or people making parachute pins or K-rations, anything for the war effort.”

That history becomes more urgent to preserve with each passing year, Brumley said. While a handful of Rosies are still alive, their numbers continue to dwindle.

For Jeanne Gibson, the path to becoming a Rosie began in Minneapolis. She was a student at Southwest High School when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. As a teen, she hoped to become a veterinarian but the nearest veterinary school rejected her application because she was a woman. Gibson briefly enrolled in the University of Minnesota's Cadet Nurse Corps program before deciding nursing wasn't the right fit for her. She and a friend headed west to Seattle, where they both became welders at Todd Pacific Shipyards.

Brumley said Gibson had a gift for explaining welding and even found it fun.

"She describes welding kind of like sewing," Brumley said. "You would tack the item first, which is like basting, and then you would do the welding, which is like sewing. You would just coax that molten metal along."

Working union jobs during the war exposed Gibson to something many women had never experienced before: equal pay for equal work. But after the war ended, she quickly encountered discrimination again.

Brumley said Gibson left one job after discovering she was earning less than a male file clerk because she was a woman. At another position, she was told she wouldn't advance because she was expected to get married, have children and leave the workforce.

But Gibson didn’t accept those limitations. She quit those jobs and continued her education, earning a master’s and doctorate degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Gibson went on to spend her career as a teacher, and spent her retirement volunteering every Friday to tell her story as a Rosie at Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park.

Brumley said that even in her final days, Gibson remained committed to telling the Rosie story. Just a week before her death, she appeared before before a crowd for the halftime of a professional soccer game to continue advocating for the women who helped reshape the American workforce.

Gibson viewed those appearances as an extension of her decades-long career as a teacher, according to Brumley.

"It gave her another opportunity to teach Americans their history and to help young girls understand the message to advocate for themselves and never take no for an answer," Brumley said.

Gibson received many accolades for her work, including a Congressional Gold Medal in 2024, the National WWII Museum's American Spirit Award in 2026 and just last month, a banner of her own at the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park.

Gibson often joked that she would die with her boots on. In the end, Brumley said, she did. Gibson died wearing her red and white polka-dot tennis shoes, a nod to the scarf depicted in the iconic Rosie the Riveter poster.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation with Tammy Brumley and MPR News host Kelly Gordon.

Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

A once-iconic shopping center in Roseville serves as the backdrop for a new short story collection exploring migration, identity and belonging.

“Har Mar,” released in July, is the debut collection from author Hilal Isler. The interconnected stories follow women whose lives span Turkey and Minnesota as they navigate family, grief, love and the challenges of building a life between cultures.

From a nanny hoping to leave her life in Istanbul behind to a bookseller coping with loss through an unlikely relationship, each character searches for connection while confronting uncertainty.

MPR News host Kelly Gordon spoke with Isler about the inspiration behind “Har Mar,” why she chose the Roseville shopping center as the book's title and setting, and what she hopes readers take away from the collection.

Minnesota is recognizing veterans of the Secret War for the first time. During the Vietnam War, the CIA recruited tens of thousands of Hmong soldiers to carry out covert operations in Laos in support of U.S. efforts. Many later resettled in Minnesota, but they were not eligible for state veterans benefits.

A new state law that took effect Aug. 1 changes that, allowing eligible Secret War veterans living in Minnesota to apply for state veterans benefits. The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs is holding its first benefits clinic to help veterans navigate the application process.

MPR News host Nina Moini spoke with State Sen. Susan Pha, the DFL lawmaker who authored the legislation, about what the change means for Minnesota's Hmong veterans.

People living at the encampment at Pig's Eye Park in St. Paul have until Wednesday to leave. That's when the city says it will clear the site. We'll hear from one group working to support people there and plan for what's next.

Dozens of Minnesota cities are trying to shore up their water systems after a cyberattack last week. A cybersecurity expert explains what made these systems vulnerable.

And county workers in Chisago County are still at the picket line in what has become the longest county worker strike on record in Minnesota. And it's impacting resident's social services.

Plus, we'll talk to a former employee at Pearson's the company behind the beloved Salted Nut Rolls, after news that the St. Paul factory is shutting down.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Sycamore” by Pit Stop and our Song of the Day was “$mile” by Karate Chop Silence.

The WNBA's two highest-scoring teams played a whirlwind of a game this weekend. The dust settled on a win for the Minnesota Lynx, who beat the Indiana Fever 108 to 100.

The close game also played out against a political backdrop. Protesters gathered outside Target Center to show support and opposition to Indiana guard Sophie Cunningham’s stance against transgender athletes participating in girls and women’s sports. Inside the arena, a few people wore shirts that said, “Trans kids belong,” including Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve. She talked with Cunningham on the sidelines before the game and later said she appreciated the face-to-face dialogue.

The Lynx win, their 10th in a row, makes this their longest winning streak since 2016.

Meanwhile, the Twins are up against a trade deadline on Monday. And the Savannah Bananas will be taking over Target Field this weekend while the Twins are away.

Joining Minnesota Now with the latest sports headlines are contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson.

In one neighborhood of St. Paul, the smell of nuts and caramel sometimes wafts through the air. But not for long. On Friday, Pearson’s Candy Company told state officials it plans to shut down the factory. It's been making candy on West Seventh for 67 years. Eighty employees will lose their jobs.

The company said the plant is no longer financially sustainable. But it may find a new manufacturer for its famous products like the Salted Nut Roll.

St. Paul resident Traci Travis worked at the Pearson’s factory for about eight years in the early 2000s. She joined Minnesota Now and spoke to guest host Kelly Gordon about her time on the job.

Monday is day 95 on the picket line for a group of public employees in the north metro. Workers with the Teamsters Local 320 union in Chisago County went on strike back in the spring, on May 1. That's after a long set of contract negotiations failed. Those began last fall.

It’s the longest county worker strike on record, according to the state Bureau of Mediation Services, which started keeping track in the early 1970s.

The striking workers include people employed at the county government center and, mostly, health and human services staff, including social workers.

Hana Ikramuddin is a Minnesota-based reporter for The Imprint, a national news outlet that covers child welfare and youth justice. She’s following the impact the strike is having on social services and joined Minnesota Now to talk about her reporting.