Tuesday is the final day of the 148th Westminster Dog Show, where the top dogs from across the United States compete for the title of Best in Show.

This year, there’s a judge from Bloomington representing Minnesota dog lovers. Barbara Selton has been judging for 15 years, and on Saturday she was one of the judges for the Masters Obedience competition.

She joined Minnesota Now with her reflections on the show so far.

Time is ticking at the state capitol. The session ends in less than a week, and there are still several big bills still on the line.

Republicans who are in the minority in both chambers will have a voice in many deals in these final days. House Minority Leader Representative Lisa Demuth joined Minnesota Now to talk about the legislative priorities for the GOP.

If you’ve ever wanted to grow an apple tree in your yard, there’s a new tree on the market: The Triumph apple tree is now available to home gardeners.

It’s an offspring of the Honeycrisp apple and it also is disease resistant. Right now is the perfect time to plant a tree.

To share more about this new apple tree variety is David Bedford, an apple breeder with the University of Minnesota.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

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

We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here.

On Tuesday evening there will be a public hearing on the closure of an inpatient psychiatric ward in central Minnesota. Lakewood Health System plans to close its 10-bed unit in its hospital in the small town of Staples.

It is the latest loss of services in an industry that is already struggling to keep up with demand. The state reports 80 percent of counties are experiencing a shortage of mental health care.

Sue Abderholden, executive director of Minnesota’s chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to discuss the situation.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are proving they are a Minnesota sports team. After an explosive start in the playoffs, they are now tied against the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Western Conference semifinals.

Denver beat Minnesota in game four 115-107 Sunday.

The back-to-back Timberwolves losses after wins on the road bring back a familiar feeling for Minnesota sports fans of hope mixed with worry of being let down.

Back in March, Hanif Abdurraqib has described that feeling perfectly in an online essay for ESPN in March.

He also was featured in a Timberwolves playoffs hype video.

Abdurraqib is the author of a new book called “There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension.” Abdurraqib joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the plight of being a Timberwolves fan.

Canadian wildfires are making for a hazy day on Monday. We heard from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency about tips to stay healthy.

Did you catch the northern lights over the weekend? The solar flares responsible for the aurora also disrupted spring planting for some farmers. We learned more.

A new report finds that Minnesota charter schools had a $132 million loophole when it came to avoiding corruption laws. We talked to a reporter about what went wrong.

Fishing season is here — and an organization is getting young, old, and disabled fishers to cast their lines.

And the Timberwolves are keeping us on the edge of our seats in the semi-finals. A poet joined MPR News to talk about the rollercoaster of the fandom.

Minnesotans were out in force to see the northern lights this weekend. But at the same time, several farmers were sitting frustrated in their fields as the powerful geomagnetic solar storms interfered with GPS in their planters and tractors. 404 Media first reported about the disruptions.

Patrick O'Connor in Blooming Prairie had to stop planting after he couldn’t connect to GPS.

He spoke with MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer about the impact of the solar storm on peak planting season.

Monday afternoon, the Minnesota senate will debate a bill that would require charter schools to use a competitive bidding process for all contracts over $25,000.

Why does this matter? It's a response to alarms raised from a series of potentially corrupt large contracts with charter schools in the state.

Sahan Journal published an investigative report that revealed a $132 million dollar loophole in corruption laws at charter schools statewide.

Sahan Journal reporter Becky Dernbach looked at what happens when Minnesota charter schools award big contracts without clear accountability. She joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer to talk about what she found.

Fishing season is officially here. Maybe you were one of the hundreds of people who got out on the water this past weekend for the fishing opener.

The opener is the start of a busy season for one local organization: Let’s Go Fishing makes sure that people who don’t always get the chance to sink a line can do so.

Since 2002, it has served 190,000 seniors, youth, veterans and disabled adults. Today, 18 chapters exist throughout Minnesota. Mark Rangistch is a board member with Let’s Go Fishing and joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer.

If you’ve been outside over the past few days, you can see and smell the smoke. An air quality alert has been extended through 11 p.m. for southern Minnesota on Monday.

We are under a “red” alert, which means the air is unhealthy for all. At one point, the entire state was under a “red” alert. Like last summer, the smoke is coming from wildfires in northwest Canada.

This is what the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says you should do to stay healthy: Reduce outdoor physical activities, take more breaks and avoid intense activities to reduce exposure. Sensitive and more exposed individuals should avoid prolonged or vigorous activities and consider shortening, rescheduling or moving outdoor events inside.

David Brown is an environmental research scientist at the MPCA. He joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to share more about an early start to smoke season and how to stay healthy.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

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

We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here.