Minnesota Now

Twelve artists across the state are working on a first-of-its-kind pilot project as Minnesota parks artists-in-residence. Beginning last July and ending in June 2025, each artist is researching a park, trail or park system and developing public art for the area.

Participating parks include Battle Creek Park in St. Paul, Lake Bemidji State Park, Granite Falls Memorial Park and more.

Amanda Lovelee, a parks ambassador for the Metropolitan Council, and Tettegouche State Park artist-in-residence Sam Zimmerman join MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about the program.

Wednesday night and Thursday brought the first major snowfall this season for much of the state, including the Twin Cities metro. A winter storm warning is in effect for much of central and southeast Minnesota until midnight.

More than a hundred schools are closed or have a delayed start and dozens of spinouts and crashes have already been reported in the state.

For details on snow totals, the forecast ahead and road conditions, MPR News host Nina Moini talks with MPR News meteorologist Mandy Thalhuber and Minnesota Department of Transportation spokesperson Anne Meyer.

Light snow was falling in the Twin Cities Wednesday morning and there’s more on the way for most of the state. MPR chief meteorologist Paul Huttner joins us with the details you need to plan your commute — plus, the odds of having a white Christmas and Hannukah.

A housing program for moms in St. Louis Park cut its funding a year ago. Now it could get state money to help about 60 families stay in their homes.

Minnesota 2nd District Rep. Angie Craig just became a leader of the House Agriculture Committee. We hear her plans for the farm bill.

MPR News staff share their favorite parenting books of the year.

Plus, we talk about 2024’s most popular baby names in the state — with a baby name consultant.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was a song from WE WIN drummers and Thomasina Petrus and our Song of the Day was “Yabba-Dabba Yuletide” by Brian Setzer Orchestra.

While our full list of favorite books won’t be out for another week, a few members of the newsroom shared ones that are making their end of the year list.

M Health Fairview announced its list of top baby names of 2024 after the system helped deliver 12,000 babies at nine locations around the state.

Boy names Theodore, Oliver and Henry have had lasting appeal, taking turns in the top three spots on Fairview’s annual list since 2021.

For girls’ names, Olivia, Emma and Evelyn dethroned the perennial frontrunner, Charlotte.

Steph Coffield is a name consultant and a Minnesota mom. Her social media account, Names with Steph, has garnered hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram by posting name suggestions, inspiration and offering name consulting services.

She’s also the author of two books, “Names Don’t Have an Age” and “Names Don’t Have a Gender.”

Coffield joined Minnesota Now to talk about this year’s baby name list.

A more than 40-year-old housing program for mothers with low income is back up and running after it was saved from bankruptcy. A nonprofit developer called Trellis bought the property this fall.

This week, the state plans to secure $8 million in funding to keep the property and its programs afloat. Now almost 60 mothers and their children — many of whom have said the development was a safe place to recover from abuse or addiction — will remain in place and start receiving supportive programming.

Corinne Martin has been living at the development in St. Louis Park. She joins Minnesota Now to talk about her experience.

Jennifer Ho is the commissioner of Minnesota Housing, she also joins the program to talk about the request to the state.

There’s a good chance of significant snow coming Wednesday night for much of the state. And it’s giving us a higher chance of a white Christmas and also a higher chance of holiday travel getting impacted by weather.

To get the full scope of what’s coming, MPR’s chief meteorologist Paul Huttner joined Minnesota Now.

The year 2024 was defined by many things. Among them? A remarkable, unprecedented year for women's sports. You might be thinking of Caitlin Clark's spectacular effect on college basketball and her WNBA premiere. But there are so many others that had outstanding years, including Simone Biles, Suni Lee and the rest of her Olympic team in Paris this summer, or Minnesota's own Lynx almost clinching that WNBA championship. The WNBA also saw record viewership.

For most women’s sports, a larger mainstream audience started to give women's sports the recognition they've long deserved. Jillian Hiscock has dedicated her career to shining the spotlight on women's sports. She made state history too this year when she opened Minnesota's first ever women's sports bar, called A Bar of Their Own, earlier this spring. She joined MPR News host Nina Moini in studio to talk about the remarkable year.

If you’re looking for job security, you might consider being a home health or personal care aid. It’s the highest demand job in Minnesota, according to the state government. That need is only expected to increase as the population ages. But the median wage for home health and personal care aides is just over $35,000 per year, which leaves little to save for retirement. Now the union that represents many of these workers is asking the state to chip in for retirement in their next contract. Viktor Solberg lives on the Iron Range, cares for his mother full-time and is active in his PCA union, SEIU Minnesota. Solberg joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about his work on better benefits for PCAs in Minnesota.

In the span of a few days, two houses of worship in Minneapolis are facing threats and vandalism.

Minneapolis Police are currently investigating the defacing of Temple Israel, a synagogue in Minneapolis. On Monday, a suspect spray-painted swastikas on the doors and pillar of the building.

On Friday, Abubakar As-saddique Islamic Center, or AAIC in Minneapolis received an online threat, threatening violence to members of worship at the mosque.

Minneapolis police determined the threat to be unfounded, but it still contributed to fear and concern in the Islamic community.

Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman, the senior rabbi at Temple Israel and Osman Ahmed, Director of Advocacy with Minnesota's Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about their response to the threats.