Minnesota Now

Maybe you’ve had this experience. You’re standing in the store aisle doing some last minute gift shopping and you are getting further and further from making a decision. You’re questioning everything. And everything, the sweaters on the rack, the kitchen gadgets on the shelf all start to look…like a lot of stuff your loved ones don’t really need.

MPR News producer Alanna Elder noticed that feeling recently. And she started really thinking about it. A lot of the gifts we buy this holiday season will probably end up in a landfill eventually, polluting the earth long after we’re gone. And making all of those items releases greenhouse gas emissions that are fueling climate change. At the same time, many small business owners rely on holiday spending. It’s a major part of the economy.

For help thinking of a solution to buy more stuff and contributing to climate change, Alanna talked to Emily Barker. She is the Executive Director of ReUse Minnesota, an organization that works to protect the environment by promoting reuse, repair and borrowing rather than buying new. For the last three years they’ve put out a holiday gift guide.

On Thursday morning FBI agents searched the offices of two autism treatment centers — one in downtown Minneapolis and one in St. Cloud — as part of a major investigation into Medicaid fraud. 

A judge just unsealed a search warrant in the case and it links some of the defendants in the Feeding our Future child nutrition fraud case to these autism centers.

MPR News correspondent Matt Sepic joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about what we know at this time.

FBI agents searched two Minnesota autism centers Thursday morning as questions arise around Medicaid fraud in the industry.

Plus, the Minneapolis City Council and Mayor Frey are at odds over the city’s budget. After a historic breaking point, we learn what’s next.

Scientists are pleading with senators to reject president-elect Trump’s cabinet on public health. A Nobel Prize Laureate explains why.

A business leader reflects on how her transgender identity helped her excel in her field.

Plus some are rethinking holiday gift-giving to be more earth-friendly.

And speaking of the holidays, many are making and consuming cookies. A big-time baker shares festive tips.

The Minnesota Music Minute was “Merry Christmas Baby” by Davina and the Vagabonds.

It’s been quite a dramatic week for local government in Minneapolis as the city finalizes its budget for next year. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has found himself at odds with the city council over money. He even went so far as to use his veto power.

On Thursday morning, the Minneapolis City Council overrode that veto. MPR News reporter Cari Spencer joined Minnesota Now to talk about the mayor’s veto power.

State regulators announced Wednesday they are changing up the process for cannabis business licenses after several lawsuits from the first round of applicants. We talk to a lawyer and a business owner about what these changes will mean for those hoping to enter the new market.

We talk to an entrepreneur who relies on TikTok about what a potential federal ban would mean for her bottom line.

A Twin Cities woman born in Syria talks about the future of her home country after the ousting of its president.

And we visit Bemidji to learn the story behind the Swedish festival of Santa Lucia.

Plus, have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a wolf roaming Yellowstone National Park? We meet a Minnesotan behind the cult-classic game, WolfQuest.

WolfQuest was created in partnership with the Minnesota Zoo back in 2007 as an educational tool for children. Since then, to the surprise even to the game's producers, it has exploded in popularity all over the world amongst children and adults alike.

The producers released an anniversary edition of the game in November and a huge expansion of the game on Monday.

WolfQuest's producer Dave Schaller joined the program to talk about it's popularity all these years.

We’re in the grip of an arctic air outbreak for Wednesday and Thursday. Temperatures will warm up dramatically for the weekend with another chance at snow showers Saturday. 

For a full weather report, MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner joined Minnesota Now.

Many small business owners in Minnesota are concerned about what a TikTok ban could mean for their livelihoods. The social media app is currently fighting a ban that was upheld by a federal court Friday. Around 70,000 businesses in Minnesota use TikTok for promotional purposes. And a third of the small businesses in the state say that using TikTok is at the crux of their business structure, according to an Oxford Economics Study released in March.

One of those small business owners is Jen Shaffer. She runs a genealogy business from her home in New Brighton called The Formidable Genealogist. Shaffer relies exclusively on connecting to clients using TikTok. She joined the program to talk about what a ban would mean for her business.

In the old Swedish calendar, Dec. 13 was the shortest day of the year. And this weekend there will be a celebration on that day to honor St. Lucia, the lady of light. It’s been going for 400 years in Sweden.

In Bemidji, people have been gathering for the Santa Lucia festival for not quite that long. Listen to the story MPR News’ Tom Robertson did in 1998.

There’s a new path forward for business owners looking to open a cannabis business. Wednesday morning, the Office of Cannabis Management announced a change to how businesses can get a license to operate in the new marijuana market.

Joining Minnesota Now to break down this announcement is two people in the cannabis business. Jen Randolph Reise is the head of business and cannabis law at North Star Law Group and represents clients who say their social equity applications were denied. Lynn Wachtler runs The North Bloom Magazine, a cannabis lifestyle magazine, and operates a small business that sells medically oriented hemp-derived products.