In Minnesota, voters on both sides of the aisle have had more time to get to know Gov. Tim Walz than his opponent. Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance gained national recognition for his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” back in 2016, but his political career is relatively new.

Vance was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022, thanks in part to the endorsement of former president Donald Trump. Sarah Donaldson has been covering Vance since that election. She’s a reporter for the Statehouse News Bureau in Ohio and she joined Minnesota Now to explain Vance’s rise and predict his moves for Tuesday evening’s debate.

Minnesota’s new climate laws passed in 2023 require all electricity in the state to come from carbon-free sources by the year 2040. But it’s up to regulators to decide what exactly counts as carbon free — the key question that has arisen is whether burning trash and timber for energy should be a part of the mix.

There may not be an answer until the end of 2025 after the Public Utilities Commission recently moved to delay the decision. Andrew Hazzard has been following this. He covers climate change and environmental justice for Sahan Journal and he joined Minnesota Now to talk about his reporting.

Vice presidential candidates Tim Walz and JD Vance are in New York preparing for their first — and probably last — debate Tuesday evening. The two relatively little-known politicians will introduce themselves to the country and try to avoid any slip ups on the big stage.

MPR News senior politics reporter Dana Ferguson joined host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the stakes of the debate, the arguments the candidates will make and where each candidate could stand to gain ground.

This hot and dry September has raised the risk of wildfires. We get details on a red flag warning in effect Monday for much of the state.

And the remains of two boys who died at a boarding school have returned to White Earth. We have more on the effort to bring them home.

Baby Boomers and Millennials may not have the same “American Dream.” We talk to a Minnesota professor who is studying the differences.

Gov. Tim Walz used to talk a lot about his experience in China. But on the campaign trail, he doesn’t mention it. We dig into his time there and its political weight.

Plus, it was a major weekend in sports. Sports guys Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson talk through that Vikings-Packers game, the Karl Anthony Towns trade and more.

Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance descend on New York tomorrow for the first — and only — Vice Presidential debate. Walz’s campaign has introduced him to the nation as a Midwestern dad and high school football coach.

But Walz is also a world traveler, with a deep experience in China. It’s a fact he used to brag about — and sometimes exaggerate — earlier in his political career. But now that he’s running for vice president, his campaign barely mentions it.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer dove deeper into the story with Curtis Gilbert, senior editor with APM Reports.

How do you define the “American Dream?” Is it a white picket fence? A home in the suburbs? A general feeling of security?

A study from Minnesota State University - Mankato asked Millennials and Baby Boomers what the American Dream looked like in their eyes and found some generational differences.

Kristin Scott is a professor of Marketing at MSU Mankato and the primary author of the study. She joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about it.

The dry and warm weather over the past few weeks have come together to create the perfect conditions for a wildfire. So much so that the National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for 39 counties in central, northeast, northwest and southwest Minnesota.

To explain that risk, Karen Harrison, a wildfire prevention specialist from the Department of Natural Resources, spoke with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer.

Minnesota has the highest concentration of Korean adoptees of any state in the U.S.

A new investigation by the Associated Press revealed widespread corruption in the Korean adoption system that has many adoptees questioning what they’ve been told about their past.

The report found South Korea’s government, Western countries and adoption agencies worked in tandem to supply some 200,000 Korean children to parents overseas, despite years of evidence they were being procured through questionable means.

Sara Docan-Morgan is a professor of Communication Studies at University of Wisconsin - La Crosse and she thinks a lot about the complications that come with being adopted from Korea by an American family.

This year she published a book called In Reunion: Transnational Korean Adoptees and the Communication of Family. She spoke with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer about it.

A meal at the dinner table with friends and family is one of the ways we can connect with people in a meaningful way. When someone dies, it’s common to bring food to provide care and comfort and love. A new cookbook is helping cherish the memories of loved ones we have lost.

“Good Grief! What’s for Dinner?” is a collection of more than 200 recipes curated by the Grief Club of Minnesota.

Annie Sperling helped put together the cookbook with her widow group at the Grief Club. She talked with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer about it.

The southeastern U.S. is preparing for the potentially deadly Hurricane Helene, which is set to hit Florida’s coast this evening. One Minnesotan who now lives in Florida has been through several severe storms and talks about bracing for this one.

Plus, the author of a brand-new cookbook about grief, and how food brings us together.

Minnesota has the highest concentration of Korean adoptees in the nation. We hear from one adoptee whose life work focuses on navigating that identity.

We hear from one woman who is building the ultimate Minnesota bucket list.

And we look back on a pioneering rural ambulance service.