Minnesota Now

As high school basketball season tips off, Amisha, Arshia and Ashna Ramlall have the eyes of fans, coaches and college recruiters alike. One sister already has committed to the Gophers and the other two have Division I offers. The Ramlall sisters joined MPR News host Nina Moini in-studio for a conversation.

Expect extra DWI patrols on the road from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve. The state Office of Traffic Safety is ramping up enforcement in an effort to reduce alcohol-related crashes in Minnesota over the holidays.

Road safety is on many minds as thousands travel a few minutes or a few hours to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and family.

For more, Mike Hanson, director of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety joined MPR News host Nina Moini.

MPR News chief meteorologist joined host Nina Moini to talk about the end of a warm meteorological Fall, the Thanksgiving weather and travel outlook and potential snow across the state.

While many people spend the week of Thanksgiving worrying about getting the feast together, about one in every eleven people in Minnesota worry about where their next meal is coming from every day.

Cindy Favre is the manager of the St. Peter Area Food Shelf just north of Mankato and she’s seen a lot of people struggling to get enough food in their households. She joined Minnesota Now to explain the problem and talk about the role of food shelves in the state.

This Native American Heritage Day on Nov. 29, artists are gathering to remind Minnesotans of our profound, and often ignored, connection to the earth. The arts collective, called Fire in the Village, is wrapping up their statewide tour with a Decolonize Thanksgiving Show at Hook and Ladder Theatre in Minneapolis. To talk about the tour they’ve taken and what’s next for the organization are it’s creators.  

Annie Humphrey is an artist and musician based on the Leech Lake Reservation. Shanai Matteson is an artist from rural Aitkin County. They both joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about their experience.

Thanksgiving travel is expected to set a new record, with millions of drivers on the road. State law enforcement is stepping up their patrols in an effort to keep roads safe. An official joined the show to talk about a pattern of more dangerous driving in the state.

A Thanksgiving meal is not guaranteed for every Minnesotan. The director of a food shelf in St. Peter spoke to MPR News host Nina Moini about how they’re meeting increased demand.

A chilly Thanksgiving weekend is forecasted by MPR Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner.

A new arts collective is wrapping up a unique tour that connects Minnesotans in rural and native communities.

Rosemount’s Ramlall sisters are making a name for themselves in basketball as a new season gets underway.

For some Minnesotans, Thanksgiving is a community event. Volunteers in Duluth have spent Monday and Tuesday peeling and cooking 2,000 pounds of potatoes — that’s about the weight of a small car. This is just part of the work behind the College of St. Scholastica’s free Thanksgiving Day Buffet.

The event is 35 years running and now takes place at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. Organizers this year expect to serve more than 3,000 people and deliver 1,000 meals to homebound Duluthians.

MPR News host Nina Moini talks with Monica Hendrickson, who has led the effort for about a decade, and Kala Pederson, who coordinates meal deliveries.

Life can be awkward and annoying for all of us. Whether you’re gathering the courage to make a doctor’s appointment, telling the server the food isn’t what you ordered or you’re throwing a party but no one is there yet. 

That’s where Minnesota-born comedian Paula Skaggs comes in. 

Her new book, “Tiny Pep Talks,” co-written with Josh Linden, aims to gas us up for all the low-stakes situations in life where we might need a boost. Paula Skaggs joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about it.

President-elect Donald Trump says on day one he will impose sweeping new tariffs of 25 percent on Canada and Mexico and another 10 percent tariff on China. Trump says the purpose of the Mexico-Canada tariff is to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs.

If implemented, it could dramatically raise prices and impact businesses here in Minnesota.

In 2022, Minnesota traded a total of $6.2 billion with Mexico. With our neighbors to north in Canada, Minnesota traded more than $21 billion.

Professor Tim Kehoe, a distinguished McKnight University professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Minnesota, joins MPR News host Nina Moini to explain how the tariff proposal could impact your wallet.

President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs could drastically increase prices here in Minnesota. We hear from an economist about what tariffs on Canada and Mexico might mean for your wallets and how it will impact businesses in the state.

For 35 years a group of volunteers has been serving up a free Thanksgiving buffet in Duluth. We learn more about the decades-long effort.

And it’s a holiday weekend for more reasons than one. Thousands will celebrate Hmong New Year through events across the state, including line dancing.

In a male-dominated industry, a group of Minnesota women are learning the tricks of the steam engine trade.

Plus, a Minnesota comedian brings us some "Tiny Pep Talks" for life’s smallest hurdles.