Minnesota Now

World AIDS Day is coming up on Dec. 1 and leaders in the HIV/AIDS field are taking this time to reflect on the enormous progress the medical community has made to reduce the spread and improve the lives of people living with HIV. That progress was made in no small part from the shift in public narratives around the disease.

A Minnesotan is exploring the life of Randy Shilts, a little-little known leader from those early days of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Shilts was a pioneering journalist from San Francisco who worked to change the narratives and reporting around the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s. Michael G. Lee is a professor at Saint Mary’s University and the author of a new book about Shilts’ life called “When the Band Played On.” He joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about it.

The Office of Cannabis Management rejected about two thirds of applications from people hoping to start some of the state’s first cannabis businesses. We hear about frustration from hopeful entrepreneurs and why the state deemed so many applications ineligible.

Wednesday, Nov. 20 is Trans Day of Remembrance. We talk to a new organization on the North Shore about building resilience.

And a wildlife refuge in the state is lucky to be a stop on the migration path of the sandhill crane. We learn about why more cranes are showing up this fall.

Plus we learn about the life of a journalist who changed the narrative around the AIDS crisis back in the 1980s.

Our Minnesota Music Minute is Shine a Light on Me by Cole Diamond and our Song of the Day is Crawling Home When the Morning Comes by Sweet and Lonely.

Every year on Nov. 20, people around the world gather to remember lost loved ones for Trans Day of Remembrance. The day was created to recognize people who were murdered because of their transgender identity.

The new organization called Trans Northland is holding events in both Duluth and Superior to remember lost peers and have important conversations about resilience. Trans Northland’s executive director, Sean Hayes, joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about the day.

Minnesota cannabis regulators say they plan to hold a lottery sometime in the next two weeks to determine who will get to open up the state’s first legal marijuana businesses. But the Office of Cannabis Management is facing pushback this week after it rejected more than 1,100 applicants it deemed ineligible. That’s around two-thirds of those who applied.

MPR News correspondent Matt Sepic has been following this and joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about it.

A Minnesota author has put out a new book about her life with pieces from her grandparents’ orchard in Somalia, her teen years in a refugee camp and her adulthood in the U.S. and Minnesota.

In “My Dear Loving Sisters: Tea and Stories from an Audacious Life,” Fatoun Ali lays out how she survived poverty and abuse to raise four children and start a nonprofit. Ali created the piece in a workbook format, with strategies and questions for overcoming all kinds of challenges.

Her nonprofit, Somali Youth and Family Development Center, turns 15 this year and has a gala on Wednesday to celebrate. Fatoun Ali joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini in the MPR News studio for a conversation about her work and life.

Minnesota's Democratic party chairman Ken Martin has officially thrown his hat in the ring to lead the democratic party nationally. We learned more about his history and challenges the party faces after the 2024 presidential election.

Hennepin County is still working to cut down the jail population after a report from the Department of Corrections. Someone personally impacted by a loved one serving time there joined the show to talk about the effects of understaffed and overcrowded jails.

A Minnesota woman survived poverty to come to the U.S. from Somalia, raise four children and start a nonprofit. Her new memoir details her journey and lessons learned.

Minneapolis Rock band Pretendians is up for a prestigious music award. They joined the show to talk about the American Indian Music Awards.

Nominees are out for the Native American Music Awards, a prestigious award that honors the musical achievements of Native Americans in the U.S. and Canada. Among them are several Minnesota musicians including Minneapolis-based rock band “Pretendians.”

Pretendians’ lead singer Thomas Draskovic, who is an enrolled member of Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, joined MPR News host Nina Moini to discuss his music, his band’s divisive name and listen to a few songs.

As of Tuesday morning, there were 699 people incarcerated in Hennepin County jail — that’s 99 more than the limit set by the state Department of Corrections.

The DOC says in a report that understaffing in the jail is putting the safety of inmates at risk. The report also says that in the last two years, seven inmates have died there or after being transferred to the hospital.

Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt has said she’s working to move people through agreements with other counties. Her office requested an extension from the DOC and got one — its new deadline is Dec. 7.

Rose Lobely has a personal stake in the issue. She has a relative incarcerated in the jail. Lobely and attorney Anna Hall of the Legal Rights Center joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about their experience.

DFL Party Chair Ken Martin has put himself in the running to lead the Democratic National Committee. Martin led the Minnesota DFL for more than a decade and is known as a hard worker, a successful fundraiser and strong party builder.

MPR News correspondent Mark Zdechlik has been covering Martin for years and joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about the big announcement and why Martin thinks he is a good fit to lead the DNC.

“Human capital” is an economic catchphrase for the collective knowledge, skills, experience and other attributes people accumulate throughout their lives. Human capital development is key to a nation's prosperity.

You’ll immediately grasp the meaning of the term if you spend time talking about ideas, policy and life with Art Rolnick, age 79.

He’s a scholar of pre-Civil War banking era; a well-known opponent of public funding for stadiums and the costly tax competition between states and localities to attract business; former long-time head of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; and, most notably, an enthusiastic advocate for early childhood human capital initiatives.

MPR’s senior economics contributor Chris Farrell recently met with Rolnick for our series “Connect the Dots.” We ask community elders to share part of their life story, and lessons they’ve learned along the way about what really matters in life.