Minnesota Now

Temperatures are dropping and winter is on its way. That means conditions are more dangerous for people experiencing homelessness and living outside.

A recent story from Sahan Journal looked at two encampments that have become a home base for unhoused Hmong and Karen people in East St. Paul.

A new organization is visiting encampments every Tuesday with food and supplies while trying to connect residents with services. Sahan Journal reporter Katelyn Vue reported on the organization and spoke with MPR News host Nina Moini about it.

President-elect Donald Trump kicked off the week by building his staff around immigration.

Monday morning he announced his chief of staff for policy will be Stephen Miller, an advocate for stricter immigration enforcement. And Sunday night he announced that his former head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, will be back again to oversee border control.

A Minnesota organization focused on Latino Minnesotans, COPAL, helped make 200,000 phone calls ahead of last week’s election to try to get Latino voters to the polls. A big part of the reason for those efforts was fear and concern over the thought of a second Donald Trump presidency. Now they're switching gears to respond to another Trump presidency.

Francisco Segovia is the executive director of COPAL Minnesota. He spoke with MPR News host Nina Moini about what life looked like for some Latino residents of Minnesota during Trump’s last term, and how they’re preparing for the near future.

Sherburne County officials announced over the weekend they will pay for a recount in a few close races. MPR News reporters Kirsti Marohn and Dana Ferguson join Minnesota Now to give updates on the counting of votes and the future of the state legislation.

In every corner of Minnesota, there are good stories waiting to be told of places that make our state great and people who in Walt Whitman’s words “contribute a verse” each day. MPR News sent longtime reporter Dan Gunderson on a mission to capture those stories as part of a new series called “Wander & Wonder: Exploring Minnesota’s unexpected places.”

I am not new to MPR News, I’ve worked here for seven years as a reporter, editor and host. But I am new to serving as your host for Minnesota Now. The producers of the show suggested we put together a story to help introduce me to you all.

I always say other Minnesota journalists helped to really raise me and inspired me to pursue a career that I have considered a calling since I was very young. I hope you will enjoy this little trip down memory lane. Senior producer Aleesa Kuznetsov and I visited some of the people and newsrooms that have shaped my work.

We’ll dig into the results of this week’s local and national elections, including how Trump’s performance was stronger in Minnesota this year than back in 2016.

And our neighbors in Wisconsin elected a both Republican president and a Democratic senator for the first time since 1968.

The Minnesota House is facing a historic tie between DFLers and Republicans. We’ll learn more about that.

Somali language fluency is rapidly declining in Minnesota, even though it’s still the third most common language spoken in the state. One children’s author is keeping the language alive.

Plus today is Cathy Wurzer’s last day as host of Minnesota Now. It’s been an amazing three years! Listen for a special conversation with our fabulous new host, Nina Moini.

Wisconsin delivered 10 electoral college votes to Donald Trump. That pushed him over the 270 mark and led the Associated Press to call the race for the former President.

While Trump carried Wisconsin, Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin won her competitive Senate race in that state.

Baldwin will get a third term in the senate after beating Republican challenger Eric Hovde by just a percentage point, about 29,000 votes. In the presidential race, Trump beat Harris by the same margin. There’s something interesting happening in Wisconsin and UW Eau Claire political science professor Adam Kunz joined Minnesota Now to explain.

We’re digging into the results of the election to learn what they say about Minnesota voters. The state’s 10 electoral college votes went to Vice President Kamala Harris. But president-elect Donald Trump performed better here than he did in 2020 in all but three counties, according to the New York Times.

On the other hand, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig won her election with a stronger lead than when she narrowly defended her seat in 2022.

Craig Helmstetter managing partner of APM Research Lab joined the program to help explain what the results say about how Minnesota politics is changing — as well as what has not changed.

Thursday was Cathy Wurzer’s final show as host of Minnesota Now. She is stepping away to focus on Morning Edition. MPR’s Nina Moini is taking over starting on Monday.

Moini came in-studio to introduce herself and also to look back at Wurzer’s favorite moments from the show.

Marian Hassan has spent her career educating Minnesotans about Somali language and collecting oral histories from elder Somalis to prevent language loss in the state. Though Somali is the third most common language spoken in Minnesota behind English and Spanish, the language was not written down until the mid-1970s. Before that, Somalis had a rich oral tradition.

Hassan just got a Minnesota Legacy Cultural Heritage Grant to continue her mission to preserve Somali oral tradition. She joined Minnesota Now to talk about her project.