Minnesota Now

A group of city councilmembers say the mayor and police department should have done more to prevent a recent shooting in South Minneapolis. A man was shot by his neighbor after he had reported threats of violence for several months.

Student groups at the University of Minnesota are asking the administration to lift the suspensions of 11 students who were arrested last week. We talk to university President Rebecca Cunningham about this — plus, the upcoming legislative session.

It's been another tough year for local news around the country. But more and more communities are putting hope in online news sources — including several in the metro area.

Plus, the latest in Minnesota sports.

The Vikings are not blaming referees for their recent loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Fans were outraged when the refs did not call a facemask penalty, and the Rams secured their lead.

Los Angeles ended up winning 30 to 20. But quarterback Sam Darnold and coach Kevin O'Connell said the Vikings had other problems in that game.

Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk Vikings and other Minnesota sports news.

A report out Monday from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University finds that 127 newspapers around the country closed in the last year. It’s part of a worsening trend, with communities losing the outlets that cover their local news. But the report also finds an uptick in online news sources funded by philanthropy.

Prior Lake is an example of both these trends. Back in April, the Prior Lake American shut down along with five other newspapers that served the southwest metro. Now former Southwest News media general manager Laurie Hartmann is working to launch an online news source in Prior Lake.

She spoke with MPR News host Nina Moini about it.

The University of Minnesota has been under a microscope in the last week, with 11 students arrested on the Twin Cities campus after occupying Morrill Hall, which holds the office of the president.

Student groups say all 11 students got an interim suspension and are asking people to call the president to demand that those suspensions be lifted.

This all comes at a busy time for the University as it gears up for the legislative session, in hopes of getting the funding request the board of regents just recently passed.

University of Minnesota President Dr. Rebecca Cunningham spoke with MPR News host Nina Moini about it all.

Minneapolis police arrested a Minneapolis man early this morning after he allegedly shot his neighbor on Wednesday. That was after the shooting victim reported threats of physical violence from his neighbor at least 19 separate times since April.

City leaders put pressure on MPD who said not enough was done to prevent the shooting that resulted in serious injuries to the victim.

MPR News host Nina Moini spoke with Council Member Emily Koski about the incident.

Katelyn Stalboerger and Isaac Nelson met when they were teenagers and kept in touch on and off for years. When Stalboerger was away from her home state Minnesota for grad school in Alabama, she and Nelson started dating and decided to get married this year.

When they started planning their wedding the first thing they did was book a venue that would hold 200 guests in Minnesota. That venue was Circle B Wedding and Events in Isanti booked for May 4.

On April 24, Circle B announced they were closing, effective immediately, leaving the soon-to-be Nelsons with no venue and less than two weeks to find another plan.

Stalboerger turned to TikTok with a plea for help, racking up 6 million views.

Minnesota Now producer Ellen Finn spoke to Katelyn Nelson (né Stalboerger) about how in 11 days, strangers came together to pull off a wedding at a whole new venue.

At the end of an emotional meeting Tuesday night, the Osseo Public School Board voted 4-2 to revise its policy on how books in school libraries are chosen and challenged.

The revised policy lists procedures under which residents of the school district — as well as students, parents or guardians — can raise concerns about library materials.

Opponents call the measure a pathway to banning books — one that goes around a new state law widely referred to as a “ban on book bans.” Earlier this year, the Minnesota legislature passed a law blocking public schools from banning books because of the viewpoints or messages they contain.

This debate is a recent example of the heightened political atmosphere hanging over libraries and school boards around the country.

“It’s certainly front of mind for all of us,” Edina elementary school librarian Ashley Krohn said. She spoke with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer from Rochester, where she and other librarians from across the state gathered Thursday for the Minnesota Library Association’s annual conference. Krohn is the group’s intellectual freedom chair.

Recreational cannabis will be available to people ages 21 and over to buy legally around the state next year, if regulators stay on schedule. As more and more states have legalized cannabis, a wide variety of products have entered the market — some with high levels of THC.

Some public health experts are raising concerns about the potential risks of heavy cannabis use — that includes addiction as well as other mental and physical health issues.

A summit dedicated to this very topic is happening Friday at Hazelden Betty Ford Treatment Center in St. Paul. Hamline University psychology professor Serena King is the organizer and she joined the program.

Osseo Public Schools changed its policy to allow community members to challenge books in school libraries. We'll talk about what opponents are calling a "book ban."

And as Minnesota wrestles with its policy on marijuana, public health experts are raising concerns about addiction.

Some voters in small towns are keeping their political opinions to themselves to keep the peace with their neighbors. We'll hear from the brave few speaking out in Grand Rapids.

A bride is sharing her story about how strangers came together to pull off a wedding in eleven days after their venue abruptly closed.

And we'll hear from a local author about how her fiction about our climate is becoming a reality.

Several viral videos targeting Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are Russian disinformation, according to the Office of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence in a briefing to the press.

The videos included claims that Walz “groomed” a former student. Multiple news sources have determined the man in that video was not who he claimed to be.

U.S. intelligence officials warned us several times this year already that Russia would attempt to interfere in the election.

For more, MPR News host Cathy Wurzer talks with Renee Buhr, a professor of international studies and political science at the University of St. Thomas.