Minnesota Now

We’re still waiting to hear what will happen to JayCee Cooper, the Minnesota transgender athlete who sued USA Powerlifting for discrimination in 2021 after the organization barred her from competing.  

The Minnesota Supreme Court announced in July that it will review her case. USA powerlifting maintains she was barred because of her physiology, not because of her gender identity. 

It’s within this environment that a south Minneapolis gym will host a deadlifting event in support of transgender inclusion in sport. The event is Oct. 19 at Solcana Fitness in south Minneapolis. It’s called “Drop Deadlift Gorgeous.” 

For more, Event Director Max Poessnecker joined Minnesota Now to talk about the inspiration behind the event.

On Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Tim Walz will unveil Vice President Kamala Harris’s plan for rural voters. We gleaned more details about the plan, including whether it might have any sway with voters and how it will actually affect people in rural communities across Minnesota.

Acadia Healthcare is facing a federal investigation over its practices in its psychiatric hospitals. Meanwhile, it’s partnering with Minnesota-based Fairview health services on a new mental health hospital in St. Paul. We learned more about the investigation and whether it throws a wrench in those plans.

The program was visited by two musical legends: a member of Swedish group “ABBA” and Minneapolis choir group “VocalEssence!” They talked about the collaboration on an upcoming performance in Minneapolis.

Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance landed at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, just as his Democratic counterpart Tim Walz was taking off for Wisconsin.

Our politics team is following them both and we get an update on this late stage of their presidential campaigns.

In the Twin Cities you can find restaurants with cuisines from all over the world. And you can find the ingredients for making them at a number of international grocery stores. We dive in.

Minnesota and New York are tied in the WNBA finals series, with one win each. We talk about Sunday’s loss and the team’s chances going forward.

Plus, it’s Indigenous People’s Day and we have a special song of the day to celebrate.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Burning Bridges” by Kokou Kah.

Our Song of the Day was “Wild Rice Moon” by MPR News’ Leah Lemm.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

The entire state woke up in frost on Monday.

Winter is undeniably on its way. And this leaves everyone from neighborhood squirrels to farmers taking stock of what the summer yielded — and cleaning up for winter.

Michael Johnson is the news editor for Agweek and he and his wife also grow vegetables and cut flowers near Deer Creek in Western Minnesota.

He recently wrote a column reflecting on the growing season. He talked with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer about it.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here.

The Twin Cities area is home to more than 40 international grocers.

In many places, international grocers are stepping up to fill food deserts. MPR Correspondent Regina Medina recently reported on the entrepreneur behind Colonial Market, the Latino grocery store with plans to open in North Minneapolis in the former Aldi location at Penn and Lowry.

If you’re trying to find a specific ingredient or check out a new store, it can be hard to know where to start.

Local food and music critic Ali Elabbady wrote an exhaustive list of all of them for the alt-weekly internet publication Racket.

He talked with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer about it.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here.

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and former Republican President Donald Trump are both in Pennsylvania Monday as the nominees chase votes in a very tight presidential race.

The schedules of their running mates had the two VP candidates minutes apart at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. Republican Senator JD Vance swung through for a fundraiser and Democratic Governor Tim Walz departed for a series of events in Wisconsin.

MPR News has dispatched reporters to those campaign events. Our politics editor Brian Bakst filled us in on the latest.

The Pohlad family says they intend to sell the Twins. We’ll get the latest on the decision that has surprised sports fans nationwide. The Lynx are three wins away from a WNBA title. We’ll talk to a team executive about their ride to the 2024 championships.

The southeastern U.S. has been barraged by hurricanes this month. We’ll learn how man made tweaks to the Mississippi here in Minnesota affect damage from storms down south.

One in 16 Somali Minnesotan children is diagnosed with autism. That’s almost four times more than the state average. Minneapolis’ director of special education is here to talk about support. Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Gigawaabamin” by Bizhiki and our Song of the Day was “Pitter Patter” by The Orange Goodness.

The southeastern U.S. has captured our attention over the last month with the barrage of hurricanes that have passed through the region, causing mass destruction from wind and floodwater. The storms harken back memories of the nation’s last extreme hurricane — Ida ripped through part of the Gulf Coast in 2021.

Minnesota is more connected to the flooding and land loss that region faces than you might think. The way we control the Mississippi River has serious implications on the future of that land.

Minnesota journalist Katie Thornton looked into that connection in a sprawling report about the politics of dams and levees in The Guardian. She joined the program to share what she found.

The Minnesota Lynx are in New York for the first game of the WNBA finals. They tip off against the New York Liberty at 7 p.m.

These are the top two teams in the WNBA. New York is coming back to try to win a title after losing to the Las Vegas Aces in last year’s finals. The Lynx are in the finals for the first time since 2017, when they won their fourth championship.

Lynx fans say this finals run could be the start of something big.

“I would say they’re almost there as a dynasty level,” said Lynx fan Devin Xiong. “No matter what, this is the start of something, I think it is the start of something.”

Joining the program to talk about how they got here is Lynx President of Business Operations Carley Knox, who’s worked for the team since 2010.

One in 16 Somali-Minnesota 4-year-olds has autism. That’s compared with one in 53 of their classmates.

The data comes from a 2023 Centers for Disease Control autism survey, with help from two University of Minnesota researchers who are tracking the rise in overall diagnoses over the years.

For another perspective on this data, Dr. Deeqaifrah Hussein is on the line. She is the executive director of special education with Minneapolis Public Schools.