On Minnesota Now, we hear from many different people in Minnesota over the phone and in the studio. But we don’t often meet them in the community, where news and life happens. In our “Out to Lunch” series, MPR News host Nina Moini sits down for a meal with people from Minnesota news and culture to get to know them better.

Enkhbileg “Billy” Tserenbat is the owner of the trendy Minneapolis restaurant, Billy Sushi. If not for his popular restaurant, Billy is known for his outrageous viral social media videos and for often sitting courtside at Minnesota Timberwolves games. He's got a big personality - and he talked about how he uses it to be Minnesota's biggest hype man.

Edwin Reed owns Sincere Detailing Pros at 38th and Chicago in south Minneapolis. He said his business took a dramatic downward turn after the murder of George Floyd. He reflected with MPR News host Nina Moini on the five years that followed.

Parts of the state needed this wet week to soothe drought conditions. As another bonus, the air quality improved. But the rain, wind and cold meant weather whiplash for anyone who experienced last week’s heat.

MPR News Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner joins MPR News host Nina Moini with details on the rainfall and a Memorial Day forecast.

The U.S. Department of Justice signaled Wednesday that it is not interested in pursuing an agreement with the city of Minneapolis designed to mandate policing reforms. The DOJ filed a motion Wednesday morning to dismiss the government’s consent decree with the city.

In January, the city and President Joe Biden’s justice department reached an agreement to address alleged discriminatory policing particularly affecting Black and Native residents. But the agreement needed a federal judge’s approval to move forward.

Matt Sepic joins MPR News host Nina Moini from Minneapolis after city leaders responded to the news.

The murder of George Floyd five years ago led to a court order that requires the Minneapolis Police Department and the city to fix a pattern of racial discrimination in policing. A new report outlines the reforms made so far, where progress has been slow and what's next.

Minneapolis Council member Andrea Jenkins' district includes the block where Floyd was killed. We talked to her about George Floyd Square and why five years later, its future is still unclear.

A Minnesota author grew up near an immigration detention center in California. His new book imagines the stories of Chinese immigrants who were there 100 years ago.

Minnesota sports teams are racking up wins, but how far can they go? We got the latest from our sports contributors.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was "This Joy" by VocalEssence and our Song of the Day was "Sweet Willow Tree" by The Nunnery.

Across the world of sports, Minnesota has been winning lately. The Twins just ended a 13-game winning streak. The Minnesota Frost cruised into the PWHL championships, which begin Tuesday night. The Lynx are also off to a strong start after winning their first two games of the season. And the Timberwolves have made it to the NBA Western Conference Finals.

With all this victory in the air, it's hard not to wonder how long it will last. The stakes feel especially high for Timberwolves. If they win their seven-game series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, they will go to the finals for the first time ever. Minnesota Now sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about everything they know about the matchup.

Wally Langfellow is the founder of Minnesota Score Sports Magazine and co-host of the sports talk show 10,000 Takes. Eric Nelson is the other host of that show and Minnesota Vikings NFL reporter for CBS' Eye on Football and Sirius XM.

Five years ago, the murder of George Floyd by then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin turned the corner of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue into an epicenter of worldwide calls to change policing. It was at that intersection where witnesses filmed Floyd's final moments as he cried out repeatedly that he couldn't breathe.

Now, as city leaders work to implement court-ordered police reforms, they are also trying to figure out what’s next for the site where the murder happened, now known as George Floyd Square.

Council member Andrea Jenkins represents that area on the Minneapolis City Council. She joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about the future of George Floyd Square.

A new book by a St. Paul author tells the story of Chinese emigrants applying to enter the U.S. 100 years ago. The young adult novel incorporates the poems that people detained at Angel Island off of California carved into the walls, expressing their anger and longing.

MPR News host Emily Bright spoke with author Freeman Ng about his book "Bridge Across the Sky."

The court-ordered reform process within the city of Minneapolis and its police department has reached a new phase. After George Floyd’s murder, the state Department of Human Rights found that the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department engaged in patterns and practices of racial discrimination. It led to a court-ordered agreement, that now is being enforced by an independent monitor.

On Tuesday, that monitor released a report that looks at the progress made in one full year of the agreement.

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights commissioner Rebecca Lucero joined Minnesota Now to explain where things stand one year in.

Flames rising. Police officers retreating. A community trying to protect itself.

These scenes may evoke the chaos following George Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020. But they also describe what happened nearly two decades earlier, on Aug. 22, 2002, in north Minneapolis. That summer, community outrage erupted after a white Minneapolis police officer shot and wounded an 11-year-old Black boy.

“It came at a time when tensions were already high,” reported MPR News’ Brandt Williams in 2002. “An angry, predominantly Black crowd gathered and accused the police of targeting African Americans.”

That unrest, like the one in 2020, drew the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice. But for longtime observers like Williams — who began covering the city in 1992 for the Black-owned “Insight News” — the story of police-community tensions in Minneapolis began long before Floyd's name became a rallying cry.

Listen to MPR News senior editor Brandt Williams’ conversation with Minnesota Now host Nina Moini. The segment was produced by Aleesa Kuznetsov and Megan Burks. It was engineered by Alex Simpson.