Unreal warmth has been parked across the region with potentially record-setting temperatures Wednesday.

The last day of January looked very different five years ago, when a polar vortex dropped wind chills in parts of the state to about 60 below. Jan. 31 this year is more than one-hundred degrees hotter, with highs in the 50s.

MPR chief meteorologist Paul Huttner joins MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the record warmth.

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

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That forecast is doing golf courses a favor, with several in Minnesota open for business this week and tee times booked solid. But on ski trails, it’s a headache.

The largest cross-country ski race in North America is just around the corner. The 50th American Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wis., is scheduled for three weeks from now. About 13,000 people are registered including Olympic skier and Minnesotan Jessie Diggins.

After the recent cancellations of other winter events like the Beargrease and Gunflint sled dog races, you may be wondering, is the Birkie really going to happen this year?

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  Gunflint: Mail Run called off due to warm weather
  
  


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  Beargrease: Amid ongoing lack of snow, Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon organizers cancel this winter's race
  
  

“We know that the next few days, the next two weeks really are going to make people nervous when they look at those forecasts. And they make us nervous too,” Race director Kristy Maki told racers in a virtual Q&A on Monday night. “So we’re being realistic about the 2024 American Birkebeiner week of events will look like.”

Birkie organizers have laid out a few possibilities for this year's races. Ben Popp, Executive Director of the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation, joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to explain.

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

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

There's a public hearing Tuesday evening in Fosston Minnesota, which is in the northwestern part of the state, on a decision to stop delivering babies at the hospital in town. It is the second hospital this month to announce a closure of its delivery ward. Mayo Clinic in New Prague also said it intends to close it's ward. That means that pregnant people in Fosston and New Prague will have to travel unprecedented distances to find an obstetric unit that delivers babies.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Fosston's mayor, Jim Offerdahl. Offerdahl said that city officials, community members and doctors alike are upset about the decision from the organization that runs the hospital, Essentia. He argued that Essentia breached their agreement with the town.

Katy Backes Kozhimannil, a professor at U of M's school of public health, also joined Minnesota Now to talk about what it might mean for those two rural birth wards to be at risk of closing soon.

Essentia sent MPR News the following statement:

Due to a pending dispute with the City about the terms of the affiliation agreement, Essentia will not comment on matters that will be resolved through an arbitration process.

Decreasing birth volumes, the growth in high-risk pregnancies and challenges recruiting providers have resulted in Essentia Health-Fosston relocating labor and delivery care. We remain committed to providing high-quality obstetric care and continue to offer excellent access for women locally, with expert prenatal and postpartum services available in Fosston. We work closely with our patients to ensure a seamless delivery plan at Essentia Health St. Mary’s-Detroit Lakes.

We appreciate the opportunity to further explain this transition during the public hearing. We recognize that members of the community have questions about this change, and we look forward to providing additional information. Our highest priority is the safety and well-being of the patients we’re privileged to serve, and this increasingly common model of shared maternity services provides the safest care possible to our moms and newborns.

And just generally speaking and for additional background, it’s no secret that this is a significant challenge affecting health care in rural communities. Minnesota has seen a disproportionate loss of labor and delivery services in rural communities — between 2000 and 2015 alone, 15 of the state’s rural hospitals stopped delivering babies, according to this 2019 MPR article. Nationwide, fewer than 45% of rural hospitals offer labor and delivery, according to this report.

Uber and Lyft drivers spoke in front of Minneapolis City Hall before a committee hearing about driver pay rates on Tuesday. Earlier this month, rideshare drivers held a one-day strike at the Minneapolis Saint Paul airport. This month another group of workers linked to the airport are organizing for higher wages and benefits. SEIU Local 26 represents the airport staff who provide services like cleaning cabins and pushing wheelchairs. Their contract is set to expire on Thursday. Sahan Journal reporter Alfonzo Galvan is following this story and he joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about it.

The hit show True Detective is back with a new season - and a new Minnesotan. True Detective: Night Country is currently airing on HBO and stars Isabella Star LaBlanc as Leah, the step daughter of Chief Liz Danvers, played by Jodie Foster. Isabella plays a Native character and she herself is Dakota. She joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the show, Indigenous representation in television, and growing up acting in the Twin Cities.

Minneapolis officials are clearing a homeless encampment that formed after Camp Nenookaasi was evicted earlier this month. People who were living there say this time, they received little warning. MPR visual journalist Ben Hovland was on the scene and joined the show with the latest.

Some pregnant people in greater Minnesota will now have to drive much further to give birth after two hospitals announced plans to close their delivery wards. We learned more.

Airport workers are one of the latest groups to organize for higher pay -- more on their negotiations for a new contract.

The popular new show True Detective: North Country is set in Alaska. But one of its stars is from this North Country -- Minnesota. We talked with her role in the hit show.

Second Harvest Heartland says food shelf visits reached a record high, going from 3.5 million in 2021 to 7.5 million in 2023. The “Make Hunger History” initiative aims to identify which communities are facing the greatest needs. 

Minnesota Now runs over the lunch hour, a time that here in the MPR News studio, we are thinking quite a lot about food.

So we figured, why not check in with the best chefs in Minnesota and ask what they’re eating for lunch Monday to get some inspiration? Jorge Guzmán is the chef at the three-star restaurant Petite León in Minneapolis and is opening a new Mex-Tex style restaurant, Chilango at the Beach Club Residences on the shore of lake Bde Maka Ska next month.

He has been nominated for the prestigious James Beard Best Chef award three times. He joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about his work.

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

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

One of the largest food banks in the country aims to cut Minnesota’s hunger crisis in half. MPR News reports how they hope to do it.

MPR News has a new health series with Dr. Jon Hallberg. This month’s episode talks about the value of finding a medical home.

Children across Minnesota are taking to a story booth to talk about what it’s like to be a kid these days.

Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe’s chief executive is not seeking another term in office. MPR News has her insights on her last six terms.

Plus, hear what Minneapolis chef Jorge Guzman is eating for lunch — and the latest on his new restaurant.

Correction (Jan. 30, 2024) A previous version of this story had the incorrect number of terms for Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe’s chief executive. The above version is correct.

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It’s tough being a kid these days. But a Minnesota organization wants to make sure our youth feel empowered.

The Wildling has a mission to help youth share their lived experiences in a meaningful way. And one way they do that is through a program called Story Booth. It’s a collection of personal stories told by kids as young as pre-K to college-aged.

It has several collections; the newest is called Imagine Something Bigger. They are stories as light as wishing for a future with dinosaurs to fears about what’s next.

Joining MPR News host Cathy Wurzer is Donte Wilkins, the Story Booth director and Murwat Noor, an 11th grader at Menlo Park Academy in Minneapolis.

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

Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google 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.