Minnesota Now

On Monday, MPR News will host a debate in one of the most closely watched primary races in the state: the Democratic race for U.S. Senate.

Congresswoman Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan are the top contenders. The two of them will be in-studio on Monday at 11 a.m. in a debate hosted by MPR News politics editor Brian Bakst ahead of the Aug. 11 primary.

Larry Jacobs, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota, gave us a preview of the debate and this race.

A plan to clear St. Paul’s largest homeless encampments is facing stiff opposition. The city council held a public hearing Wednesday afternoon. We spoke to the leader of one nonprofit raising concerns about the mayor’s plan.

As wildfires continue to burn in northeastern Minnesota, we talked to an expert about how climate change is playing a role in wildfire season.

Plus, it’s been six months since Minnesota was the center of federal immigration enforcement. What’s changed inside the Department of Homeland Security?

And, we’re finally getting a break from the heat. But it won't last long. Chief meteorologist Ben Cathey shares the forecast.

And the Twin Cities Caribbean community is coming together this weekend for Carifest, a cultural celebration marking Carnival.

The Minnesota Music Minute was “Achin' to Be” by The Replacements. The Song of the Day was “On My Way Down” by Jon Sullivan Band.

Caribbean music, food and culture will take over part of the Mississippi riverfront on Saturday as Carifest returns to Minneapolis. This year, the annual festival also includes a special screening of a documentary exploring the meaning of the traditional celebration known as Carnival.

James Byron, an organizer of the Twin Cities’ annual Carifest, shared more about the festivities with Minnesota Now host Nina Moini.

Six months ago, it was the height of Operation Metro Surge and Minnesota was at the center of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign. Observers were sharing videos daily of violent arrests and confrontations.

Since then, there’s been a shift in leadership and optics — and immigration enforcement has become less visible.

Nick Miroff covers immigration and the Department of Homeland Security for The Atlantic. He's been tracking the shift nationwide and shared more of his reporting with MPR News host Nina Moini.

The wildfires in northeastern Minnesota are an immediate issue that point to a more abstract one. Scientists say by pumping the air with greenhouse gases, humans are causing the land to be hotter, drier at times, and more likely to burn.

Sam Potter, an atmospheric scientist with the University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership, joined Minnesota Now to help us better understand the links.

On Wednesday, the St. Paul city council will hold a public hearing on plans to clear homeless encampments starting in August.

Mayor Kaohly Her recently announced her office is working with the county to close three encampments due to public health and safety concerns. The city says around 120 people are staying at the largest of these sites, which is in Pig's Eye Park near the Mississippi River. Advocates estimate there are 400 people between all three encampments. The city plans to close that encampment on Aug. 5.

The council has received more than 100 written comments, mostly urging the city to halt its plans. Justin Lewandowski is among those asking for a pause. He's director of Open Hands Midway, which provides free meals, groceries and supplies to community members.

He shared more about his concerns on Minnesota Now.

A series of shootings in Minneapolis have killed one person and injured more than a dozen since Sunday. City leaders are preparing to hold a public meeting on the situation. We heard from City Council member Elizabeth Shaffer, whose ward is near where the shootings happened.

Wildfires are deflating summer travel to northeast Minnesota. We head up the North Shore to Cook County to find out how the tourism industry is doing.

Plus, we heard more about how Canadians are feeling about traveling south, with tariffs coming from the U.S.

And we learned more about the public health response to cyclospora.

We also got reaction on the new Little House on the Prairie series from Minnesota's Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum.

The Minnesota Music Minute was “Wascott Waltz" by “Between Howls.” The Song of the Day was “Stoned Soul Picnic” by 5th Dimension.

Wildfires in northeast Minnesota have firefighters and volunteers rushing to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. But it also has people avoiding and canceling trips to the region as well. This is a big problem for the large tourism industry in Cook County. There, North Shore destinations like Grand Marais and recreation destinations like the Gunflint Trail, attract people from all over the country.

The county, farther east of the fires, is urging people to still visit the region.

Executive director at Visit Cook County and the Cook County Chamber of Commerce, Linda Jurek, joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about the effort to bring tourists to northern Minnesota and the wildfire’s impact on the region’s tourism industry.

Netflix has rebooted the 1970s television adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie.

It was released this month and the streamer announced it’s renewing the show for a second season that will be set in Walnut Grove in southwestern Minnesota. Wilder’s family lived there in the 1870s and she channeled their time there into her writing.

Julien Nolan, director and curator of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove, joined Minnesota Now to talk about the new series.

For weeks, the U.S. has been dealing with an unpleasant public health mystery. The cyclospora parasite has infected thousands of people across the country. The largest cluster of cases is in Michigan and other midwestern states, not including Minnesota.

The Food and Drug Administration tracked the outbreak to a lettuce farm that supplies Taco Bell. Taylor Fresh Foods, the lettuce company, recalled several of its salad mix products. But the case isn’t closed, exactly.

MPR News host Nina Moini spoke with Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, about the parasite and the public health response.