Minnesota Now

This morning Gov. Tim Walz posted on X, “Vice President Harris is showing us the politics of what's possible. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school.” He has compared moments in politics to the start of school before. It is a reference to his career as a high school teacher. MPR News reached out to a couple of his former students to find out what they might be thinking now that someone who taught them history is making it into history books himself.

Laura Muhm, a small-business owner in White Bear Lake, and Noah Hobbs, a former Duluth City Councilmember, joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to share their memories of Walz as Mankato West High School Students — and their takes on him as a VP candidate.

We expect to hear in the next day who will be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. Minnesota Gov. Walz, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly are top contenders. We spoke to three reporters who know each of these lawmakers.

Do you know anyone with COVID right now? Dr. Jon Hallberg shared some advice for navigating the recent uptick in infections.

Suni Lee is bringing home three medals from the Paris Olympics. We recapped her remarkable comeback.

We visited a parcel of land recently restored to the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.

Minnesota Fringe Fest is bringing offbeat theater to venues across the Twin Cities — we heard about a horror comedy from the height of the 1990s Beanie Baby craze.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Wondering Too” by the Penny Peaches.

It’s that time of year again — Minnesota Fringe Festival is taking over local theaters. Here’s a little history for you.

Fringe fests like this one started in Edinburgh back in 1947, when several theater groups who hadn’t been invited to the Edinburgh International Festival set up shop on the ‘fringe’ and performed anyways.

The idea of celebrating fringe groups has persisted and grown — although nowadays, the theaters are expecting them.

Tim Kelley is the co-founder of Melancholics Anonymous, a local theater group putting on “Beanie Baby Divorce Play” at Open Eye Theatre for Minnesota Fringe Fest. He joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to share a behind-the-scenes look at the show.

Each month, Dr. Jon Hallberg joins MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about topics that are important to your health and take a deep dive into medical news.

Hallberg is a family medicine physician at Mill City Clinic and a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

In this installment of Vital Signs, he talked about current COVID rates and the unique mental health struggles faced by elite athletes.

Political reporters and interested politicos and observers are keeping a watch on their phones, refreshing their social feeds and watching for word on Kamala Harris’ pick for her running mate. By noon Tuesday, we should know who she’ll run with.

Reuters has reported that the two candidates left in the running are Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, although MPR News hasn’t confirmed that report. Reuters reports that the Harris’ campaign will officially announce her running mate sometime Tuesday morning, followed by a Philadelphia rally later that day.

We thought it might be helpful to look at some of the other candidates who are vying with Gov. Walz to be the Democratic vice president nominee. WHYY political reporter Carmen Russell-Sluchansky, Axios-Phoenix reporter Jeremy Duda, and MPR News senior politics reporter Dana Ferguson joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to compare the chances of the three candidates.

On Thursday, Suni Lee is defending her gold medal in the women’s all-around final. It’s the first time she’s competed in the all-around against teammate Simone Biles, who won gold in 2016.

Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk Olympics, Vikings and other sports news.

Starting Thursday there are tougher penalties on people who buy guns for someone who isn't supposed to have one. It’s called straw purchasing. We talk to one of the state’s top law enforcement leaders about the new law.

Also going into effect Thursday: Something being dubbed the “Jetson’s Law.”

Today marks one year of legal recreational marijuana use. We check in with the CEO of White Earth’s operation — the state’s largest.

We hear about how Minnesota Nice played out for a group of friends going fishing in our Thank You, Stranger.

Plus, Suni Lee is looking to defend her gold medal all-around title. We check in with our sports contributors as the Olympics continue.

Our “Thank You, Stranger” series is about the people who come into our lives and lend a little support, maybe make our days a little brighter.

This time, we’ll hear about a young group of friends who wanted to take a trip together — and the Minnesotans who made it possible. Tom Johnson told his story to MPR News producer Alanna Elder.

Several new laws go into effect Thursday in Minnesota. One of them is “Jetson’s law,” named after the 1960’s space age cartoon. The law includes provisions for the use of flying cars.

It makes Minnesota the second state, after New Hampshire, the establish regulations for these vehicles of the future.

One company played a crucial role in helping make this law a reality: Samson Sky, the creators of a flying sports car. They’re based in Oregon, but provided insights to Minnesota lawmakers about the industry.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with CEO Sam Bousfield.

Today marks one year of legalized recreational marijuana. The process to get cannabis to the market has been slow, as expected — except for tribal nations. They are the only places allowed to grow for commercial use and sell, and they began as soon as they could.

White Earth has grown since then as the biggest adult-use marijuana operation in the state.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Zach Wilson, CEO of the White Earth operation known as Waabigwan Mashkiki, to reflect on this first year and look forward to what's next.