Minnesota Now

On Saturday a Twin Cities arts educator is sharing two children’s books she self-published in three languages: English, French and Haitian Creole, or Kreyòl, as it’s spelled in Haiti. The latest book’s English title is “Ti Sonson and the Powers of the Drum.”

Djenane Saint Juste is the author of the book and founder of the organization Afoutayi. She joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about her work sharing Haitian culture through language, drumming and dance.

Crews are digging up soil and pumps are pulling water to clean up a leak at a power plant near Cohasset in northern Minnesota. Two weeks ago Tuesday, Minnesota Power reported that wastewater containing coal ash — the waste product created when coal is burned for power — had spilled from a pipeline at Boswell Energy Center.

The company and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency say about 5.5 million gallons of water containing ash leaked, with some of it reaching Blackwater Lake on the Mississippi River. As of Monday morning, the MPCA said about 639,000 gallons had been pumped back into the plant’s system. Sampling from the area has found higher-than-normal levels of sulfate and boron.

All this comes as the federal government is getting stricter this year with how coal ash and coal ash wastewater are regulated. Kari Lydersen has followed this as an energy reporter and investigative journalism professor with Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. She joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer with context.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been making national headlines in his bid for vice president on the Democratic ticket. We heard from a Politico reporter who has news on what’s being said about Walz’s VP viability behind closed doors.

The two gold medalists in mountain biking both had bike spokes made right here in Minnesota. We talked to the owner of the company.

A recent leak in northern Minnesota has drawn attention to the risks of coal ash pollution. We heard from a journalist on the beat.

Without family medical records, adoptees have to take their health into their own hands. We learned how genetic counseling plays a role.

And we talked to a local Haitian author, educator and artist about her two children’s books in three languages.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Shell Text” by Products Band and our Song of the Day was “XTC” by SOLANA.

MPR News is following dozens of Minnesota athletes who are competing in the Paris Olympics for Team USA and other countries. But there are stories of Minnesotans contributing to the games in other ways.

In this week's mountain biking finals, French cyclist Pauline Ferrand Prévot won her first gold medal with an extraordinary lead of nearly 3 minutes. British cyclist Tom Pidcock got a flat tire halfway through the race and came back to win gold. South African Alan Hatherly won bronze. These were three of the six Olympic riders using bicycle spokes by Hopkins-based company Berd Spokes, which was founded by three engineers and University of Minnesota graduates. Co-founder Charlie Spanjers spoke with MPR News producer Alanna Elder from Paris, where he watched the events.

It has been nearly a month since all Minnesota-born adoptees gained access to their birth records. The Open Records Bill was a huge win for adoptees, in part because it allowed them to request medical history from their birth parents.

However, there are still many Minnesota adoptees born in a different country whose medical history remains a question mark. Heewon Lee is assistant program director of the Genetic Counseling Program at the University of Minnesota.

She joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about a new Sahan Journal story looking at how international adoptees piece together a personal health history and what they can — and cannot —learn from genetic testing.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz seems to be everywhere: doing news interviews or in social feeds with pointed, feisty and unguarded comments in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.

Walz is rapidly rising to the top as a contender for vice president, alongside Harris. Some of Walz’s comments have gone viral, whether on cable news appearances or during Monday night’s fundraising call for “White Dudes for Harris.”

It’s one of the many affinity groups that have been videoconferencing in support of Harris, spurred by a Win With Black Women meeting the day President Joe Biden left the race.

Minnesota native and Politico reporter Meredith Lee Hill joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer with details about what’s being said about Walz’s VP viability behind closed doors.

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.

As of Monday, most abortions after six weeks are illegal in Iowa. The new law going into effect is one of the strictest in the country. We talked with a professor in southern Minnesota about what this could mean for clinics here in this state.

We got a glimpse of the Olympics from MPR News reporter Kyra Miles, who is in Paris.

And this summer has been tough on some of our veggies. We talked about what to do if you find an abundance of, say, slugs in your garden — and how to prepare what’s in season right now.

Plus, there’s a new series of audio plays about Minnesota’s capital city. If you’re in downtown St. Paul, the key to these stories might be right under your feet.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Empathy” by Daniel the Violinist and our Song of the Day was “Twenty Five Forty One” by Marshall Crenshaw.

Over the weekend, mysterious QR codes appeared scattered around downtown Saint Paul, marked by a curious pigeon named Herald. They’re part of a project from local theatre company, Wonderlust Productions, called “Hidden Herald.”

The QR codes each lead to a short audio play with a secret story about our capital city, written and performed by local playwrights and actors.

Leah Cooper is one of the artistic directors of Wonderlust Productions and she joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about this unique series.

The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are officially underway. As of Monday morning, Team USA has racked up 12 medals, which is the most, but they are 5th in the gold medal count.  

One of MPR News’ own has a front row seat to the action. MPR News reporter Kyra Miles is at the Olympics with her family and took some time to talk to MPR News host Cathy Wurzer from Paris about her experience so far.

For Minnesota’s gardeners, the middle of July means that the summer harvest is really getting underway. And we wanted to check back with our resident gardener, Meg Cowden, about what she’s seeing in her garden with this summer of rain and what you should buying this time of year at the farmers market.

Cowden is the author of the book “Plant Grow Harvest Repeat” and the founder of the website, Seed to Fork, and the advice group, Modern Garden Guild.

Cowden joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer during an exciting time of year for gardening.