Minnesota Now

It was a sold out crowd at Target Center for the Lynx-Fever game with Caitlin Clark in town. And it was an exciting game. The Lynx were off to a hot start and led the third quarter with a seven-point lead. The the Fever fought back, winning the game 81-74.

The man behind the mic doing play-by-play for Lynx Radio on KFAN is a new voice. Wendell Epps is just 23 years old and is also the first Black and Hispanic person to do play-by-play for the organization. He joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about his career.

On Minnesota Now, we’ve heard many stories brought to light by reporters at Sahan Journal. It’s a nonprofit newsroom launched in 2019 to cover immigrants and communities of color in Minnesota.

On Monday, the organization announced its new leader. Vanan Murugesan is taking the helm as executive director after founder Mukhtar Ibrahim announced he was stepping down last October.

For the last nine years, Murugesan has worked at Pillsbury United Communities, where he co-founded a nonprofit grocery store in north Minneapolis. And he stepped into the local media landscape by helping with the launches of the community news outlet North News and south Minneapolis radio station KRSM. Murugesen joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer.

Former president Donald Trump announced his running mate, JD Vance, at the Republican National Convention on Monday. We have the latest live from the convention. Plus, we unpacked the rhetoric and conspiracy theories that are swirling after an assassination attempt on the former president.

And as Republican party leaders gather in Milwaukee, we heard what two young conservative voters are thinking about the election now.

It was another weekend with heavy rain. We found out how recent floods are affecting water quality.

Plus, we met the new leader of the news organization Sahan Journal.

And we recapped the Minnesota Lynx’s sold-out game against the Indiana Fever, with the new voice of Lynx Radio.

The assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump has not led to any major changes in the schedule for the Republican National Convention. But it’s certain to be on the minds of those attending the four-day event, which began Monday in Milwaukee, Wis.

On the agenda is officially nominating Trump as the Republican candidate for president — along with a running mate.

For the latest in our series State of Democra-Z, we talked to two young conservative voters about this moment in the campaign. Addie Raum is an incoming junior at St. Olaf College in Northfield. Cory Hallada is an incoming senior, also at St. Olaf.

The assassination attempt on Donald Trump left the former president with a bloodied ear, one spectator dead and two injured. As the wounded former President left the stage Saturday, surrounded by Secret Service agents, he pumped his fist in the air and yelled to the crowd to “fight, fight, fight.”

In the hours after the attempted assassination, there were calls by President Joe Biden and others to tone down the rhetoric, but for years now, the political news has been dominated by outrage, allegations of fake news, conspiracy theories and charges of corruption, not to mention the violent riot at the nation’s capitol in 2021.

How did we get to this point and how might we describe the psychology of voters in this chaotic moment. Professor John Blanchar directs the social and political psychology lab at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about what’s behind the political rhetoric of this moment.

The Republican National Convention gets underway in Milwaukee Monday under heavy security and with a nation on edge. The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump adds a new dimension to an already tense presidential race.

Trump is due to introduce his vice presidential pick on Monday. After the close-call shooting, Trump’s choice carries considerably more gravity.

MPR News politics reporter Mark Zdechlik is in Milwaukee for the convention. He joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer live from Milwaukee.

We all need a little help to get through life sometimes. From everyday questions to more complex problems, we’re asking the experts to lend us a hand.

Throughout the series, we’ll hear some direct advice, for us not-so-direct Minnesotans.

Our ask: Help me make socially responsible investments.

Our professional: Jina Penn-Tracy, co-founder of Centered Wealth, a Minneapolis-based financial planning firm that focuses on socially responsible investing.

If you’ve been watching the Twins and White Sox series you may have heard a familiar voice, but one that was new to the national broadcast box. This week Marney Gellner became the first woman to call regular-season play-by-play for the Twins.

Gellner is a longtime figure in Minnesota sports, but this week she was in the spotlight for the three game series in Chicago against the White Sox. The Twins won the series. Gellner joined MPR News guest host Nina Moini to talk about the career milestone.

We are finally hitting 90 degree temps this weekend. Listen for how to prepare.

Plus an investigation shows that thousands of discarded police guns were later used in crimes. We’ll learn more on how those guns got into the wrong hands.

Researchers are concerned that climate change is paving the way for more insect-borne diseases. They’re here to explain why we could see a mosquito and tick boom in the state.

And if you’ve been watching the Twins-White Sox series, you may have heard a familiar local voice in the national broadcasting box. Marney Gellner is here to talk about her groundbreaking calls on the national stage.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Wide Eyed” by Cryote and our Song of the Day was “I Could, But I Won’t” by Ilika Ward.

Mid-July means we’re deep into mosquito season. And since mosquitos thrive in puddles of standing water, the huge amount of rain we saw in June is paving the way for their population to boom. The growth won’t be this summer, because current populations were impacted by drought. But the wet weather could help them thrive next summer. That’s concerning for researchers who are seeing a rise in insect-borne diseases across the state. And they think climate change could have a hand it in.

Joining MPR News guest host Nina Moini to explain are two people who spend a lot of their time thinking about this potentially growing threat from insects like mosquitos and ticks. Jonathan Oliver is an entomologist and professor at the University of Minnesota’s division of Environmental Health Sciences. Alex Carlson manages public affairs with the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District.