Minnesota Now

We’re watching a dam just south of Mankto that is at risk of breaking. We talked with our reporter on the scene. Meanwhile in Henderson, the city is holding an emergency council meeting as flooding from the Minnesota River washes out roadways.

E-bike popularity is skyrocketing, and that’s got folks looking into the safety risks of owning one. We spoke with the deputy director of Bike Minnesota.

A local girls volleyball coach is being inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame. She shared some career highlights.

A museum is gathering oral histories from Native people living around Bassett Creek, the first project of its kind in the suburbs. We heard more from our Native News team.

The county says the rain-swollen Blue Earth River has cut around the west side of the dam and there are concerns about debris in the river. Authorities are notifying residents downstream of the dam.

MPR News senior reporter Hannah Yang was on the scene and told us what was happening.

There has been a surge in popularity of e-bikes recently. Sales of electric bikes rose by 400 percent since 2020. And with a recent effort to launch a state rebate system for e-bikes in Minnesota, they've been an even hotter topic.

But with owning an e-bike comes a bigger responsibility than a regular bike. There are more safety risks when it comes to riding and charging your e-bike.

In New York City in 2023, e-bike batteries were the source of 255 fires, 150 injuries and 18 deaths. Riding them have also proven to be more dangerous. A recent report from the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that fatalities associated with e-bike ridership also increased exponentially.

Bike Minnesota Deputy Director Angela Olsen joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer to discuss how you can stay safe.

V3 Sports will hold its grand opening on Saturday. The aquatics and recreation center is one of the largest private investments ever in north Minneapolis at $126 million.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke to the executive director of V3 Sports, Malik Rucker, and Ayanna Rakhu, who planned all of the swimming programming.

The Minnesota Twins are in a tough series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Baseball legend Willie Mays has died, and the beginning of his career brought him to Minneapolis.

Plus, we’ll take a look at the Minnesotans vying to be in Paris this summer for the Olympics.

Joining us to break down this sports news is Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. Langfellow is the creator of “Minnesota Score” magazine and is the host of the “Ten Thousand Takes” sports talk show. Nelson co-hosts that show; he’s the Minnesota Vikings reporter for CBS Sports’ “Eye on Football” show.

Water is rising to dangerous levels and has resulted in a disaster declared in St. Louis County in northeastern Minnesota. We’ll hear from a business owner with a flooded building and officials who are managing the crisis.

And a new north Minneapolis aquatic center is opening with an emphasis on connecting families of color to water sports.

We are spotlighting a small goat business that’s getting creative about removing buckthorn.

A long motorcycle trip gone wrong and the generosity of a stranger up north. More on that.

And Thursday means Minnesota sports! We’ll hear about the late Willie May’s impact on baseball in Minnesota and get the latest on Minnesotan's performances at the Olympic trials.

The St. Louis County Board has declared a local disaster in response to flooding and other damage resulting from recent torrential rain that swept across the region.

In downtown Cook, homes and businesses are under several feet of water with flooding from the Little Fork River. The owner of the 85 year old Comet Theater said many businesses, including theirs, don’t have flood insurance because it’s too expensive.

Ryan Horner the owner of the Comet Theater and Dewey Johnson, Emergency Support Services Administrator for St. Louis County spoke to MPR News host Cathy Wurzer.

10 years ago this June, Matt Stanton figured it was time to take his motorcycle out for a ride. His dad was staying in Black Duck near Bemidji, and Stanton decided to avoid the interstates and take back roads from Minneapolis on his bike to join them for a few days of camping and fishing.

He was having a great ride up until he was right outside of Cromwell, when his motorcycle broke down. Stanton coasted in front of the only driveway for miles. And the man who owned that house, couldn’t have been the more perfect stranger to help him out.

In a recent visit to Morris, MPR senior economics contributor Chris Farrell visited several small businesses in the area. One of those businesses is Lakeside Prairie Farm in nearby Barrett, about half an hour north of Morris.

Lakeside Prairie is owned by Bryan and Jessie Simons. Their farm business? A goat grazing service. And it’s become very successful.

Farrell joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about their niche business.

Each year the Bush Fellow program recognizes people who are making a difference in their communities in Minnesota, the Dakotas and 23 tribal nations in the region.

The fellows receive up to $150,000 to learn and expand on their work. The 2024 cohort was announced on June 17.

The fellows have a wide variety of work including art, food, housing, racial justice and more. Many are focused on health care and healing, like Mari Avaloz.

She’s currently director of the St. Olaf College TRIO/Upward Bound program that prepares low-income and first-generation students for higher education. She’s putting the fellowship toward a vision of getting Latino families better access to cancer care. Mari Avaloz joined Minnesota Now to talk about her work.