Six people are presumed dead after the bridge collapse in Baltimore and there is now an effort to recover their bodies. All six are believed to have been construction workers on the bridge at the time of its collapse in the wee hours of yesterday morning.

As recovery efforts continue, leaders in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. are talking about how quickly the bridge can be rebuilt. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke with CNN Wednesday morning about the response and how lessons can be learned from the 35-W tragedy in Minneapolis.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like this, but there have been experiences in the U.S. that we are drawing from, including the 2007 Minnesota bridge collapse, where really the federal government, the whole country stepped up to get that reconstructed,” Buttigieg said. “We’re learning from that and a lot of other moments in U.S. history as part of the playbook on what to do next.”

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who helped the Twin Cities navigate that time, including the rebuilding efforts.

Disability advocates from across Minnesota gathered at the Capitol Wednesday for Disability Advocacy Day. People with disabilities as well as caretakers and community members were there. That includes people affected by PTSD, autoimmune disorders and severe mental illnesses, which can all be disabling without being immediately apparent.

The extra step of disclosing a disability can prevent people from getting the care and accommodations they need. Trevor Turner, public policy director of the Minnesota Council on Disability, joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about what it’s like to live with a disability that isn’t obvious to others.

In the wake of the bridge collapse in Baltimore Tuesday morning, many Minnesotans thought about the state’s similar tragedy back in 2007 when the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed, killing 13 and injuring 145.

In Baltimore, the mile-long Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed into the river below, around 1:30 a.m., after an enormous cargo ship collided with it.

The reasons for the two bridges collapsing are different. But the trauma is similar.

That’s especially true for Lindsay Walz. She miraculously survived a fall into the Mississippi River from the 35W bridge more than sixteen years ago. And Tuesday’s events brought back a lot of memories.

She joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about taking the first steps to heal from such a traumatic incident.

Six people are missing after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in Baltimore early this morning. And some Minnesotans have actually experienced what people in that city are going through. We'll talk with a survivor of the I-35W bridge collapse about healing from disaster and tending to painful memories.

Early detection of colon cancer saves lives, but there are disparities in screening for the disease. We'll learn about free colonoscopies for underinsured patients in the state.

The recent death of former Minnesota Wild player Chris Simon is starting a conversation about possible links between hockey and CTE. We'll talk with a doctor.

And we'll meet two artists from opposite ends of the Mississippi River. They teamed up for an exhibit that you can see in Winona.

The Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona has a new exhibit centering on the Mississippi River. It’s a collaboration between Native artists of two tribes united by the river — the Ojibwe at the headwaters in Minnesota and the Houma at the delta in Louisiana.

The artists used many different mediums to illuminate the connections across Indigenous and colonial histories in their shared watershed. The title of the exhibit spans three languages: “Abijijiwan” in Ojibwe, “Ukeyat Yanalleh” in Houma and “The Water Flows Continuously” in English. The exhibit will be on view through July 7.

The two artists behind the exhibit joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer.

Karen Goulet is an enrolled member of the White Earth Ojibwe Nation. She lives in White Earth and is currently the director of the Miikanan Gallery in Bemidji. Monique Verdin is a citizen of the Houma Nation and director of The Land Memory Bank & Seed Exchange.

Former Minnesota Wild player Chris Simon died of suicide last week, and it’s renewing the conversation about a degenerative brain disease called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE.

It’s a disease that affects people with repeated head injuries. Simon’s family believes he suffered from the disease. But there’s no confirmation, because CTE can only be diagnosed after death with a brain autopsy.

During life, CTE can cause symptoms of memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, anxiety and suicidality.

In the state of hockey, we wanted to learn more about the risk of CTE in hockey. Dr. Michael Stuart joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer. Dr. Stuart a recently-retired orthopedic surgeon at Mayo Clinic and the chief medical officer at USA Hockey.

A note to our listeners: This segment discusses suicide. If this is a topic that triggers you — please take care and know that trained help is available. Call or text 988 and you’ll be connected to a crisis counselor as soon as possible.

Colon cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in Minnesota, according to the state department of health. And like most cancers, the chances of survival are much higher when you catch it early. But studies show that colorectal cancer screening rates in Minnesota are only 50 to 55 percent in non-white populations, compared to 75 percent in white populations. The pandemic made that disparity worse.

Francisco Ramirez is the community and education supervisor for M Health Fairview. He joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the barriers that get in the way of early detection.

To find out if you qualify for a free colonoscopy you can call 651-279-5664.

Snow and rain are falling across the entire state. We talked to people all over Minnesota about everything from the snowfall numbers and transportation to skiing and dogsledding.

We rode along with a snowplow to see what their snow day looked like.

Duluth and further up on the North Shore saw the most snow overnight. We got the latest from our reporters on-scene.

Shoveling this heavy, wet snow can get dangerous. We talked to a doctor from Mayo Clinic about how to stay safe.

Have you heard the term “heart attack snow?” It’s a real thing, unfortunately. Shoveling heavy snow can put you at higher risk of heart attack or cardiac arrest. Mayo Clinic cardiologist Dr. Vanayak Nagaraja joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer and shared how to keep yourself safe as you clean up from the storm.

If there’s any part of Minnesota that depends on winter tourism, it’s northeastern Minnesota. White Wilderness Adventures operates dog sledding trips, deep in the north woods, about 30 miles outside of Ely. Our Dan Kraker had talked to the owner in January when this season’s winter weather was looking pretty bleak. At that time Peter McLelland shared that during his busiest time of year, he had no dog sled trips going out.

“Running a sled dog business like this is a labor of love. You do it because you want to. It’s great to share this with with the guests that come up. But you do not make enough money to really be able to weather this kind of disaster,” McLelland said in January.

MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer checked back in with him.