Minnesota Now

This Saturday will mark four years since the murder of George Floyd. The impact his murder had on Minnesota are long-lasting and still playing out today. Each day this week on Minnesota Now, we will look at a different impact. Monday’s segment is one the State of Diversity Equity and Inclusion in workplaces, or DEI.

Sharon Smith-Akinsanya joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the trends she sees in DEI. She is the founder and CEO of the Rae Mackenzie Group, a local DEI marketing firm that works with companies around the country such as Target and U.S. Bank. Smith-Akinsanya is also the founder of the long-running People of Color Career Fair.

One of the main tasks of the session was supposed to be passing a bonding bill. Lawmakers fielded more than $7 billion in requests for state and local projects around the state.

But a bill didn’t pass, and now most of those projects are getting no state money.

Without state funding, infrastructure projects across the state including roads, health centers and public works are in jeopardy.

Bradley Peterson is the executive director of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities. He joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to share what’s next for cities that were counting on funding.

The 40th anniversary of Prince’s best-selling album and film “Purple Rain” is next month on June 25 and 27 respectively. And on Tuesday, a new memorabilia- and picture-filled book will be released in honor of the occasion: “Prince and Purple Rain: 40 Years.”

Prince’s story is told by Minneapolis-based music journalist Andrea Swensson, who is also the host of the Official Prince Podcast, a Minnesota Book Award winner and former host of the Current’s Local Show. A long-time reporter on Prince and the Minnesota music beat, she calls her new book a “love letter” to his legacy.

It all began in 2014 when Swensson assembled a 30th-anniversary package for MPR News and the Current.

“And that really started this whole Prince adventure that I’ve been on over the last decade,” Swensson told MPR News on Monday.

“I started covering his career so closely when he was still with us and have done a lot of work around his legacy since we lost him. And I really wanted to take this opportunity to put together something that captured so many of these amazing stories about him, and really spoke to my own personal connection to his music and to his life and what he meant to me.”

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  April 2017 Remembering Prince at his home and studio
  
  


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  October 2017 Andrea Swensson tells the story of the 'Minneapolis Sound' in first book
  
  

Swensson describes the era of “Purple Rain” as iconic and world-building, calling the watershed film unrivaled in rock history. Prince’s influence, she said, is almost impossible to untangle from the fabric of the music industry over the last 40 years.

Swensson says she has interviewed each member of The Revolution — Bobby Z, BrownMark, Dr. Fink, Lisa Coleman and Wendy Melvoin — at least three times.

“He wanted us to be a gang … and by the time we got to ‘Purple Rain,’ we were,” drummer Bobby Z recalls in the book. Bassist BrownMark affirmed: “We were experts … The way we rehearsed, I mean, ‘Purple Rain,’ I could fall asleep and probably play it. That’s how well we knew the whole set.”

“We’ve had some really, really memorable conversations,” Swensson said. “This was such a pivotal time in all of their lives. Wendy Melvoin was only 19-years-old when she joined Prince’s band. And her very first show is the night that they played at First Avenue and recorded ‘Purple Rain.’”

The book was put together and contributed to by a hyperlocal team, including photography from Greg Helgeson, Tommy Smith III and Nancy Bundt; private archivist Rich Benson; designer Cindy Laun; editor Dennis Pernu and art director Heather Godin. It’s filled with evocative photography, images of ticket stubs, posters and vinyl records, reflective quotes and iconic lyrics — transporting the reader back to the summer of 1984.

Writing the tribute conjured up some unexpected emotions for Swenson.

“There was something therapeutic to me about being able to revisit that meeting that I had with him because we did talk a lot about his feelings about anniversaries ... At the time that we met, he had two new albums in the can he was getting ready to put out,” she said. “So there was something really poignant and a little bittersweet to me to really sit with my notes and my memories of that night and be able to write about it in this way. And it did feel like some kind of full circle moment.”

“Prince and Purple Rain: 40 Years,” including a foreword by Maya Rudolph, debuts on May 21. There is a book release party on June 12 at Electric Fetus in Minneapolis; a pre-order is required.

The class of 2024 may be one of the most unique college classes. Many of them were high school seniors in 2020 and didn’t get a high school graduation. They then entered college in the height of the pandemic, starting school entirely online. Additionally, they were experiencing fallout from the murder of George Floyd, increasing climate disasters and most recently campus protests surrounding the Israel-Hamas war.

Despite all of that, the class of 2024 has a diploma in hand. MPR News producers Aleesa Kuznetsov and Josh Cobb talked to several college graduates across Minnesota who reflected on their college experience.

To provide more insight on the class of 2024, Evan Johnson joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer. Johnson is the Associate Director of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Minnesota's MLK program and is also an academic advisor.

There’s controversy over the upcoming graduation ceremony for Hinckley-Finlayson High School. On Monday, the school board announced the Native American Student Association will no longer have the opportunity to play the Ojibwe Honor Song with its drum group at graduation next Friday.

More than 40 students walked out of class Wednesday in protest. They say that their culture is being silenced, even as Native American students make up about a quarter of the student body. Students say they’ll continue walkouts and silent protests until graduation day.

The district superintendent said in a statement that the reason is to ensure that graduation focuses on graduating students rather than extracurricular student activities. Melanie Benjamin Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe chief executive joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer with perspective on the situation.

State lawmakers are entering the final stretch to get work done at the Minnesota Capitol. Tensions flared Wednesday night when DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman cut off debate on a bill connected to a new paid family leave program. After the bill passed and Democrats called it a day, the chamber filled with Republican lawmakers calling for the day’s session not to adjourn.

MPR News senior politics reporter Dana Ferguson joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer from the Capitol to discuss what happened and what’s left to do this weekend.

It was a late night at the Capitol as Minnesota lawmakers worked past midnight to pass bills in the final days of the session. MPR News senior politics reporter Dana Ferguson explains why tensions ran high on the house floor.

The college Class of 2024 has overcome a lot in their four years. We hear reflections from graduates.

A northern Minnesota school district is seeing pushback for banning a Native drum group performance at graduation. We hear from a tribal leader.

Plus, this weekend you can go behind the scenes of some of the most iconic and historic buildings in Minneapolis.

And it’s win or go home for the Timberwolves. We talk about what obstacles the team faces to keep their playoff run alive.

Thursday is a make-or-break day for the Timberwolves. The team needs a win against the Denver Nuggets to stay in the playoffs. If the Wolves lose, Denver gets to keep defending the championship title they won last year. If the Wolves prevail tonight, they get another chance Sunday to win the series against Denver and move on to the Western Conference finals. Tipoff is 7:30 at the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.

And Friday night in the same place the Minnesota Lynx play their home opener against Seattle. Sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about this moment in Minnesota basketball and the latest sports news.

Wally is the founder of “Minnesota Score” sports magazine and co-host of the “Ten Thousand Takes” sports talk show. Eric is the other host of that show and sports reporter for WCCO radio and TV.

Have you ever passed an interesting building while driving through town and been curious about what goes on behind its closed doors? An event Saturday and Sunday is made for the curious to take a peek behind closed doors throughout Minneapolis.

The public is free to tour hundreds of private spaces, from historic mansions to factories to performance venues to apartment buildings to places of worship. The event is called “Doors Open Minneapolis.” Kelly Fischer is leading the charge through her organization, Rethos, and she joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer with a preview.

This season of Top Chef is taking place in Wisconsin. Chefs from across the country and even world are competing in different Wisconsin-themed challenges focusing on things like cheese, beer and cherries.

Wednesday night’s episode will be focused on Indigenous cuisine. And a familiar face will be there to judge and help out in the challenge. James Beard winner, and chef-owner of Owamni, Sean Sherman.

Sherman joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer to talk about his experience being part of Top Chef and sharing Indigenous cuisine on a national platform.