Minnesota Now

February is American Heart Month. For the past 10 years, heart disease in women has increased. More women than men die of heart disease every year and some doctors think that could be because treatment for women is regularly delayed and their conditions are often misdiagnosed. Heart health is just one aspect of women's health that is often overlooked or misunderstood. Kristen Helton was thinking of that issue when she launched Herself Health in 2022. It's a clinic in Minnesota that offers healthcare focused mainly on the specific issues women over 65 face. Kristen joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer to talk about why we need to focus specifically on the health of older women.

Moose Lake is the latest Minnesota city to find itself on the brink of losing its police department. Two officers resigned last summer, with two more following this month, leaving one officer standing. The city is covering shifts with a roster of part-time officers from neighboring cities, but it's a temporary measure. Wednesday at 4 p.m., Moose Lake’s city council will consider whether or not to dissolve its local police department entirely.

Jim Mortenson, executive director of Minnesota Law Enforcement Labor Services, he joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer to discuss the policing problem facing small towns like Moose Lake.

The police department in Moose Lake, Minnesota has just one officer working right now. Everyone else has quit. Tonight the city council could decide whether to try to build back its force in town or disband it and rely on the county. It's just the latest small town in this position. We'll learn more.

The symptoms of heart disease and other health problems are often misdiagnosed or ignored in women. We'll meet the founder of three Minnesota clinics focused on women over the age of 65.

And we'll hear a conversation with “Killers of the Flower Moon” star Lily Gladstone.

A new bill that focuses on the use of the prone restraint for school resource officers is quickly making its way through the capitol. We heard from opponents of the bill that are hoping to stop it before it gets to a floor vote.

The water supply in Grand Rapids is getting people sick with a deadly disease, Legionnaires. MPR News host Cathy Wurzer talked to the person in charge of the water about what they're doing to stop the outbreak.

Roses are red, violets are blue…two local florists are making bouquets that are getting millions of views. MPR News producer Cathy Wurzer talked to the small businesswomen selling "ramos buchones" for Valentines day.

An outbreak of Legionnaires' disease has sickened 14 people in Grand Rapids and 11 have required hospitalization. The source is the city's water supply. Legionnaires’ disease is a serious type of pneumonia caused by inhaling Legionella bacteria found in water. It is deadly, but so far no one in Grand Rapids has died.

The Minnesota Department of Health confirmed the first case in April 2023, and since then has been investigating the source. MDH found the only common exposure was the municipal water supply. The city of Grand Rapids is now working the MDH to flush out the bacteria. Julie Kennedy is the Grand Rapids public utilities general manager. She joined Minnesota Now to talk about how the city is working to disinfect its water supply and how to avoid getting sick.

The Minnesota Department of Health suggests that to avoid getting sick, people in Grand Rapids to regularly clean devices that use water like sinks, showers, humidifiers, CPAP and BiPAP machines and Netipots.

Minnesota lawmakers are moving forward on a bill that walks back a 2023 ban on school resource officers using prone restraints on students. The bill passed the Education Policy Committee on Monday night and was re-referred to the Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee, which meets Tuesday evening.

The new bill is in response to several police departments that pulled their SROs out from schools amid concerns they could be held liable for subduing students using a prone restraint. The bill requires the development of a model policy on school resource officer responsibilities, and obligates officers to take training before starting work in a school.

The new bill is facing opposition from Solutions Not Suspensions, a coalition of students, community members, and organizations committed to ending racial disparities in discipline. Erin Sandsmark, Coalition Programs Manager of Solutions Not Suspensions, joined Minnesota Now to share why the coalition is opposing the new SRO bill.

This story comes to you from Sahan Journal through a partnership with MPR News.

A viral trend of massive bouquets, some costing hundreds of dollars, is finding an audience in the Twin Cities among social media-savvy florists and their Latino clientele.

Ramos buchónes is what 21-year-old Brittany Vega of Designs by B calls the big bouquets of roses she sells as a side gig between working full-time and going to school.

These aren’t your typical flower arrangements, and most florists in Minnesota don’t make them. But they’re all over social media where some #ramobuchon videos on TikTok have more than 30 million views.

According to one Mexican newspaper, a ramo buchón is characterized by being very ostentatious in its decoration and size.

The elaborate arrangements start at about 50 flowers, usually roses, and can go up to as many as 100. Ramo” is Spanish for bouquet.

“It’s not a necessity, but it’s a luxury,” Vega said from her makeshift workshop at her Bloomington home, as she dipped roses in glitter, “It’s not every day that a girl gets a big ‘ramo.’”

In addition to the sheer quantity of roses, florists like Vega wrap them in carefully folded Korean paper, and add LED lights, glitter, pins, chocolates, ribbons, and even stuffed animals. Some even include money in the form of folded bills.

Vega said she’s been getting two to five orders a day in the weeks before Valentine’s Day. It’s her first year selling the arrangements.

She isn’t the only florist driving the ramo buchón trend locally. 

Joselyn Chacon, owner of Siempre Con Amor, was in the middle of a gap year in college when she started selling flower arrangements to a majority Hispanic clientele.

“We really consider flowers, and especially roses, a love language,” Chacon said. “Giving someone flowers is really a sign that you appreciate them, and that you love them.”

Chacon has since moved to New York to finish college but still makes occasional trips back home to Minnesota to fill orders for her customers.

She’s even scheduled a weeklong break in early February to be in town for Valentine’s Day and fulfill her orders.

According to her, Ecuadorian roses are the main flower used to create ramos buchónes because they’re bigger and sturdier.

Prices for bouquets start at around $50 but can go up to more than $400, depending on the number of flowers and customization required.

A single bouquet can take a florist between one to three hours to create.

The bouquets are arranged with tightly arranged roses with the majority of the leaves cut off; they’re meant to be displayed as a bouquet rather than in a vase, according to Vega, who said she’s still waiting to be gifted one.

“Nothing big, but I want one,” Vega said. “I mean I’m making them for other people and I see how nice it looks, I want one.”

The bouquets are typically used as a grand romantic gesture. But can also be given to friends and family.

Vega said Valentine’s Day is always a popular day for flowers, but Mother’s Day was equally busy for her because of having to plan out two days of orders as Latin American countries don’t always celebrate the holiday on the same day as the United States.

Chacon said many of her customers send her photos of bouquets they’ve seen on social media for inspiration, and that she’s always willing to accommodate their wants and needs, but because the bouquets can get expensive she also offers budget-friendly options.

These limit customizations but at the same time allow Chacon to express herself creatively, sometimes leading to the creation of a favorite bouquet for the florist.

Chacon features different types of flowers in what she calls her “freestyle” bouquets. She also works with colors not commonly used, like orange. 

“They were very aesthetically pleasing to me, so they’re my favorite ones to make,” Chacon said. “I put a lot of work into it.”

Both florists are nearing the end of their Valentine’s Day preorder period but say they have extra flowers available for last-minute orders.

“Anything you have in mind, we’ll work together with you to make it happen,” Chacon said. “Everything we do is with love.”

The Minnesota 2024 Legislative Session is underway and MPR News politics reporter Brian Bakst has a preview of bills, schedules, and political strategy that we can expect this year. Have you ever gotten a whiff of nail polish? It has a pretty harsh smell. A salon owner took a closer look at the potential chemical harm from working in her industry. We learn about an effort to help other salons do the same. And we continue our series asking chefs around Minnesota, “what's for lunch?” This time, we celebrating the Chinese New Year with delicious dumplings!

In the Minnesota Now series, “What's for Lunch?”, we call up renowned chefs from all over the state to ask what they are cooking and eating today.

To kick off the Chinese New Year, MPR News host Cathy Wurzer talked with Peter Bian and Linda Cao, the couple behind the acclaimed pop-up Saturday Dumpling Co. They use Instagram to sell thousands of dumplings each week to Twin Cities residents. Their special recipe comes from Peter's mother, who would make the same dumplings for special occasions back in Northern China before the family moved to Minnesota.

Have you ever checked the ingredients in a bottle of nail polish? How about hair dye or chemical straighteners? Many of these products do what they do thanks to strong chemicals that can be bad for our health. Ngan Hoang, owner of Cali Nails in Minneapolis, slowly switched over to safer products over four years. The University of Minnesota School of Public Health recently received federal money to talk to salon owners in the Twin Cities about doing the same. Sahan Journal reporter Joey Peters covered the program and joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about it. You can read his story here.