Minnesota Now

The gavels struck at noon Monday in the Minnesota House and Senate chambers, beginning the 2024 Minnesota legislative session. Last session saw a plethora of policy and spending wins for Minnesota Democrats. They passed dozens of long-sought changes, from abortion protections to recreational cannabis and boosted spending across state government, from universal school meals to modest tax rebates. But this year, it sounds like they're slimming down their agenda. Minnesota Republicans, who are seeking to win back the state House in November, see the session as a chance to sharpen their campaign messaging. MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with politics editor Brian Bakst about what to expect.

This Saturday marks the first day of the Lunar New Year. According to Chinese culture, that means we’re about to enter the Year of the Dragon.

The Minneapolis Institute of Art is opening an exhibit to explore the history of the dragon in Chinese culture on Saturday. It is called Year of the Dragon: Mystical Creatures of the Sky.

The exhibit’s curator, Yang Liu joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the symbolism and history of the exhibit.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. 

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We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here.

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether states can exclude former president Donald Trump from their 2024 ballots. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon joined Minnesota Now to talk about what we heard Thursday morning during hours of oral arguments.

The City of Falcon Heights is considering a new policing contract with its neighbor, St. Anthony Village. It ended a similar deal in 2016 after the police killing of Philando Castile. We talked with a former Ramsey County sheriff who has been studying the issue.

The Lunar New Year begins Saturday. We met the curator behind a new exhibit celebrating the year of the dragon.

A Minnesotan with a long, storied life from joined our series, Connect the Dots.

The Minnesota Now sports guys Wally and Eric joined the show to talk Super Bowl Sunday, the Timberwolves, Gopher basketball, and more.

How’s this for a resume?

• Dropped out of school in the 7th grade




• Three stints in juvenile detention at Red Wing




• Four-year sentence at Minnesota Corrections-Stillwater




• Worked at the Minnesota Department of Corrections for 23 years




• A Bush fellow (a program that invests in accomplished leaders get to the next level)




• Master’s degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Business




• Founder and president of the American Indian Policy Center




• A champion boxer

John Poupart, who is Ojibwe, has lived a rich life.

MPR’s senior economics contributor Chris Farrell recently sat down with Poupart.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. 

Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.   

We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here.

The city of Falcon Heights and St. Anthony Village are coming together for a workshop to consider a policing partnership Thursday night. Following the police killing of Philando Castille in 2016, Falcon Heights terminated their police contract with St. Anthony Village. Falcon Heights does not have their own police department, and since then has been contracting with the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office. That partnership will be coming to an end this year. And now Falcon Heights is looking for a long-term policing solution. Helping them make that decision is the Center for Values-Based Initiatives. They came out with a more than 100 page report to help guide the city through their policing needs. Former Ramsey County Sheriff Matt Bostrom is the president of that organization and led the city through that work. He joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer.

The U.S. Supreme Court has heard oral arguments concerning former President Donald Trump's eligibility to be on the 2024 presidential ballot. The arguments were based around the Section Three of the 14th Amendment, which states "No person shall hold any office under the United States who, having previously taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof." The arguments got technical right away, but the question at the heart of the arguments is this: Can Trump, who is once again the front runner for the Republican nomination for president, be excluded from the ballot from because of his role in the January 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol? DFL Minnesota Secretary of State, Steve Simon joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer to unpack the arguments.

It's a big weekend for football fans. The Kansas City Chiefs are playing the San Francisco 49ers Sunday for Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas. MPR News contributor Eric Nelson joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about it. Nelson is co-host of the 10,000 Takes sports talk show and a Vikings reporter for CBS sports. Wally Langfellow is the other host of that show and the founder of Minnesota Score Magazine. Langfellow also joined the show to talk about the Timberwolves, the Wild and Gopher Men’s basketball.

Former Minnesotan Lee Sung Jin created the popular A24 Netflix show, “Beef.”

If you're buying a car, there's a new reason to go electric in Minnesota. We'll talk about what a new rebate program that launches today means for car dealers and drivers.

Children with autism in Minnesota are ending up in the emergency room for weeks at a time... with nowhere else to go. We'll talk about why, and learn about an effort to make those stays just a little better.

We'll talk about when midwives can fill gaps left by rural hospitals.

And is winter ever coming back? Meteorologist Paul Huttner will join us with the details.

Plus, we’ll meet the creator of award-winning show ‘Beef’, who spent part of his childhood in Minnesota.

Minnesota's new electric vehicle rebate went live Wednesday morning. New car owners can apply for up to $2,500 rebate for a new car and $600 for a used car. In total, the state set aside $15 million for the rebates. The rebate program was part of a suite of bills the Minnesota Legislature passed last session to address climate change. Right now, EV’s make up less than 1 percent of vehicles on the road in Minnesota, and state lawmakers want to increase that percentage.