Minnesota Now

With the NFL’s regular season winding down, is there any hope the Vikings make it to the playoffs? Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the upcoming game this weekend and other sports news.

Wally is the founder of Minnesota Score Sports Magazine and co-host of the sports talk show Ten Thousand Takes. Eric is the other host of that show and Vikings reporter for CBS Sports radio’s Eye on the NFL.

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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.

Thousands of people on TikTok have been taking part in a trend where they share coincidences and connections, many times with people who have passed.

A Minneapolis woman went viral when she shared her own story of a big family coincidence. She talked about it to our producer Ellen Finn for the latest in our series, ‘Thank You, Stranger.’

If this story reminds you of help or even friendship that came from a stranger, we want to hear from you! Call 612-361-1252 and leave a voicemail.

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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.

We love to feature Minnesota-made podcasts on Minnesota Now, but we’ve never featured anything quite like this next podcast. Out Cold is a fictional horror anthology series and producers Julie Censullo and Sophie Nikitas got creative with sound to make things spooky.

Listen to the trailer:

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.

Police departments in Hennepin County will now have to disclose more information about when officers have mishandled evidence, lied, or acted out of bias. And prosecutors will be required to turn those records over to the defense.

County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced the new rules at a press conference Wednesday. They relate to Supreme Court cases known as “Brady” or “Giglio” which says prosecutors have to collect and share information that could cast doubt on an officer's testimony.

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  Related Hennepin County Attorney implements new measures to ensure fair trials for defendants
  
  

Barry Edwards is a criminal defense attorney with Keller Law Offices. He joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer to explain what this means for defendants on trial.

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 Minneapolis began clearing Camp Nenookaasi, a large encampment of unsheltered people, just before noon Thursday.

More than 100 people have been living in tents and other temporary structures at Camp Nenookaasi for months. Most of the residents who have been living at the encampment are Native people.

Police waited into the late morning for people to move out. There were no apparent confrontations between residents and police.

Residents of the camp, located near the intersection of 23rd Street and 13th Avenue, started folding tents and gathering belongings after a pre-dawn breakfast. The mood was somber then purposeful as the sun came up.  

As the day progressed, people gathered for a news conference held by the camp. The gathering included camp organizer Nicole Mason, Minneapolis council members Jason Chavez and Elliott Payne, Rep. Aisha Gomez, DFL-Minneapolis, residents and others.

Tribal leadership also spoke. Red Lake Nation Tribal Secretary Sam Strong described the need for a healing center to be built in the area as an option for those needing services, and the Red Lake Nation being a partner in that pursuit.

“Today is about creating a future where we can build this healing center,” said Strong.

“The Red Lake Nation is committed to being that partner, to build a space where our people can go when it gets cold, to build a space where our people can learn and relearn our language, our culture, our way of life, the tools to bring them back into society, to bring them on the Red Road. And to do that, we need the cooperation of state, city, federal partners.”

A Metro Transit bus was reportedly onsite to transport people leaving the camp to a warming center.

Organizations in the area have expressed their concerns about the encampment. Sharon Day is the executive director of the Indigenous Peoples Task Force, which operates a housing complex adjacent to the encampment. Day outlined support of the camp’s closure in a press release and listed several concerns related to the camp.

“We are aware of the over 100 police reports, including sexual assault, human trafficking, other violence and drug trafficking,” wrote Day. “We are concerned about the fires burning within feet of residential buildings, including buildings clad in cedar. We have had vandalism including our vehicle being drilled to access fuel.”

The Indigenous Peoples Task Force supports government leadership providing more resources for housing.

Late last week, Minneapolis officials set the latest date for closure of the camp for Thursday morning. The city had previously delayed the closing twice because it was working to find places for camp residents to live, at least temporarily.   

Camp organizer Nicole Mason said she will continue to work on their behalf. 

“My goal and their goal have not changed. They all want housing. We want the healing center. They want recovery,” Mason said. 

Many people in the camp struggle with opioid use disorder. A city of Minneapolis spokesperson said in a statement earlier in the week that dozens of former Nenookaasi residents are in more stable housing situations. 

For many residents, their next move is unknown. Some may take their belongings to another location nearby, others may relocate to one of the shelter beds provided by the city and county. A city spokesperson previously said that local shelters will make 90 beds available to camp residents.

Two residents of the camp tried to stop the closure, but a federal judge denied their request for a halt late Wednesday. The residents said in part that the eviction would affect their health and that there were no clear plans to preserve their belongings.  

Minnesota’s premiere sled dog race pulls the plug: The John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon is canceled due to a lack of snow. We hear from a local musher who was set to compete.

In another edition of our Connect the Dots series, we hear wisdom and lessons from Elder Atum, founder of the Cultural Wellness Center.

Plus, chief meteorologist Paul Huttner shares just how unusual our recent weather has been.

We talk to a local poet who is releasing a collection spanning decades of her life and work.

And it’s puck drop for the Minnesota Professional Women’s Hockey League’s inaugural season, which is something to celebrate for a women’s sports bar expected to open this year in Minneapolis.

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

The Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Wild are not exactly teams that are easy to cheer for right now. So here is a new team to get behind: the Minnesota Professional Women’s Hockey Team or PWHL, whose inaugural season kicks off tonight. (The team does not have a name yet.)

Not surprisingly, a number of players on the team are from Minnesota and Lee Stecklien is among them. She played defense for Team USA in 16 games across three Olympics as well as for the Minnesota Gophers. Here she is at practice over the weekend.

“I think so many careers over the years have been maybe cut a little short. You never get to see everyone's full potential,” she said at practice over the weekend. “So we have a really skilled and talented group here and I'm excited for us all to keep reaching our new potential together."

Minnesota is playing away in Boston tonight, but you can cheer them on at a watch party hosted by the Minneapolis Women’s Club and “A Bar of Their Own,” a new women’s sports bar that is expected to open later this year. Owner Jillian Hiscock joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer ahead of the event.

There's no denying it: the start to 2024 has been pretty weird with very little snow across the state. MPR News host Cathy Wurzer talks with MPR’s chief meteorologist Paul Huttner about when we can expect snow and looks back at the top weather stories of 2023.

To stay up to date with Minnesota weather, follow the Updraft.

In our “Connect the Dots” series, we ask community elders to share their wisdom and lessons learned about what really matters in life. Today, we'll hear from Elder Atum Azzahir, who was born in Mississippi in 1943 in the Jim Crow South and came to Minnesota in 1978. She founded the Cultural Wellness Center in 1996 and continues to be the non-profit organization’s executive director. The Cultural Wellness Center partners with counties, health care companies, and other organizations to promote the health and resiliency of the Black community.

MPR’s senior economics contributor Chris Farrell recently met with Elder Atum at the Center’s location on Portland Avenue in Minneapolis. He shared what she had to say with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer.

Because of our mostly snow-less winter so far, the 2024 John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon has been cancelled.

The cancellation is only the third in the history of the nearly 40-year race. Organizers say they ideally need 12 to 18 inches of snow for the dogs to race safely. Right now the entire northeast corner of the state has less than an inch. Organizers said rescheduling for another time this year was not an option. Here is Beargrease board president Mike Keyport.

“We really wanted this 40th running to be a kind of a bigger event and this last minute planning might not allow us to do that,” Beargrease board president Mike Keyport said. “So by postponing the 40th running until next January, we'll have more time to plan more time to fundraise.”

Musher Erin Aili won Beargrease in 2021. She and her husband Keith Aili are both Beargrease champions, along with their award-winning Alaskan Husky sled dogs— who have been diligently training for the race, until this disappointing turn.

Erin Aili joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer from Miles Ahead Racing Kennels in Ray, Minnesota.