Israel and Gaza plunged into war over the weekend — hundreds of people have died and many more have been injured or displaced. We talk with members of the Israeli and Palestinian communities in Minnesota about how the violence is impacting their loved ones.

Today is Indigenous Peoples Day. We find out how people are celebrating across Minnesota. And we'll talk with the two journalists behind MPR's new Native News unit about their goals for coverage of Indigenous communities in the state.

Then, Native News senior editor Leah Lemm takes us to the home of Annie Humphrey on the Leech Lake reservation. The artist and songwriter is out with a new album, called "The Light in My Bones."

Annie Humphrey is an award-winning musician who comes from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. Humphrey has just released her seventh album, The Light in My Bones. She worked with producer Jeremy Ylvisaker on the project, and she says it's like nothing she's ever released before.

Humphrey talked with MPR News’ senior editor of Native News, Leah Lemm.

It is Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the state of Minnesota. For the first time, it’s being marked as a state holiday. It’s a celebration of the vibrant and diverse cultures of the people native to the United States.

Minnesota is on Anishinaabe and Dakota land, and today there are 11 tribal nations in Minnesota.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer talked with our new Native News team about the holiday and their new initiative.

MPR News is launching a Native News Journalism Initiative with senior editor Leah Lemm (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) and reporter Melissa Olson (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe) to strengthen Native coverage across our region.

MPR’s mission is “Creating the future of public media by amplifying voices to inform, include, and inspire.” We believe Minnesota thrives when all voices are heard, including Native voices.

The Native News Journalism Initiative will report on Native topics, utilizing web, radio, video, and social media. The Native News team will consult with tribal communities, elders, story-sharers, culture bearers, and media experts to strengthen Native coverage across our region. 

Additionally, the team will collaborate with newsroom colleagues to reduce barriers for all MPR News coverage of Native communities and people.

The Native News Journalism Initiative aims to fulfill MPR’s mission by ensuring the inclusion of Native voices and, beyond that, by making Native voices a vibrant and crucial part of MPR’s coverage.

An all-out war is raging in Israel and Gaza after Hamas launched a large-scale surprise attack over the weekend. The death toll has passed 1,100 on both sides. That also includes nine U.S. citizens. There may be more.

Palestinian militants claim they are holding more than 100 Israelis in Gaza.

Minnesota is home to communities on both sides of the conflict, Israelis and Palestinians. And we wanted to talk to both, about their personal experience watching this all unfold from thousands of miles away.

A teenage girl is dead and two are recovering after a shooting last night in St. Paul. A new report out today finds firearm deaths among children have skyrocketed in the last ten years. We talk to a pediatric emergency physician about the trend.

And almost everyone will lose a family member or friend at some point in their career, but there are no national bereavement laws guaranteeing time off. A Minnesota health care executive gives her take.

Plus, do you believe in bigfoot? Hundreds of Minnesotans are gathering for the annual bigfoot conference this weekend. We talk with an organizer.

We are also talking baseball this hour, including the Twins' history-making postseason sweep. And we bring you the story of a legendary pitcher from the White Earth Nation.

Do you believe in Bigfoot? There is a large community of Minnesotans who do and who think you should too. Hundreds will gather this weekend at the 4th annual Minnesota Bigfoot Conference in Grand Rapids, Minn. to swap stories of sightings and hear from researchers in the field. MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer talked with Abe Del Rio, the founder of the Minnesota Bigfoot Research Team, which heads up the conference.

The Twins won their first playoff series since 2002 with a home game against the Toronto Blue Jays Wednesday. As the players get ready for the next one in Houston, the team has announced it plans to host watch parties at Target Field this weekend.

In all the excitement, you may have missed the week's other stories in Minnesota sports. Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer to talk baseball and beyond. Together they host the 10,000 Takes sports talk show. Wally is also the founder of Minnesota Score Magazine and Eric is the Vikings reporter for CBS Sports' Eye on Football.

Are you a baseball fan? For this next story in our history series Minnesota Now and Then, we meet a pitcher from the White Earth Reservation. His name was Charles Albert Bender and he is often credited as the inventor of the slider. But he was on the downward slope of his career in 1915, when he got the opportunity to participate in a trapshooting tour with one of his biggest rivals from the pitcher’s mound. MPR News contributors Robbie Mitchem and Jamal Allen tell this story with help from writer Britt Aamodt.

At some time in your professional career, you will likely mourn the loss of a loved one. There are no bereavement laws, so the number of days off to grieve can vary from company to company. Generally, it’s three to five days off to deal with all that a death entails. If it’s a close relative, you may get a few more days off — maybe.

Paurvi Bhatt is a Minnesota health care executive who recently wrote an article entitled “How to really support employees during times of grief” for the digital publication Quartz. She joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer to talk about it.

An investigation is underway in St. Paul Thursday after three teenagers were shot overnight near Hazelwood Street and E. Maryland Avenue. One girl died. She is the 27th homicide of the year in St. Paul.

Her death is also part of a disturbing trend in gun fatalities among children. A report out today by the American Academy of Pediatrics finds firearm deaths among children have skyrocketed in the U.S. From 2011 to 2021, there was an 87 percent increase. In 2021 alone, 2,590 children died of firearm injuries, making guns the top cause of accidental death in children.

Dr. Anupam Kharbanda, Chief of Critical Care Services and a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Children's Minnesota, joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer to talk about how to reverse this trend.