Minnesota Now

The Minnesota Beethoven Festival is back in Winona for its 19th season, bringing three weeks of classical music performances and events to southeastern Minnesota.

The festival, which opened Sunday and runs through July 19, celebrates the music of Ludwig van Beethoven while featuring works by many other composers and performances by musicians from around the world.

Ned Kirk, the festival's artistic and managing director, joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about how the festival got its start and what keeps audiences coming back year after year.

President Donald Trump has neither signed nor vetoed a massive housing bill that recently passed Congress with extensive bipartisan support. He said on Monday it's a “yawn” compared to a voter ID law he’s pressuring Congress to approve. And he said he hasn’t decided whether he’ll sign the 21st Century Road to Housing Act.

If the president hasn't acted 10 days after he receives the bill and Congress is in session, it will become law without his signature.

The bill is a package of more than 50 smaller ones. Some critics say it doesn’t do enough to support low-income renters. Others say it creates too many new programs and regulations.

Even housing advocates are still trying to absorb all that’s in this bill, and how it could reach the people they want to help.

Elizabeth Glidden is deputy executive director of the non-profit Minnesota Housing Partnership. She joined MPR News host Nina Moini to dive into the details about the bill and talk about its significance.

In May of 2025, the Department of Justice dropped its oversight of the Minneapolis Police Department. The DOJ said it no longer believed that the consent decree, or court-ordered reforms, were necessary.

A new report from the ACLU has found otherwise. It looked at Minneapolis police and six other police departments across the country who also had consent decrees dropped and found unconstitutional policing continued.

One of the authors of the report, Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, spoke to MPR News host Nina Moini about it.

It's expected to be a dangerously hot and humid day for Minnesotans in central and southern parts of the state — including the Twin Cities. Our chief meteorologist Ben Cathey will have what you need to know to take care of yourself in this weather.

A Minnesota-based organization supporting children with disabilities is raising concern about the Trump administration's recent announcement to move responsibility over special education away from the Department of Education.

And we'll hear from one Venezuelan Minnesotan working to organize local relief efforts for people in her home country affected by the massive earthquakes.

Plus, a conversation with Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve on making it to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Crystalline” by Alexander Natalie and our Song of the Day was “Days” by The Drums.

Rescue crews in Venezuela are desperately searching through rubble for thousands of people still missing after two devastating earthquakes struck the country last week. Venezuelan officials say nearly 1,500 people have died, while hundreds of buildings have been destroyed or severely damaged.

Minnesota's Venezuelan community is rallying to support relief efforts. Patricia Aguilar moved to Osseo as an asylum seeker in 2018 after fleeing Venezuela's political and economic crisis. She’s now raising awareness to help people affected by the disaster. She talked to MPR News host Nina Moini about it.

After Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Tennessee this weekend, she hopped on a plane to Texas for a game against the Dallas Wings. The Lynx won 85-77, making way for Reeve to tie the WNBA record for coaching wins.

Joining Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about the latest in basketball and other sports news are contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson.

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Saturday.

Reeve was named the Lynx coach in 2009. Since then, she's won four championships and four WNBA coach of the year awards, coached the U.S. women's basketball team to three Olympic gold medals and had six of her players inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

MPR News digital producer Anika Besst spoke with Reeve in Knoxville before the induction about what has led her to this honor.

Extreme heat is expected across much of central and southern Minnesota Monday, including the Twin Cities metro. Experts are urging people to limit time outdoors and drink plenty of water. For those who are trying to keep cool, the pool may be a popular place.

MPR chief meteorologist Ben Cathey joined Minnesota Now with the latest on the heat. And Kevin O’Brien will be making sure things run smoothly at Faribault Family Aquatic Center. He’s the city’s recreation superintendent and joined host Nina Moini to talk about how they’re keeping swimmers safe.

The Trump administration announced earlier this month the Department of Health and Human Services will take over responsibility of the special education office from the Department of Education. The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services oversees programs to support students with disabilities and accommodations for public education.

Supporters of the move say it makes sense since the areas often overlap. But the move has drawn criticism from disability advocates, including Minnesota-based PACER Center, which advocates for educational opportunities for children with disabilities.

The interim executive director of PACER Gretchen Godfrey spoke to Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about what this shift could mean.

The Minneapolis City Council decided Thursday to put a moratorium on data center projects in most of the city until November. The ordinance makes an exception for downtown, where some say data centers will help boost declining property values.

The Minnesota School Safety Center has a new director. We spoke with her about her ideas for preventing violence in schools.

And a new law lays out regulations for banks and credit unions in Minnesota wanting to add cryptocurrency management services.

Plus, we learned how to prepare our homes for climate disaster.

And the largest gathering of Ethiopians outside of Ethiopia is taking place here in Minnesota —for an enormous annual soccer tournament!

The Music Minute was “It Could Happen to You” by Minneapolis pianist and composer Mary Louise Knutson. The Song of the Day was “Free” by Jillian Rae.