Minnesota Now

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.

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.

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.

It's an unprecedented moment in history at the U.S. House of Representatives: A vacant speaker of the House. But a Minnesota lawmaker could in contention to take Kevin McCarthy's spot.

And we look at the bigger picture of Target closing stores and claiming crime was the problem.

Plus, what has been going on with this record-breaking heat? Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner joins us to answer that question.

And the Twins are back on the baseball diamond for game two in the wildcard round Wednesday afternoon. We break down their historic win and what they need to do to keep their postseason alive.

The summer growing season is coming to an end. But that doesn’t mean you can’t start planning for next year.

Meg Cowden, our resident gardener, talked with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer as Cowden celebrates the goodbyes in the garden and looks ahead to spring.

Minneapolis-based retailer Target announced last week it will close nine stores in four states because of organized theft.

The closures represent a small fraction of Target's nearly 2,000 stores across the country. But they leave questions about Target's vitality in the retail market.

Target issued this statement: “We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all."

For more, Professor George John is on the line. He is the marketing chair at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

On Tuesday, the Twins beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 at Target Field — pulling off their first post-season win since 2004. Eric Nelson joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about that moment and what to expect in game two Wednesday afternoon.

Nelson is co-host of the “10,000 Takes” sports talk show, and the Vikings reporter for CBS Sports’ “Eye on the NFL.” He's also a regular contributor for Minnesota Now.

The U.S. House of Representatives is without a leader for the first time in history after Speaker Kevin McCarthy was removed from his post. And less than 24 hours later, multiple lawmakers are already vying for his replacement.

Some Republicans have suggested that GOP Whip Tom Emmer, of Minnesota, should be up for consideration or be in line for another promotion.

MPR News Politics reporter Dana Ferguson spoke with host Cathy Wurzer about the shake-up.

MPR News Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner went through the details with host Cathy Wurzer.