Minnesota Now

Voters this November will decide on a constitutional amendment that could change how much money public and charter schools get from a state trust. A breakdown of the Permanent School Fund and what's on the ballot.

St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her is facing sexual harassment allegations from the police chief. We'll hear from one city council member on why she's calling for the release of the full report from a city investigation into the allegations.

Plus, you may have heard about forever chemicals and just how hard they can be to remove. Researchers in St. Cloud may have found a way to actually destroy PFAS.

Also, the Minnesota Vikings are off to a hot start for the season, while the Minnesota Lynx went cold for their playoff opener.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Stranger Blues” by Lamont Cranston Band and our Song of the Day was “Blue Sky” by Push and Turn.

St. Paul City Council members Molly Coleman and Saura Jost are calling on the city to release the full report from the outside investigation into Mayor Kaohly Her. The city's HR department released a summary of the investigation earlier this month. It found that the mayor had behaved inappropriately with city employees but that her behavior did not constitute sexual harassment.

The council members’ call for the full report comes after St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry last week sued the mayor and the city, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with St. Paul City Council member Molly Coleman about the report and why she wants it released.

Listen to the full conversation by clicking the player above.

Knock on wood, because the Minnesota Vikings are undefeated for the start of the season, after their 23-16 win Sunday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On Monday, the team announced a trade with back up quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Lynx are off to a rough start in their playoff run. They lost 91-75 to the New York Liberty. Tuesday’s game is a must-win for the Lynx to stay in the playoffs.

Minnesota Now sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini with the latest on local sports.

PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” were once thought of as impossible to remove from the environment.

They’re still seen as difficult and expensive to remove from wastewater, a common place for the PFAS to be found. A pilot project in St. Cloud tested a technology to do just that, and researchers found that the process they used destroyed more than 99 percent of the PFAS they tested.

Luke Langner, the public services director for the city of St. Cloud and Andy McCabe an environmental engineer with Barr Engineering who conducted the pilot, joined Minnesota Now to talk about the technology.

On your ballot in November, you will be asked to vote on a constitutional amendment, which would make changes to what's called the Permanent School Fund.

This fund is a trust, that supports every single public and charter school student in the state. Lawmakers are now asking taxpayers to vote to change the calculation of how much money is distributed to schools. This would allow schools to get access to more funding without raising taxes.

Denise Dittrich is the director of government relations for the Minnesota School Board Association and a former Democratic state representative. She joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about the ballot measure.

St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry is suing Mayor Kaohly Her for sexual harassment and retaliation. We got more on the allegations in the lawsuit and next steps from MPR News reporter Matt Sepic.

We also spoke to a midwife who helped support pregnant women whose families went into hiding during Operation Metro Surge earlier this year — and how her work has continued six months later.

And the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge is celebrating 50 years of protecting thousands of acres along the Minnesota River.

Plus, a preview of the final Minnesota Lynx game ahead of the playoffs and a new micro-cinema opening on the East Side of St. Paul.

The Minnesota Music Minute was “Hey Big Dipper” by Humbird. The Song of the Day was “Forgiveness/Forgetness” by We Are the Willows.

If you’re looking for a new place to catch everything from local indie films to the old classics, a brand new 36-seat micro-cinema theater opened Thursday on the East Side of St. Paul.

The theater comes out of TriLingua Cinema, which has been running pop-up screenings for the last six years. It’s located in the same building as the East Side Freedom Library.

TriLingua Cinema executive director Sidney Pisano and board member Kazua Melissa Vang shared more about the theater on Minnesota Now.

Nearly 70 miles along the Minnesota River, from Bloomington to Henderson, sits more than 15,000 acres of preserved water and land. It’s known as the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

This weekend, it’s celebrating 50 years of habitat conservation and restoration.

The manager of the refuge, Sonja Jahrsdoerfer, spoke more about the refuge on Minnesota Now.

During the height of the federal immigration enforcement operation this winter, life for many immigrants went underground.

Volunteers delivered groceries. Kids stopped going to school. And some immigrants were skipping doctor's visits.

Some of the immigrants in most need of care, were those who were pregnant. That's where Fernanda Honebrink stepped in. She's a midwife and founded Conexión during the surge. More than six months later, is continuing to help dozens of families.

Honebrink spoke to Minnesota Now host Nina Moini about her work.

Minnesota's two candidates for governor, Lisa Demuth and Amy Klobuchar, are not aligned on politics. But they do share a common experience: they are both breast cancer survivors. How that diagnosis plays a role in how they shape policy.

On Capitol Hill, Renee Good's mother and a witness to Alex Pretti's killing testified in hopes of accountability.

Plus, a new report looks into how private equity has tapped into a popular autism therapy.

We took a history tour of the St. Paul Downtown Airport as it celebrates 100 years.

It's officially fall! Chief Meteorologist Ben Cathey shared the forecast.

And we talked to the Minnesota Wild's new emergency back up goaltender and learn about the critical role that may never be used.