Mary Jane Alm dipped a toe in the music business 50 years ago and since then has swept up numerous Minnesota Music Awards, including Artist of the Year.

The Mankato-born singer-songwriter is an inductee of both the Mid-America and Minnesota Music Halls of Fame.

She is looking back on her career with performances at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater on July 29 and 30. First, she shared a few stories with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer.

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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.

Summer is the season of outdoor music and small-town festivals. For the second summer in a row, the town of St. Peter, Minn., is hosting an event series that is a little of both.

The Minnesota Original Music Festival kicks off Wednesday and runs through Sunday, bringing together musicians in southern Minnesota for live performances and educational opportunities.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer talked with festival director Eli Hoehn.

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.

School curriculum was a political flashpoint during the midterms around the country last year and there are signs it will loom large in the upcoming 2024 elections as well.

WTIP North Shore Community Radio recently looked at the debate over how to teach kids about Minnesota’s past, with a focus on new statewide standards that will require schools to include Indigenous history in their curriculum.

Staci Drouillard and Leah Lemm co-host the award-winning series It Happens Here: The Roots of Racial Inequity on the North Shore, written and produced by Drouillard.

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.

Correction (July 20, 2023): An earlier version of this article misspelled Staci Drouillard’s name. The post has been updated.

Parts of Minnesota awaited possible severe weather Wednesday, with a heat wave crawling toward the state. MPR Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the forecast, drought trends, and more.

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.

Severe weather could hit parts of the state today ahead of a big heat wave on the horizon. MPR meteorologist Paul Huttner shares how the weather could affect weekend plans.

Duluth musician Gaelynn Lea has been busy since she won NPR’s tiny desk contest in 2016. She has played hundreds of concerts around the world — now she debuts her next project.

Plus, midwest music icon Mary Jane Alm is sharing stories from fifty years in the music business. And we spotlight another festival, this time in St. Peter, Minn.

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.  

In many ways, mobile home parks represent people's chance at the American Dream: home ownership. Northfield’s Cait Kelley reported that owning your mobile home while leasing the land under it puts people in a precarious position. In a new investigative podcast called Not Mobile, Kelley uncovered how the mishmash of federal, state, and local jurisdictions make it close to impossible for most mobile home park residents to get support when corporate park owners don't hold up their end of their deal. Her investigation all started in her hometown of Northfield a year ago, when she was with KYMN radio. It led her down a year-long uncovering of the challenges some mobile home dwellers in Minnesota face. Kelley spoke to MPR News host Cathy Wurzer about what she found.

Minneapolis City Council is voting on a new contract for mental health providers who answer emergency calls with police. We'll talk to a leader of the team who says the city has been neglecting that program.

Mobile homes are theoretically a more affordable path to home ownership. But what about the land underneath them? We'll talk with the creator of a podcast that digs into the challenges facing residents of mobile home parks.

The state is asking for public input on what to do with a stretch of interstate known for dividing and displacing the Rondo community in Saint Paul.

Did you have Barbie dolls growing up? We'll hear from a woman who may have designed some of your Barbie's outfits.

By now you've most likely heard the hype about Greta Gerwig's take on the Barbie Movie that's coming out on Friday. And if you've seen the trailers, you know that there are some major pink fashion choices in the film. Since her beginning, Barbie has been known for her great outfits. MPR's Sam Stroozas and Alex Cipolle interviewed a Minnesotan who worked as a fashion designer for the Barbie brand for 35 years. Carol Spencer lives in Los Angeles now, and she talked about her career making clothes for Barbie.

The Minneapolis City Council will vote on a new contract this week for the city's Behavioral Crisis Response team -- that's a team of mental health workers that responds to some 9-11 mental health crisis calls instead of police. The team received a pat on the back from the federal department of justice last month in its investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department. Mental health workers have responded to 12 thousand calls since December 20-21. But team leaders say their success has been not because of the city, but in spite of it.

MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Gina Obiri, who works with the BCR team as program manager in the city of Minneapolis' Office of Performance and Innovation.

A Fargo police officer was shot in the line of duty on Friday. We'll learn more about his life and what led up to the violence.

And the Minnesota Department of Human Services saysold emails will automatically be deleted in their system after a year.  It's raising concerns about government transparency and public records.

 And in our Minnesota Now and Then history segment, we'll hear about a new book about former Vice President Hubert Humphrey — and his mark on civil rights in the U.S.

 Chris Farrell is back to talk all things small business — this time about a co-working space with big post-pandemic plans.

 And jazz singer Leslie Vincent is here to thrill us with her amazing vocals. You won't want to miss her!