Minnesota Now

The parents, sister, and niece of Vadym Holiuk were set to land in Minnesota Monday afternoon, just days after leaving their home in Ukraine.

Their arrival comes almost exactly a year after Vadym’s. He resettled in Brooklyn Park along with his wife and daughter. The family is among about 1,000 Ukrainian refugees who have come to the state since Russia invaded in Feb. 2022.

Some Minnesotans have been working to try and ease their transition through a sponsorship program run by the organization Alight. Vadym Holiuk and sponsor Sharon Norlander talked with MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer a few hours before the family’s reunion.

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A local indie filmmaker is debuting his first feature film called “Bobby’s Intermission.” And it takes place somewhere that many of us know and love: Vali-Hi Drive-In, in the Lake Elmo area in the Twin Cities.

For filmmaker Justin Atkinson it was a natural choice to use Vali-Hi as the backdrop of his film, because it was where he first fell in love with the movies. Justin joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the film.

“Bobby’s Intermission” will be showing at the Woodbury 10 Theatre at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 24.

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Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined MPR News host John Wanamaker to recap the latest Minnesota sports news.

Langfellow is the creator of Minnesota Score Magazine and co-host of the Ten Thousand Takes sports talk show. Nelson is the other host of that show and he’s the Minnesota Vikings reporter for CBS Sports radio’s Eye on the NFL.

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.

Thursday is World Alzheimer’s Day. The disease is the most common form of dementia, which covers a group of symptoms related to memory loss and cognitive decline.

Some research has shown that Native Americans are more likely to develop dementia than the general population. And they face barriers to effective care and diagnosis. A team of researchers at the University of Minnesota is partnering with tribal nations to improve treatment and support caregivers.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke about this effort with Jordan Lewis, associate director of Memory Keepers Medical Discovery Team, and January Johnson, a community-based researcher with Red Lake Nation.

Note: This audio has been corrected from the live version to accurately state Jordan Lewis’ name.

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.

A person has been named to lead the states marijuana office. We learn more about who she is, and hear from her about the challenges she'll face as she builds a new state agency from scratch.

It's World Alzheimer's Day. We talk to a team of local researchers hoping to improve care for Minnesota’s indigenous communities.

The beloved Vali-Hi drive-in theater in the Twin Cities may be closed, but a local filmmaker is taking you to the drive-in with his new film "Bobby's Intermission."

Plus, the Twins magic number is down to one. Wally and Eric give us the playoff picture.

It's been legal to consume cannabis recreationally in Minnesota since August 1. Today, Gov. Tim Walz picked Erin Dupree to lead Minnesota’s new Office of Cannabis Management.

The St. Paul resident owns a CBD shop in Apple Valley, which she will give up to take the new job.

Dupree has her work cut out for her. She will oversee the rulemaking that will be the foundation of legal marijuana sales in Minnesota. MPR News reporter Mark Zdechlik shared the details with host Cathy Wurzer.

The dominos are still falling as more police departments join the list of agencies leaving schools. Will it impact school safety? We dig deeper on the role of school resource officers.

From traumatic experiences to rewarding ones, a new book shares stories from a St. Cloud hospital during the height of the pandemic in the words of doctors and nurses.

Two Minnesota journalists are leaving their jobs to care for aging loved ones and they are great friends. We sit down with John Wanamaker and Tom Lyden.

Plus, Minnesota musician Dessa talks about her new album.

Two longtime Twin Cities journalists are starting a new chapter. Our own John Wanamaker after 14 years at MPR and Fox 9 Investigative reporter Tom Lyden after 30 years.

Both are doing so for similar reasons, to help take care of aging loved ones. And both also happen to be very good friends. Tom and John joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer.

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More school districts are without school resource officers after the police departments in Apple Valley, Maple Grove and White Bear Lake have pulled them.

A change in state law – which deals with the types of physical restraints that can be used on students – has led about 40 law agencies to suspend their school resource officer programs. The sparring over the law brings to mind questions about the role and effectiveness of police officers in schools.

For more, MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with James Densley. He is a professor and department chair of criminal justice at Metro State University.

COVID-19 is still with us, given the recent uptick in cases. Even though the chaotic early days of the pandemic are fading into memory, what shouldn't be forgotten are the nearly 15,000 Minnesotans who have died due to COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

St. Cloud Hospital saw its first COVID patients in March 2020. Three months later, it had a COVID-specific unit and a staff working desperately to save lives. As the disease becomes a still worrying — but more routine — part of life, a group of nurses at the hospital created a book to help people remember what those earlier days were like for health care providers on the front lines.

Lisa Kilgard is a nurse at St. Cloud Hospital and one of three editors behind the new collection, “Just Breathe: COVID Stories from the Heart of Minnesota.” She talked with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer about reflecting on a difficult time through the perspectives of her colleagues and their loved ones.

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.