Minnesota Now

Mother-daughter relationships can be messy. So it's probably fitting that in Chinese, the closest expression to the expletive “oh my god” translates in English to “oh my mother.”

That's the title of a new book by Minnesota-raised writer Connie Wang. It's a memoir, told through her relationship with her mother over the years. She'll be at Magers and Quinn bookstore in Minneapolis on Wednesday in conversation with Star Tribune columnist Laura Yuen.

Connie Wang joined MPR News guest host Emily Bright to talk about her memoir.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

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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.

We just got into the swing of things with fall weather. But Wednesday morning Minnesota saw its first frost of the season.

MPR News Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner joined MPR News guest host Emily Bright with the details on the weather as it begins to feel like fall.

For the latest weather information, follow MPR News’ Updraft blog.

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.

Getting in a car accident is terrifying. Especially if you end up injured. Hundreds of thoughts are running through your head. Is everyone okay? Will I be able to drive my car? Am I going to be out of work?

But for the Minnesotans who are primary caregivers for someone else, they’re not only worrying about themselves but also the person or people who rely on them for care.

Well, now some of those worries can be lifted off the shoulders of caretakers thanks to the work of a 14-year-old Corcoran girl. Makena Prevost helped create a law that passed this session. In the event of a crash, when law enforcement runs a caretaker’s license, officers will know that there is someone at home who is dependent on the caretaker.

It’s believed to be the first of its kind in the country. Prevost and Jody-Kay Peterson with DVS joined MPR News guest host Emily Bright.

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.

Mayors from cities all along the Mississippi River's 10 states are meeting in Bemidji. It's the annual meeting of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative. And of course, a big focus is the 2,340 miles of flowing water that these cities share. But how it will be shared in the future is in the spotlight.

Mayors from cities along the river are expected to vote on whether to support what is being called the “Mississippi River Compact.” The agreement could set the stage for who gets to use the water from the Mississippi in the U.S. and how it’s used.

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  Related Dry states taking Mississippi River water isn’t a new idea. But some mayors want to kill it
  
  

State Senator John Hoffman (DFL-Champlin) and Alexandra Campbell-Ferrari, the executive director of the Center for Water Security and Cooperation and an adjunct professor of Water Law at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law and American University Washington College of Law join MPR News guest host Emily Bright.

Both shared a presentation on the “Mississippi River Compact” at the conference.

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.

In 1863, the Civil War was raging in the United States and Minnesota had just passed laws exiling Dakota and Ho-Chunk people from their homelands. And it was during this tumultuous time that the first deaf students moved into a rented store building in Faribault to attend a new residential school.

By the time what’s now called the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf opened its doors, more than 20 similar institutions had opened in other states around the country.

The school now has a campus located about a mile from the state academy for blind students. And deaf education has changed quite a bit in the last 160 years.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer talked with Director Jody Olson and school psychologist Heather Breitbach about the history of the school, and how its mission has shifted. Nettie Peters interpreted the conversation.

Metro Transit workers have voted to approve a strike. Union members authorized a strike during their last round of contract negotiations in 2020, but never stopped work. Is anything different this time around? We talk with the union’s president.

Leaders in Shakopee, Minn., backed off an attempt to block an affordable housing project under public pressure. We talk with the reporter who broke the story.

The Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf is 160 years old this month. We talk with two leaders from the school about how its mission has changed since the school was founded.

And you’ve heard about the Manhattan Project, but what if there was an Alaska Project? We learn the story behind a new sci-fi novel by Northfield, Minn., author Benjamin Percy.

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A proposed affordable housing development in the southwestern suburb of Shakopee will move forward, after all — even though, behind closed doors, city officials reportedly planned to kill the project. 

Sahan Journal reporter Katelyn Vue broke the story, and she’s been following the dramatic fight over the proposed property in Shakopee.

Author Benjamin Percy will launch his new novel, "The Sky Vault,” Tuesday night at the Grand Event Center in Northfield. It's going to be a big month for him because he's also releasing a new series in his other life as a writer of the Wolverine comic book.

"The Sky Vault" is the third book in Percy's Comet Cycle series.

If things go well, there could be many more books to come. He talked with MPR News’ Euan Kerr.

Metro Transit employees have voted to authorize a strike.

The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005 represents about 2,000 employees, including bus drivers, the people who maintain the light rail tracks, the call center and more.

The vote was overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing a strike, with 94% voting yes — though it doesn't mean a strike will happen. For more, MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Ryan Timlin, president of the union representing Metro Transit workers.

One of Minnesota’s biggest animal rescues is starting a new chapter. For 14 years you’ve known it as “Secondhand Hounds.” But now the animal rescue that has helped save more than 26,000 dogs and cats has a new name as it grows as an organization. The announcement came Friday night at their annual fundraising gala Bone Appetit.

CEO and Founder of what is now known as “The Bond Between” Rachel Mairose joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer.

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.