Chief Brian O'Hara has admitted to knowing about an officer's use of force history when he was hired last fall. We get more details on the controversy and where the Minneapolis Police Department goes from here. The Supreme Court recently struck down affirmative action and that is changing how Minnesota students and their families think about their next steps. Phyllis Wheatley Community Center ran Minnesota's only African-American-owned summer camp for more than 40 years. With new funding from lawmakers, the camp may finally reopen. Plus, if you're a fan of a good murder mystery, we have a Minnesota author you should meet.

In the 1960s, a woman named Carrie Hoffman Wallace drove kids from North Minneapolis to Minnesota’s only African American-owned summer camp.

Phyllis Wheatley Community Center ran Camp Katharine Parsons in Watertown for more than 40 years as a place for young people to canoe, swim, build fires and build relationships to nature.

The camp closed in the early 2000s, but the community center held onto the land. Lawmakers this past spring set aside $550,000 for the organization to restore the camp, which it plans to reopen by 2025.

Organizer Anthony Taylor joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about these plans and former camper Autumn Frazier shared her memories of visiting the camp with Wallace, who was her grandmother.

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.

It’s summer vacation for many students, but this is also a time when incoming high school seniors and their families are looking ahead to the next step. For some, this means checking out college campuses or planning for college applications. The application process will be different at many colleges and universities, after the United States Supreme Court recently struck down affirmative action in admissions. LaSueur Henderson Secondary School counselor Jessica Kirschner talked with MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer about the advice she plans to give students who are applying to college and the barriers some face to being admitted.

Minnesota counties are responsible for channeling most of the $568 million in opioid settlement money from drug and pharmacy companies into programs. The hope is that the funds will reach people who are struggling with substance use disorder and address a dire need. One organization that has already received settlement dollars is the nonprofit Housing for Inmates, which is based in Duluth. Founder Richard Howell joined MPR News Senior Producer Emily Bright to talk about his plans to provide housing and support to formerly incarcerated people.

Fourty-seven people in Bemidji have until 4 p.m. today to evacuate their apartment after city officials cited safety concerns. We hear about what rights tenants have when their living conditions become unsafe.

This past week Latino 9th graders attended a camp to learn about what it takes to be a lawyer. One 9th grader talks about her experience.

We have been following Minnesota's efforts to distribute 568 million dollars in opioid settlement money from drug companies — we’ll zoom in on one program that aims to use some of that money to house formerly incarcerated Minnesotans.

And our sports guys, Wally and Eric give the latest on the Twins, Lynx, United and more.

This year’s Latino Lawyer Camp just wrapped up in St. Paul. The camp gets rising ninth graders up close and personal to the legal profession.

MPR News host Emily Bright spoke with Jorge Saavedra, one of the attorneys behind the camp, and Soli Rangel, a graduate of this year’s camp and a rising ninth grader at Minnetonka High School.

You can read more about this year’s camp in the Sahan Journal, an online news source covering BIPOC and refugee communities across Minnesota.

Registration for next year isn’t open yet, but you can follow any updates on Facebook and Instagram.

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.

Some tenants are finally allowed back in their high rise building in Rochester, Minnesota this week, one month after the building was evacuated due to structural concerns. Meanwhile, the 47 residents of an apartment building in Bemidji have until 4 p.m. Thursday to evacuate their apartments, after city officials cited safety concerns about that building's structural integrity.

The city of Bemidji declined a request for comment from MPR News. But the situation raises questions about tenant rights in these cases.

MPR News guest host Emily Bright spoke with Samuel Spaid, a housing attorney and impact litigation and research director at HOME Line, a nonprofit Minnesota tenant advocacy organization.

A new survey finds Americans have positive attitudes toward democracy but tend to avoid talking about politics. One of the researchers behind the "Mood of the Nation" poll explains why.

If you struggle to sleep in the heat, know that cooler evening temperatures are in the forecast! We get the weather outlook from meteorologist Sven Sundgaard.

An expert gardener shares some tips for mid-summer planting and harvesting.

We meet an artisan who is crafting furniture — and snare drums! — out of a shop in St. Paul.

And Minneapolis journalist Katie Thornton takes us to Frankfurt, Germany - via an art exhibit - to find the story behind the design of the modern kitchen.

For Minnesota's gardeners, the start of July means that the summer harvest is just getting underway. We wanted to check back in with our resident gardener, Meg Cowden, about what she's seeing in her garden — and of course, her latest tips.

Meg is the author of the book “Plant Grow Harvest Repeat" and founder of the website "Seed to Fork" and the advice group "Modern Garden Guild."

In a nondescript garage on Selby Avenue in St. Paul is Gary Moore Custom Furniture.

Walk inside and the space, which is shared with another maker, is surprisingly large. There are plenty of machinery, tools, wood, and sawdust.

MPR’s senior economics contributor Chris Farrell has been highlighting different entrepreneurs and small businesses for Minnesota Now, and he recently visited the workspace to learn more about the business.