Minnesota Now

After 53 years, it's the end of an era for Midwest Mountaineering, a well-known and beloved outdoor retailer on Minneapolis' West Bank. Owner Rod Johnson says the store will close in October. But first, they're having a liquidation sale, starting Friday.

Johnson talked with our Todd Melby.

Senator Amy Klobuchar has been at the State Fair nearly every day. She has no strong GOP challenger, but will one emerge?

Town Ball in Minnesota is celebrating 100 years. We'll talk to the man whose grandfather started it all.

After more than 50 years the iconic outdoor reatailer Midwest Mountaineering is closing its doors. More from the owner about the heartbreaking decision.

You could call it Minnesota's biggest karaoke stage. We'll talk to the creators of the Giant Sing Along at the State Fair.

It's Thursday, believe it or not. And that means it's time for Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson to join us to talk about the week in sports.

Wally's the creator of Minnesota Score Magazine and host of the 10,000 Takes sports talk show. Eric also hosts that show and he's the Minnesota Vikings reporter for CBS Sports radio's Eye on the NFL. They caught up with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer.

Across Minnesota all summer long, hundreds of baseball teams have been taking the field in a century-old tradition. We’re talking about Town Ball, which is celebrating 100 years this year. Over those years, towns have fielded teams of amateur players that compete for bragging rights in what’s a uniquely Minnesota pastime.

This weekend is the final weekend of the 100th state tournament. MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Dennis Brennan, a board member of the Minnesota Baseball Association who has a rich history in Town Ball.

Walk to the northern end of the state fairgrounds on Underwood Street and you may hear an unusual sound coming from somewhere beneath the Sky Glider.

Tucked between the National Guard and arrays of outdoor wood furnaces and boat lifts for sale is a field of colorful microphones and a sign flashing the lyrics to popular songs.

The Giant Sing Along has been part of the state fair since 2011. And here’s something you may not know: it was originally created by an art and design studio based in Montreal.

What was originally planned as a temporary installation has become a staple of the fair. And there have since been two Giant Sing Alongs in Australia – at the Commonwealth Games and the Adelaide Fringe Festival.

Melissa Mongiat, co-founder of Daily Tous Les Jours, spoke with 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.

Minnesota is full of iconic, beloved landmarks. But there are lots of other, “functional” landmarks we pass by every day.

The story of how one underused, nearly anonymous piece of architecture came to be was nearly lost to time and fading memories. That is, until a man from Bloomington, Minn., spent two months trying to uncover its history.

The “Bloomfield Bridge,” as dubbed by the Assumption Church due to its location, is an oddly placed pedestrian bridge crossing I-494, just west of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. It extends from a Grainger warehouse in Bloomington across a freeway to a Taco Bell in Richfield, Minn.

One day, Tyler Vigen stepped outside of the Taco Bell and asked the seemingly simple question: “Why is this bridge here?”

While not a journalist but a curious individual, he set out to find the answer. Vigen ultimately found that its purpose served students of the Assumption Church and School who needed a clear path. But he spent nearly ten hours a week each week trying to reach that simple conclusion, parsing through hundreds of archived documents in several states. Vigen was a guest on Morning Edition and shared his journey into Minnesota lore that has gone viral.

Listen to the full interview by clicking the player above.

”I set out to understand more about this bridge, in particular, I learned much more about the area around it,” Vigen said. “I think that people who are reading [my article], though, are interested in how interested I am.”

Vigen drives under the pedestrian bridge on his way to the airport and its purpose nagged at him enough to bring it up to his wife. She didn’t dismiss the idea, and so Vigen was intrigued and determined.

“It didn’t make sense to me why it was there, because it lands in some grass that seems to go to nowhere.”

Vigen’s journey down the rabbit hole began with reading the bridge’s plaque — eventually speaking with parishioners of the church and even the former principal around the time of the bridge’s construction.

He went through several boxes of documents at the Minnesota Historical Society and ended up involving eight federal, state and local agencies in his quest to discover the bridge’s purpose.

He reached the near-end of his goose chase on a trip to the National Archives in Kansas City.

Vigen reflected on his fervor, travels and FOIA requests, saying that he should have simply been talking to more people all along.

Vigen’s final story was about 6,000 words long, with another 4,000 in footnotes. He said it was even longer before his wife Zidi Chen helped him to edit it down. He even went as far as to request permission from the FAA to take drone footage of the bridge, due to its proximity to the airport.

“She helped to make it clear and concise for everyone to read”, he said.

Vigen said the “Bloomfield bridge” endeavor wasn’t planned, so while it’s not on the agenda, another deep dive isn’t off the table.

Give Vigen’s work a read. It’s worth the time investment. And when you do, be sure to click on his embedded footnotes, for extra nuggets highlighting his curiosity and spirit.

The crop art exhibit at the Minnesota State Fair has become a must-see. This year has already seen long lines of people winding through the Agriculture Building and waiting to get an up-close view of the intricate art made from seeds.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer talked with MPR News reporter Melissa Olson about this year’s bumper crop of artworks.

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.

At least four county sheriffs and two local police departments have announced they are pulling school resource officers out of schools following a law change limiting use of physical restraints on students, with additional announcements expected to come this week.

And Wednesday morning, some of those groups, along with GOP lawmakers, pressed for a special session to clear up the law.

MPR News political reporter Dana Ferguson and education reporter Elizabeth Shockman joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer about this latest debate over school safety.

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.

Hurricane Idalia made landfall Wednesday morning on Florida’s Gulf Coast as a powerful Category 3 storm. Already we are seeing photos of homes and vehicles underwater and streets turning into rivers.

Meantime back in Minnesota, we have much calmer weather. But things may heat up again soon. MPR’s chief meteorologist Paul Huttner joins MPR News host Cathy Wurzer with a look at what is happening at home and in Florida.

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.

Two years ago, the last United States military forces left Afghanistan and the Taliban declared victory from the Kabul airport tarmac.

Hundreds of thousands of Afghans fled their homes, sometimes waiting months for a way out of their home country or a chance to leave refugee camps. Many are still waiting.

Between Sept. 2021 and 2022, Minnesota resettled more than 1,300 Afghans who have started over in an unknown place, carrying the weight of war and the uncertainty of what comes next. We talked to five Afghans about their journeys here and their lives today.

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.