Minnesota Now

Imagine pulling a tuba behind you while traveling the length of the Mississippi River — by tricycle.

At least four county sheriffs and two local police departments pulled officers out of schools in protest of a new state law. Two years ago today, the last United States forces left Afghanistan. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans fled their homes, some to Minnesota. We hear from five Afghans about their lives today. While a hurricane hits Florida's gulf coast, things look pretty calm here in Minnesota. We learn how long the mild weather will stick around. And we meet a man cycling the length of the Mississippi river... with his tuba!

It’s a bumper year for the Minnesota State Fair’s crop art exhibit. 

Artist Liz Schreiber, a veteran of the crop art competition, is this year’s State Fair commemorative artist. That means her work appears prominently on the fair’s official poster seen around the grounds, as well as on display in its original form.

Another case in point, Superintendent of Farm Crops Ron Kelsey — whose collection of vintage seed bags adorns the walls of the crop arts hall — was elected to honorary life membership in the Minnesota State Agricultural Society. The society is the governing body of the fair.

The crop arts exhibit continues to be a fair favorite. This year’s exhibit features hundreds of entrants who have submitted in over two dozen categories. The seed mosaics include tributes to Barbie, memorials to the late comedian Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman and cheeky turns of phrase in praise of seed art. 

Made from 29 kinds of seeds, Schreiber’s commemorative art pays tribute to what she loves most about the fair: its iconography.  

“It’s an amalgamation of a lot of different things that are very Minnesotan, like the variety of grains we grow, and our long winters, when we have more time on our hands and need something to keep us occupied,” Schreiber explained in June.

Encircled by a Ferris wheel and Skyride cars, the poster features a Guernsey cow. She drew inspiration from the cattle on a Como Avenue sign — a reminder that “even in the dead of winter, the fair is coming.”  

Entering the competition for this year’s commemorative art, Schreiber made a small departure from the rules governing the seed art contest. 

“A friend of mine’s mom knew that I did crop art. And she sent me this giant jug of palm seeds. She put a piece of tape on it and wrote, ‘For Nancy’s friend.’” 

The friend’s mom had collected the large oval seeds from palms in Arizona.  

“I took a little liberty there,” the artist said. 

The original piece, which consumed 300 hours, not including the time spent crafting the frame, will be on display through Sept. 4 in the Fine Arts Center.

On the steamy first day of this year’s fair, she affixes the tiny seeds using a toothpick and Elmer’s glue.

“It’s very meditative. It’s kind of like doing a puzzle,” Schreiber said. “I like the challenge of trying to make something look like someone or something three-dimensional.” 

Another familiar face in the Horticulture building, Ron Kelsey, superintendent of farm crops, is back for his 76th year. His father entered corn in the fair for 52 years. Kelsey began attending the fair alongside his dad beginning at age 7.

“We’re very much corn people!” 

Kelsey told an audience he is proud of his 1,400 cloth seed bags. “But who’s counting?”

On the first day, Kelsey rolls up his sleeve to reveal a forearm tattoo of an ear of corn — a gift from his children last year.

“If you get a tattoo at this age, and you don’t like it, you don’t have to live with it that long anyways,” Kelsey joked. 

The crop art exhibit is visited by over 200,000 visitors each year, Kelsey, the organizer said. 

As in the past puns abound. Rapper Snoop Dogg extolls viewers to “crop it like it’s hot.” A sandhill “grain” takes flight across a pond. A silver train darts by on “high seed rail.”  

There are plenty of honorific portraits. In addition to Pee-wee Herman balanced on a bicycle, there’s a laughing Tina Turner and a side-smiling Prince. Pieces celebrate trans people and Minnesota women in politics.

Earlier this year at the Evangelical Covenant Church’s annual conference, Alyssa Paulson stood in front of delegates denomination-wide. She was there to defend her church. 

“You think that if you can just get them to see, like, ‘Hey, here I am just another human bopping around in this world … then the rest won't matter,” Paulson said later.

Awaken West 7th in St. Paul, where she is an elder, was removed from the Evangelical Covenant Church, or ECC, in late June. The removal was due to being “out of harmony” with the denomination’s policies and teachings on homosexuality and gay marriage. 

“It's not OK that my pastor could perform my funeral, but he can’t perform my wedding,” Paulson said, adding that she was seeking acknowledgment that queer Christians who want to marry exist. 

“You can speak on my love in death, but not in life.”  

Awaken West 7th's removal from the ECC is just the latest episode in a wider conversation for churches about the place LBGTQ+ people have in their congregations.

At the conference, Paulson says that it seemed most people had already made up their minds, even before she gave her defense statement. 

“I'm talking to everybody making friends, and everyone was kind and loving and accepting,” Paulson recounts. “The second people found out that I was from Awaken, and who I was — literally eyes shot the other direction.”  

For Awaken West 7th, run-ins with church leadership have a more extended history. In 2017, Lead Pastor Micah Witham was suspended for giving a blessing over a same-sex couple in his congregation. His decision to officiate a same-sex wedding in 2020 ultimately led to the church's removal. Witham said he met “with the Board of Ordered Ministry, like five different times.”

Witham believes everyone should be able to participate fully in church life at Awaken. He decided to officiate the same-sex marriage ceremony partly to make the ECC reevaluate its rules for pastors and churches. 

“The last time this happened was 1996. That's almost 30 years ago, right?” 

Witham is referring to a resolution on human sexuality. It was adopted as the basis for Church policies in the 2000s.  

“Gay marriage wasn't legal in the United States of America at that time. To say we've already had this conversation is just so ... inadequate.”   

The ECC’s official stance currently is “faithfulness in heterosexual marriage, celibacy in singleness — these constitute the Christian standard. When we fall short, we are invited to repent, receive the forgiveness of God and amend our lives.” 

Updated guidelines from the 2010s state that pastors can attend as a congregant but can't bless, pray, officiate or participate in same-sex weddings. ECC member churches are also prohibited from hosting same-sex weddings. 

According to Witham, these new guidelines were not voted on or discussed by the majority of pastors in the denomination. This discussion and voting process is typically required before adopting such measures. 

When the church updated these guidelines, Witham said that there were “no pastor[s] who dissent[ed] on this theologically in the room.” 

Like Paulson, Witham spoke at the annual national conference to argue against removal. He made his case for LGBTQ+ acceptance but didn't seek to change the ECC's overall stance. Instead, he wanted more dialogue and for individual churches in the denomination to make their own decisions. 

In the end, 75 percent of delegates voted to remove Awaken from the Evangelical Covenant Church.

Awaken also isn’t the first church involuntarily removed. In 2019, First Covenant Church in Minneapolis was also removed for adopting similar policies accepting LGBTQ+ congregants to participate fully in church life, including marriage.   

In an announcement to media, Evangelical Covenant Church Executive Board Chair Tim Rodgers said, “We are always grieved when fellowship is broken ... we pray for God’s blessing on Awaken and the Covenant Church as we each continue to join God in mission.” 

The Evangelical Covenant Church did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.  

The situation isn't unique to the Twin Cities. Quest Church in Seattle, Wash., voluntarily left the denomination over similar issues this year.

“The Evangelical Covenant Church leadership at that time was very dogmatic in opposition to that,” said Brent Carlson, leadership chair at First Covenant. “Unfortunately, that is not the tradition of the [ECC].” 

Carlson and Witham have repeatedly said that, in their view, the ECC has historically valued having various opinions on religious beliefs and interpretations.  

“The Covenant Church was about dialogue, community, love within the community ... it seems to have changed, and that's unfortunate,” Carlson said.

“For a lot of people, this topic brings up a lot of fear about what's next. Kind of the classic slippery slope argument,” Witham said.

He also believes money plays a big part. 

“There are a lot of churches who have said, if the covenant moves on this, we will leave.” 

The politicization of evangelical Christianity means churches risk losing their base if they move towards LGBTQ+ inclusion, said Anthea Butler, chair of the religious studies department at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert on evangelicalism.

“Sexuality has always been a part for evangelicals to be, not just a moral issue, but a political issue as well,” Butler explained. 

In her opinion, the time for polite disagreement within churches, especially evangelical ones, is over, and she doubts it ever truly happened.

“This is a theological issue. And so, [for the ECC] the theology says, ‘We don't do same-sex marriage.’” 

Since First Covenant in Minneapolis was removed from the ECC, they have concentrated on social justice issues, mainly housing and homelessness. They are considering how churches must adapt, down to the language they use. 

“We don't call them services anymore. We call them gatherings because we want to get away from the traditional preaching down from on high,” Carlson said. 

Awaken is not currently seeking to join a new denomination. A recent annual budget increased by 20 percent. Witham questions if being removed might hurt the ECC more than it hurts Awaken. 

“If a Christian church is in the sweet spot of God's heart, where the Spirit is leading, it will produce good fruit,” Witham said, borrowing from a passage from Galatians. 

“[If you] look around at Awaken, there's fruit everywhere. So, [in] some ways, I'm sad for the Covenant.” 

A crowd gathered Monday at the corner of Judson and Nelson for another Minnesota State Fair tradition: Mark Seeley’s annual state fair weather quiz. It’s a chance to get answers to your weather and climate questions — and to answer some Minnesota weather trivia yourself. 

Seeley was unable to join for the broadcast, under the weather instead of on top of it as he usually is.

Instead, MPR News host Cathy Wurzer was joined by Kenny Blumenfeld, a Senior Climatologist at the Minnesota State Climate Office and adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota’s College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources.

When we last heard from Ryan Mackenthun in 1994, as a FFA and 4-H kid at the Minnesota State Fair, the then-18-year-old was confident farming was in his future.

Nearly 30 years later, it's still his passion.

MPR News guest host Tim Nelson catches up with Mackenthun about where life has taken him.

Sixty years ago today, more than 250,000 people crowded the National Mall in Washington D.C. for the March on Washington. It went on to become one of the most famous rallies in U.S. history.

A portion of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech from that day has been engrained in our collective memories. And he was just one of 10 people who spoke to the enormous crowd.

Yohuru Williams is the distinguished university chair, a professor of history, and founding director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas. He joined MPR News guest host Tim Nelson to talk about a book he co-authored, “More Than a Dream: Sixty Years After the March on Washington,” which comes out Tuesday.

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Every year prices seem to creep up at the State Fair, from admission to your favorite food. For example in 2017 a bucket of Sweet Martha’s cookies was $16. Now it’s up to $19. Many think it’s worth the price. But what if you’re on a budget? Is there a way to have a cheaper day at the fair? MPR News reporter Nicole Ki wanted to find out. She joined guest host Tim Nelson to talk about what she learned.

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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.

Much of the focus of the Minnesota State Fair is on the food, the crop art and of course, the animals. One of the most popular entries of the Minnesota State Fair Horse Show are the draft horse hitches: teams of four, six or even eight mammoth horses that pull a wagon around the arena.

Fair-goers will stand in awe outside the stalls of the draft horses, marveling at their size. There’s a lot of work that goes into getting those big horses ready to show.

MPR News producer Alanna Elder followed one pair of draft horses and the humans who train, groom and lead them.

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A stifling week for Twins and Vikings and a heated moment in the Lynx stands: Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson join MPR News host Cathy Wurzer with the latest sports news.

Langfellow is the creator of Minnesota Score Magazine and host of 10,000 Takes sports talk show. Nelson is co-host of 10,000 Takes and the Minnesota Vikings reporter for CBS Sports’ Eye on the NFL.

If you have a question about Minnesota sports or a favorite sports moment from the past week, send an email or voice memo to [email protected].

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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.