Minnesota Now

School isn’t just a place for academics— it is a place to explore your personality and build relationships. The REACH program started in Hutchinson seventeen years ago and aims to support thousands of students to do just that. It’s now expanded to 43 schools across Minnesota and South Dakota. Guest host Emily Bright spoke to the program director of REACH, Chad Harlander, and the Executive Director of Academics and Accountability at Albert Lea Area Schools, Tonya Franks.

It’s been more than 58 years since the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and Beatlemania hit American shores. At the time, critics believed the Lads from Liverpool — John, Paul, George and Ringo — would be a flash in the pan. But we’re still talking about them and their music.

Here’s a curious fact: The Beatles toured the United States from 1964 to 1966 but only appeared once in Minnesota — Aug. 21, 1965 — and their management swore they’d never come back.

Lori Lundstrom’s father David Lundstrom owned a Minneapolis ambulance company and provided limos to the Beatles during their stay. Lundstrom joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about her father’s connection to the legendary performers.

Another mass shooting in south Minneapolis over the weekend leaves the community wondering: what else can be done to deal with gun violence? We hear from a leader from a community partnership to help gun violence victims get back on their feet.

Interim U of M president Jeff Ettinger talks about enrollment issues, security and more in the upcoming school year.

Many Minnesotans with physical disabilities are out of luck getting the home healthcare help they need. We hear from one woman who is taking matters into her own hands.

Plus, today marks 58 years since the Beatles' first — and only— appearance in Minnesota. It got pretty chaotic.

At a recent University of Minnesota Board of Regents meeting, members were told the university has seen a nearly 6 percent drop in enrollment, system wide since 2019.

It's part of a nationwide trend: There are fewer high schoolers enrolling in post-secondary institutions. 

How is the University of Minnesota dealing with these headwinds? MPR News host Cathy Wurzer asked interim president Jeff Ettinger.

You probably don’t associate dressing up as Taylor Swift or Barbie with getting the vital health care treatment you need. But Minneapolis resident Jen Onsum has taken it upon herself to stand out from the crowd with fun clothes and funny posts on social media to attract a personal care attendant, or PCA, to work for her.

She is one of hundreds of Minnesotans with a physical disability affected by a national shortage of home health care workers — the most recent data shows that there are more than 7,000 vacancies in Minnesota’s personal care industry.

Minnesota leaders say the state is in a home health care crisis. State lawmakers passed an increase in money for people with disabilities to use for hiring PCAs. Those wages will jump from $15.25 an hour to $19 an hour starting on Jan. 1.

Onsum is hoping that higher wages in 2024 will help her attract more help. She talked with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer.

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.

A barrage of bullets in south Minneapolis sent eight people to the hospital last night. Minneapolis police say five of the victims are boys under 18. Another was an 18-year-old. Along with a man and woman in their forties.

The shooting happened in front of a grocery store near East Franklin and Chicago Avenues.

No arrests have been made. It's the second mass shooting in Minneapolis in 10 days — a total of 14 people who were shot or grazed, and one person who died.

And when those victims go to the hospital, there is now a network of support helping them get back on their feet, making sure they don't end up shot and in the hospital again.

It's called "Next Step" and is a partnership between the city of Minneapolis and Hennepin Healthcare, North Memorial and Abbott Northwestern.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer talked with Kentral Galloway, the director for Next Step.

The Lower Sioux Indian Community in southwestern Minnesota is quite literally growing houses. They are the first in the state to build what is being called a Hemp House. It’s an environmentally-friendly home, built using the material “hempcrete.”

The alternative is just beginning to blossom, with potential to provide affordable and quality homes for the Lower Sioux community.

MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer talked with Lower Sioux Indian Community Council Vice President Earl Pendleton and Hemp Construction Project Manager Danny Dejarlais about the effort.

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.

As a parent advocate and trainer for the non-profit PACER Center, Robbi Weil works to demystify the process around Individualized Education Programs, or IEPs.

Council members voted 7-5 Thursday morning to send an ordinance to Mayor Jacob Frey that would raise wages and add other protections for rideshare drivers.

Bodycam footage released Thursday details the moments before and after the killing of Fargo police officer Jake Wallin last month.