Minnesota Now

Aug. 1 marks the 10th anniversary of marriage equality in Minnesota, a long-fought battle that made Minnesota the 12th state to give LGBTQ+ people equal marriage rights.

The very first legal same-sex wedding that took place in Minnesota ten years ago today was between Margaret Miles and Cathy ten Broeke's wedding at midnight at Minneapolis City Hall.

They were married, surrounded by a crowd of people, by former Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Rybak, who married 46 other couples in the City Hall rotunda in the wee hours of that morning.

One Minnesotan who fought for those rights is Monica Meyer. Monica worked with Minnesotans United for All Families and OutFront Minnesota, which are LGBTQ equality nonprofits. She joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to reflect on the fight for marriage equality in Minnesota.

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.

Uber and Lyft drivers in Minnesota continue to fight for higher wages. Minneapolis is now considering an ordinance that would create minimum payment levels for rideshare drivers in the city.  

Alfonzo Galvan has been following the story. He covers work, labor, small business and entrepreneurship for Sahan Journal.

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.

A bunch of new Minnesota laws go into effect August 1. A police chief will break down new rules around buying and transferring guns. Plus MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with MPR reporter Melissa Olson from Red Lake's dispensary, which is now selling cannabis for recreational use.

Ten years ago on August 1, gay marriage became legal across the state. MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with someone who fought for marriage equality.

Uber and Lyft drivers are asking Minneapolis to require minimum pay for rideshares. Listen for what's in the proposed ordinance.

We'll revisit a conversation with a survivor of a tragic bridge failure in Minneapolis.

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.   

Minnesota DFL congressman Dean Phillips may challenge President Biden in the 2024 Democratic primary. We have details.

Tomorrow marijuana will be legal to grow and use in Minnesota. Growing the plant from seed will be the first frontier. We hear about how that works.

Workers at Kowalski's grocery stores just called of their strike over unfair labor practices. It's the most recent in a series of grocery stores that were close to a strike. We get history on that.

And we get the latest on state geology from Professor Jim Cotter.

With last week's heat, the impact of humans on global climate was a hot topic of conversation (no pun intended.)

There's a new name for this time period of climate change in earth's history: it's called the Anthropocene.

Every so often on the show, we get some insight into earth's history from Jim Cotter, professor of geology at the University of Minnesota – Morris.

Tomorrow, Minnesotans will legally be able to grow, possess and use marijuana. But it will still be a while until people can buy weed in most of the state. We're about a year away from having licensed dealers in the Twin Cities. Instead, tomorrow, the Red Lake Nation will sell recreational cannabis from its dispensary. The White Earth tribe is expected to follow.

The new law means Minnesotans 21 and older will be able to grow up to eight cannabis plants at a time. MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Peter Morrell about the science behind growing the plant.

He's a professor in the department of agronomy and plant genetics in the college of food, agricultural and natural resource sciences. He teaches a class each fall on the science of marijuana.

Sources say this week, Minnesota DFL congressman, Dean Phillips will meet with potential donors in New York, as he mulls a primary challenge to president Joe Biden. Phillips says he is considering challenging Biden.

Phillips, who is 54, and several other democrats have openly called for a contested primary with younger candidates against President Biden, who is 80. Joe Biden is the oldest sitting president in U.S. history and at the start of a potential second term, he would be 82.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer talked with University of Minnesota political science professor Kathryn Pearson to hear her take on Phillips’ potential candidacy.

Workers at six Kowalski’s grocery stores across the Twin Cities will not walk off the job this week after all.

About 600 workers had authorized an unfair labor practices strike last week. But this past Friday the union, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 663, announced it has a tentative agreement with Kolwalski’s management. This is the latest Twin Cities grocery store union to narrowly avoid a strike.

In the meantime, union organizing continues its surge across Minnesota and the nation.

For more on the context of this moment, MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Peter Rachleff. He’s co-executive director of the East Side Freedom Library in St. Paul, and a retired history professor at Macalester College specializing in labor history.

It's been six years since former president Donald Trump signed an executive order banning immigration from Muslim-majority countries. It's been two years since President Biden rolled back the ban.

But many Minnesota refugee families are still waiting to be reunited. Sahan Journal reporter Hibah Ansari joined MPR News host Emily Bright to give a sense of the scale of the family reunification backlog.

A northern Minnesota historical society recently went to court to return Native American artifacts to their original owners. We'll learn why the Bemidji museum took up the cause.

And there's an ongoing need for great childcare providers. We'll talk to a team in rural Northwest Minnesota about solutions and resources.

It's been two years since President Biden rolled back the so-called "Muslim ban," but many Minnesota refugee families are still waiting to be reunited. More on their stories.

Plus, our “Thank You, Stranger” series is back. We'll have two stories of small acts of kindness. You'll want to hear these.