Minnesota Now

Minneapolis City Council is voting on a new contract for mental health providers who answer emergency calls with police. We'll talk to a leader of the team who says the city has been neglecting that program.

Mobile homes are theoretically a more affordable path to home ownership. But what about the land underneath them? We'll talk with the creator of a podcast that digs into the challenges facing residents of mobile home parks.

The state is asking for public input on what to do with a stretch of interstate known for dividing and displacing the Rondo community in Saint Paul.

Did you have Barbie dolls growing up? We'll hear from a woman who may have designed some of your Barbie's outfits.

By now you've most likely heard the hype about Greta Gerwig's take on the Barbie Movie that's coming out on Friday. And if you've seen the trailers, you know that there are some major pink fashion choices in the film. Since her beginning, Barbie has been known for her great outfits. MPR's Sam Stroozas and Alex Cipolle interviewed a Minnesotan who worked as a fashion designer for the Barbie brand for 35 years. Carol Spencer lives in Los Angeles now, and she talked about her career making clothes for Barbie.

The Minneapolis City Council will vote on a new contract this week for the city's Behavioral Crisis Response team -- that's a team of mental health workers that responds to some 9-11 mental health crisis calls instead of police. The team received a pat on the back from the federal department of justice last month in its investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department. Mental health workers have responded to 12 thousand calls since December 20-21. But team leaders say their success has been not because of the city, but in spite of it.

MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Gina Obiri, who works with the BCR team as program manager in the city of Minneapolis' Office of Performance and Innovation.

A Fargo police officer was shot in the line of duty on Friday. We'll learn more about his life and what led up to the violence.

And the Minnesota Department of Human Services saysold emails will automatically be deleted in their system after a year.  It's raising concerns about government transparency and public records.

 And in our Minnesota Now and Then history segment, we'll hear about a new book about former Vice President Hubert Humphrey — and his mark on civil rights in the U.S.

 Chris Farrell is back to talk all things small business — this time about a co-working space with big post-pandemic plans.

 And jazz singer Leslie Vincent is here to thrill us with her amazing vocals. You won't want to miss her!

Minneapolis musician Leslie Vincent has been busy recently getting ready to put out her second solo album, '“About Last Night.”

Vincent has a background in jazz and many years of musical theater. She shared her influences and inspirations with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer.

Roughly three years after the COVID-19 pandemic upended U.S. workplaces, more than a third of workers with jobs that can be done remotely are still working from home all of the time. That's according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

Many people use co-working spaces- a concept that came long before the pandemic, but have taken off for those who work from home.

A Twin Cities coworking space, The Coven, was founded in 2017 by four women who met while working in marketing. The space centers on the experiences of women, nonbinary, and trans people.

The Coven is starting to franchise its community-based coworking model — and our MPR News Senior Economics Contributor Chris Farrell went to check it out. He shared what he learned with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer.

There are still many more buyers than sellers, but conditions have improved for those looking for a home.

Bidding wars are rarer than they were a couple of years ago and prices are more stable. Mark Zdechlik has a look.

Last week marked a significant milestone in U.S. political history.

It was 75 years ago on July 14, 1948 that a young Minneapolis mayor, Hubert Humphrey, got up before the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia and implored the convention to adopt a civil rights plank to its platform, saying, “The time has arrived in America for the Democratic party to get out of the shadow of states’ rights and to walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights.”

Humphrey's call to action swayed enough delegates, paving the way for advancements in the fight for equality and justice and helping to launch Humphrey's national political career. Humphrey would go onto to become a Minnesota U.S. senator and Vice President in Lyndon Johnson's administration.

The speech and what led up to it is the focus of a new book: "Into the Bright Sunshine: Young Hubert Humphrey and the Fight for Civil Rights.”

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with author Samuel Freedman about the book. Freedman is an award-winning author and journalist, a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist, and a professor at Columbia University.

Next month, the Minnesota Department of Human Services will begin deleting emails after a year. Staff will decide which emails contain official records that should be saved, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

The DHS says this change will protect privacy, but transparency advocates are concerned that those deleted emails will contain information the public needs to have in order to hold government accountable.

Republican state Representative Jim Nash works in cybersecurity, and he's minority whip of the Minnesota House. He spoke with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer.

Local and state law enforcement as well as the FBI are investigating the recent shooting of three police officers in Fargo. Two of the officers were wounded and Jake Wallin was killed.

He was from Saint Michael, Minnesota and had joined the department just three months earlier.

Reporter Dana Ferguson has more about the 23-year-old military veteran.