Minnesota Now

Wednesday, the summer solstice, is hot and hazy. Just one week ago, the air smelt like burnt tires from wildfire smoke. This time around, it is not smoke but ozone bringing about the milky skies. MPR's Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner joined MPR News Senior Producer Emily Bright to explain what is causing the haze and when it will let up.

Camille Thurman, Christian McBride, Paquito D'Rivera and a whole line up of talented nationally and internationally acclaimed musicians perform Friday and Saturday at Mears Park in downtown St. Paul and over 15 venues across town.

This weekend is the Twin Cities Jazz Festival — one of the largest free jazz festivals in the country. This year there’ll be a passing of the torch.

Founder Steve Heckler has served as director of the organization since 1999. He is now working alongside a new co-director, Dayna Martinez – who will fully take the reins after this year’s event.

The pair talked with MPR News host Emily Bright about what it’s like to pass the torch — and why the jazz fest has had so much staying power for the last 25 years.

One year ago this weekend, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal right to an abortion and kicked the authority to decide legal guidelines back to the states. MPR News reporters Dana Ferguson and Michelle Wiley dug into what happened in Minnesota and the surrounding region in the months that followed. They joined MPR News Senior Producer Emily Bright to talk about what they learned from looking back on the first year since the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Poor air quality is affecting all kinds of traditional summer fun activities — picnics and sports outside, time at the lake, and yes, summer camp.

Camp Teko, a Jewish summer camp in Long Lake, to the west of the Twin Cities metro area, is one of those camps affected. And they have plans in the works to respond to climate-related changes to the area.

Marcia Zimmerman is Senior Rabbi of Temple Israel in Minneapolis, which runs Camp Teko. She talked with MPR News host Emily Bright about how camp is going this year, plus their plans to make the camp carbon-neutral.

St Paul’s Monastery in St. Paul is celebrating its 75th anniversary this weekend. The sisters there live in community according to the rules of St. Benedict. They’re committed to values of hospitality, prayer, silence, and social responsibility, among others. But though the group now is small, their actions over the decades have been large and lasting. MPR News host Cathy Wurzer speaks with SubPrioress Sister Linda Soler more about St. Paul’s Monastery’s past, present, and plans for the future.

You already know we love listening to new music on Minnesota Now- especially local music! And who better to talk about Minnesota musicians than Diane Miller. She joins us a few times a month to talk local music because she is host of a show called The Local Show on The Current.

The last time the U.S. hosted a World's Fair, back in 1984, gas was a dollar a gallon and Ronald Reagan was president.

Minnesota, specifically Bloomington is vying for a World Expo to come to town in 2027. We should find out early Wednesday morning if Minnesota's bid is successful. Minnesota is up against Argentina, Serbia, Spain and Thailand. John Stanoch is president of Minnesota's bid committee for the 2027 world expo and he joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about it.

All this month as part of our Changemakers series, MPR has profiling trans and nonbinary leaders making a difference in Minnesota.

Today we'll hear more about Representative Alicia Kozlowski, who made history last November as the first nonbinary person elected to the Minnesota Legislature. The 35-year-old Minnesotan represents their hometown of Duluth, where they live with their partner and nine-year-old daughter.

Kozlowski, who is nonbinary and two spirit, previously worked as community relations officer under Duluth mayor Emily Larson. They also helped form a community healing group in Duluth called KwePack [Kway-pack], which is a group of women and gender-expansive people who meet to run, mountain bike and rock climb together.

Reporter Nicole Ki spoke with Kozlowski about their life before becoming a legislator.

Today on Minnesota Now:

It's been nearly 40 years since the U.S. hosted a World's Fair. Officials in Bloomington MINNESOTA are vying for a World Expo to come to the state in 2027. We hear about how the city is working on that bid.

A St. Paul monastery is celebrating its 75th birthday. We hear from the monastery’s subprioress about how things have changed over the last three quarters of a century.

A company that believes they can supply the minerals needed for a carbon-free economy is expected to submit plans to build an underground nickel mine in Northern Minnesota. We'll get more on those plans.

Plus, as part of our June Changemakers series, we hear more about Duluth Representative Alicia Kozlowski on what moved them to run for office.

And we listen to five local songs provided by the Current's own DJ Diane Miller!

MPR host Cathy Wurzer speaks with Taylor Ngiri [[in-GEAR-ee]] Seaberg, leader of the band Black Velvet Punks, which mixes punk and hip hop with jazz and soul. Seagerg has been playing music since they were about four years old, growing up as a military kid in a lot of different places. But at this point, they are rooted in the Minneapolis music scene.

After the death of George Floyd and the uprising that followed, they organized a concert fundraiser and later an album, which was released in 2021. The gender non-binary, third generation Kenyan-American multi-instrumentalist, photographer, videographer, community organizer, and playwright has worked with many local artists, including performer and writer Joe Davis. They are playing this afternoon at the Soul of the Southside Juneteenth festival in Minneapolis.