On Minnesota Now this week, we’re airing Call to Mind, the MPR News initiative fostering new conversations about mental health.

Mental illness is the leading cause of hospitalization for America’s military service members.  Anxiety conditions and post-traumatic stress disorders lead the list of diagnoses. This special explores the mental health needs of veterans and people serving in the military

We hear about how combat and non-combat military duty can impact mental health. And we explore the unique resources and support available to service members and veterans.   

Join Call to Mind host Kimberly Adams for “Silent Battles: Mental Health and Military Service,” a one-hour broadcast special.

On Minnesota Now this week, we’re airing Call to Mind, the MPR News initiative fostering new conversations about mental health.

Technology is ever-present in modern life, from remote work to communities on social media, from dating apps to telemedicine. We live with an ever-expanding array of online options and an ever-growing list of new questions about how healthy it is to spend so much time online with our devices. 

This broadcast special explores the influence of technology on our mental health.  

We'll hear from experts about how online communities, AI, influencers, and social media compromise one’s mental health. We also meet people whose wellbeing has been improved by new technologies.  

Join Call to Mind host Kimberly Adams for “Promise and Peril: Technology and mental health,” a one-hour broadcast special. 

On Minnesota Now this week, we’re airing Call to Mind, the MPR News initiative fostering new conversations about mental health.

Studies show that 1 in 4 older adults live with a mental illness such as depression, anxiety and substance use disorders. But many older people don’t get the help they need. And America’s aging population is expected to double by 2050. 

This program explores the unique mental health challenges of older adults and the models in place to care for them. We’ll hear from mental health providers, direct care workers and older Americans living with mental health issues. The program explores therapeutic solutions and improved treatment systems to help older adults and their wellbeing. 

Join Call to Mind host Kimberly Adams for “The Aging Mind,” a one-hour broadcast special.

On Minnesota Now with this week we’re airing Call to Mind, the MPR News initiative fostering new conversations about mental health.

An estimated 29 million Americans will suffer from an eating disorder in their lifetime. These mental illnesses can be profoundly disruptive to a person’s life and psychological wellbeing. And eating disorders can be deadly. Anorexia nervosa has one of the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric condition. Eating disorders strike a wide range of people, but deep-rooted assumptions about who suffers from these diseases often complicate the road to recovery.  

This special looks at eating disorders and the challenges of treatment. We’ll hear firsthand from people who have experienced these illnesses and experts who treat them.  

Join Call to Mind host Kimberly Adams for “Beyond the Mirror: The Challenge of Eating Disorders,” a one-hour broadcast special. 

President Donald Trump's mega tax and spending bill has passed before its Friday deadline. Minnesota's counties may be affected as it would cut funding to the Medicaid and food assistance programs they run. We'll talk to a county commissioner about the impact.

As we gear up for the Fourth of July, a Minnesota fireworks manufacturer will talk us through the difficulties the fireworks industry is facing.

In a new Minnesota Now and Then, we'll listen back to a 1976 MPR News broadcast about how Minnesotans celebrated the country's 200th birthday.

And about 20 trucks are gearing up for the first ever Native American Food Truck festival in St. Paul this weekend. We'll hear about the variety of Indigenous foods they are celebrating.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was 'In the Dark' by Cornbread Harris and our Song of the Day was 'Shapeless' by Dante DeGrazia.

This Saturday, about 20 Native American-owned food trucks will be parked at Harriet Island Regional Park on the Mississippi River for a Native American food truck festival. Organizers say the event is the first of its kind in Minnesota.

The co-owner of Trickster Tacos and the founder of the festival, Mariah Grant, joined Minnesota Now to talk about what to expect.

In June, severe weather in Bemidji left nearly every home and business without electricity and some without running water. The storm hit early Saturday morning on June 21. And on that day, Bluebelle Event Venue in Bemidji had a wedding. Amy and Levi Chandler were expecting 265 guests.

The fallout from the storm made it seem almost impossible to pull off the big day. The caterers had no electricity or water to cook with. The florist was trapped at her house behind fallen trees in the driveway. And the wedding venue itself had no power or water.

In our series Thank You, Stranger, we talked to Jessa Solheim, an owner of Bluebelle Event Venue, and the bride, Amy, about how the community came together to make sure the Chandlers could tie the knot.

On July 4, 1976 the United States was celebrating its bicentennial, or 200 years. Next year will be the Untied States semiquincentennial, or 250 years.

Back in 1976, there was a series of celebrations and observances that paid tribute to U.S. Independence. That year at MPR News, we aired a special program hosted by former MPR News host Gary Eichten that looked at how Minnesotans across the state observed the milestone.

If you have plans to a see a fireworks show this weekend, it’s likely you’ll see the work of RES Pyro. It’s a pyrotechnics company out of Belle Plaine that puts on fireworks displays across Minnesota and also manufactures pyrotechnics for shows internationally.

Joining Minnesota Now with an inside look at the fireworks industry is the president and CEO of RES Pyro, Will Wallus.

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are on track to pass the big tax and spending bill by their deadline of July 4. The bill extends tax breaks from President Donald Trump’s first term and eliminates taxes on tips. It also cuts federal funding for Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

In Minnesota and 10 other states, county governments manage these programs. St. Louis County estimates that the cost shift to St. Louis County will be more than $10 million for SNAP and $6.4 million for Medicaid.

St. Louis County Board of Commissioners Chair Annie Harala joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about the impact.