Minnesota Now

The economy continues to recover from the Covid pandemic. Minnesota’s unemployment rate is a low 2.8% and, if last week’s revival of St. Paul’s Grand Old Day on Grand Avenue is any indication, people are having a good time.

The glaring exception is downtown office buildings around the country, including St. Paul. Many offices continue to allow their employees to work from home, at least some of the time. Their absence means they’re spending less money at the small businesses that have long catered to the downtown crowd.

Chris Farrell, MPR News senior economics contributor, talked to Bilal Saleem, owner of Mr. B’s Barbershop in the downtown St. Paul skyway to see how business is going.

There’s a long history of religious conversion on Minnesota’s North Shore.

WTIP North Shore Community Radio Producers Leah Lemm and Staci Drouillard looked into the history of Catholic missionaries on either side of the border as part of the award-winning series, “It Happens Here.”

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.

The Bush Foundation, based in Minnesota, is giving away $50 million to the descendants of slaves living in Minnesota and the Dakotas. The effort is believed to be the first of its kind in the state. A St. Paul group, Nexus Community Partners, is running the program. Recipients could receive up to $50,000.

Grant applications will open June 19 — Juneteenth.

Despite the focus on descendants of slaves, the foundation says the money is not intended to be reparations. MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer talked with Jackie Statum Allen, grantmaking director for the Bush Foundation, 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.

The number of Republicans running for president continues to grow. Former Vice President Mike Pence is expected to announce he’s running Wednesday.

Also Wednesday, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum kicks off his campaign for president during an event in Fargo. Burgum’s campaign released an ad Monday that introduced the billionaire to the public, including the story of how he made his fortune.

Burgum isn’t exactly a household name for the rest of the country. To find out more about Burgum, MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Dave Thompson, news director for Prairie Public Broadcasting based in Fargo.

If you’ve ever tried to tinker with your phone or called a local mechanic to fix an appliance, you may have run into a brick wall. Many products require specific parts or directions that companies only give out to licensed repair shops. For years, environmental groups, tech fixers, and farmers around the country have tried to change that. Minnesota recently gave these groups a win by becoming the fourth state to pass what’s called a “right-to-repair” law. It takes effect in July 2024 and will require companies to provide instructions and parts to fix newer phones, laptops, and appliances. But not farm equipment, which was left out of the final version of the law.

Emily Barker, Executive Director of Reuse Minnesota, joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about why her nonprofit pushed for that change.

Minnesota scientists have watched chronic wasting disease — a fatal, neurological illness — kill deer and elk.

Now, they’re studying its potential to jump to humans.

The University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy has received more than $1.5 million in state money to start prepping for the possibility of CWD spreading to cows, pigs and possibly humans.

Michael Osterholm, PhD. is a world-renowned epidemiologist and heads the University of Minnesota Center for Disease Research and Policy. He talked with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer.

Chronic wasting disease has been found in deer and elk in 29 states, including Minnesota. Mike Osterholm joined the show to talk about studying the disease's risk to humans.

We'll learn about a new retirement plan for racehorses: helping people with their mental health.

We'll go to northwestern Minnesota to meet the oldest licensed mortician, who is still working at age 86.

Companies will soon have to share instructions and parts for fixing phones and other products in the state. We'll find out why Minnesota's new repair law is the broadest in the country.

A Twin Cities-based novelist will talk about her new murder mystery set in the Wild West.

If you’re ever been to Canterbury Park, you probably didn’t realize that horses racing there only compete for three to four years. If the horse was successful, has good bloodlines and breedable, they’ll go on to produce new generations. Some will go on to a second career as a riding or show horse. But many others will end up in auction rings and sold for slaughter. There are various programs around the country, including at Minnesota’s Canterbury Park, that try to find homes and new roles for retired racehorses.

There’s a brand new non-profit in Minnesota that pairs former racehorses with the same people who have taken care of them. It’s called Abijah’s, off track thoroughbreds for mental health. The mission is to address what’s long been an issue in the stable area at racetracks across the country: stable hands who are dealing with addiction, mental health challenges and trauma. Sally Mixon has exercised racehorses for years and founded Abijah’s. She joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about her work.

Hundreds of workers in Windom, Minnesota are out of a job starting Friday. We talk with two people who are trying to help them figure out what to do. And we talk with Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara after more than six months on the job. It has been over a decade since lesbian, gay, and bisexual people were barred from the military. A Minnesota LGBTQ+ magazine has since created a new relationship with the National Guard. Across Minnesota and the nation, new and more diverse independent bookstores have been popping up – find out what’s behind their success. All that, plus the latest in Lynx, Twins, and other sports news.

The Lynx are still looking for the first win of their season. The Minnesota Aurora pre-professional women’s soccer team has had a dazzling start to theirs. The Twins? They’re doing okay. Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer with their take on what’s happening on the Minnesota sports scene.