Former Obama White House senior advisor Valerie Jarrett spoke Monday at the 2023 MLK Breakfast in Minneapolis. The annual event is presented by UNCF and General Mills.

Jarrett is now CEO of the Obama Foundation. At the breakfast, she talked with Twin Cities attorney Abou Amara about the inspiration she takes from Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., when she first met Michelle and Barack Obama and what to expect from the new Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s south side.

The Vikings are in the playoffs, but this week’s big news was baseball! Let’s talk about that and all the sports news with our sports guys Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. Wally is the founder of Minnesota Score magazine and the cohost of "Ten Thousand Takes" sports talk show. Eric is the other host of "Ten Thousand takes" and is also the Minnesota Vikings reporter for CBS Sports Radio "Eye on Football.”

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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. 

Hamline University in St. Paul is in the midst of a public relations firestorm over academic freedom and what is considered Islamophobic. The student and instructor at the center of the controversy spoke out publicly and to MPR News about their perspectives. MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with MPR News reporter Nina Moini about her coverage of the issue.

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. 

Reporter Nina Moini has the details from the people at the center of the situation involving Islamophobia at Hamline University. What are the folks at the Minneapolis Animal care and control shelter doing about their overflow of animals? Back in September we talked with a small troupe of young people heading into their freshman year. Today we find out how they've fared in their first semester of high school. And Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson have sports news.

So far this month, 139 animals have been brought to Minneapolis Animal Care and Control, a 57.7 percent increase from the same time in 2022.

The shelter is overwhelmed by the influx of animals. In an effort to help them find homes, all adoption fees are currently waived.

Unfortunately, many of the animals have been surrendered, according to shelter director Caroline Hairfield. There’s been a 67.5 percent increase in owner surrenders so far this year compared with last year, with people citing housing as an issue.

Shelter staff are doing their best to provide for the animals but, with the heightened demand and a lack of staff, community engagement coordinator Madison Weissenborn says she often loses sleep over their care.

“We have a really high standard of care here. We try to get everybody out three to four times a day, we do treadmill training, playgroups, but we’re having a really hard time and have had to pick which need it the most … it’s hard choice.”

The animals are vetted before adoption to make sure their medical needs are met. They’re vaccinated, sterilized and microchipped.

The current adoptable animals on the shelter’s website do not reflect the increase of animals they have received in the past days. Hairfield said to call 311 if you want to make an appointment. Walk-ins are only available on Fridays but they will be expanding their hours in the future.

If you’re an animal lover but can’t adopt, Weissenborn said the shelter is always looking for volunteers.

MACC is located at  212 17th Ave. N. in Minneapolis and you can make an appointment here.

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. 

Last August, MPR News spoke with five incoming ninth graders about their hopes, fears and dreams about starting high school.

Now they’re one semester in. And our producer Gretchen Brown caught up with a few of them to see how things have been going.

Joe Williams, the Director of Native American Programs for the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, hosts a podcast called 5 Plain Questions, which poses five general questions to Indigenous artists, creators, musicians, writers, and culture bearers. MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer talks with him about the show.

The whole state seemed to be glazed Wednesday morning in a thin layer of ice as freezing rain made for dicey conditions on roads and sidewalks. MPR News host Tim Nelson talks with MPR Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner about what to expect from the weather the rest of the week.

Attorney General Keith Ellison hosts public comment sessions on the merger of two major health care organizations in the region. MPR News Host Tim Nelson talks with MPR health reporter Michelle Wiley on the first of these sessions held Tuesday.

A number of events are scheduled across the state to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. MPR News Host Tim Nelson talks with VocalEssence Associate Artistic Director G. Phillip Schoultz about an upcoming concert hosted by the University of Minnesota.