Minnesota Now

So far this week we’ve had a break from the snow. It’s been a cold and mostly sunny. But that is due to change. Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner spoke with MPR News guest host Tim Nelson about how much snow is coming up, the seasonal snowfall ranking, and the recent Duluth mall’s roof that caved in presumably due to the weight of the snow.

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 Met Council will vote Wednesday evening on a contract with a security company to place guards at six bus and light rail stations. Metro Transit announced on Tuesday it will close the shelter at the Uptown Transit Station in Minneapolis until it has security there. The number of riders dipped significantly during the pandemic. Recently there’s been a lot of talk about safety problems on buses, trains and in the stations, including assaults and drug use. These troubles are not helping Metro Transit recruit drivers and get ridership back to pre-pandemic levels.

Drew Kerr is Senior Manager of Communications for Metro Transit and he joined MPR News guest host Tim Nelson to talk about the Metropolitan Council vote and the plan to close stations.

On Wednesday morning, lawmakers grilled state auditors about cost overruns and delays with the light rail project connecting downtown Minneapolis with the western suburbs. Listen for the scoop on the problems and possible solutions.

MPR Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner joined guest host Tim Nelson with weather news- there is more snow on the horizon.

Metro Transit in Minneapolis is closing another station, this one in Uptown. We'll hear about how this move might provide more safety to riders.

A 2023 state champion in high school wrestling joined the show. She told senior producer Melissa Townsend about how she throws down.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer got the lowdown on the new season of a dating podcast.

The Southwest Light Rail Transit project, a 14.5 mile extension of the Green Line from Minneapolis to Eden Prairie, has seen pitfall after pitfall.

A new 59-page state report lays out nearly a dozen ongoing problems with the project. It estimates the price tag for project is now at $2.7 billion, with no completion date in sight.

The report from the office of the legislative auditor looks at the planning, cost estimates and how the Metropolitan Council has managed the many turns this project has taken since the project broke ground in 2018.

MinnPost’s Peter Callaghan has been following the fallout from the project’s huge cost overruns and schedule delays. He spoke to MPR News guest host Tim Nelson from the Capitol, where lawmakers got the report Wednesday morning.

Speed dating has been around for a while. In the 1800s, single women held “open houses” and invited eligible bachelors over for visits not to exceed 15 minutes. And then in the 1960s, that concept made it to television. Put a single person in front of a slew of potential dates to see what sticks. A Minnesota pair of podcast producers is making the concept new again.

The podcast is called “Kings and Kweens: The Date Night Podcast,” where folks listening at home – plus an entire live audience in Minneapolis – get to listen in to a series of dates. It’s as fun as it sounds.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with producer Declan Brown about what it takes to make the show.

Another year of Minnesota state high school wrestling champions have been crowned. Camryn Kenning took first in the girls 235-pound weight class, pinning each of her matches.

But in a wrestling family like the Kennings, that win wasn’t totally unexpected. Her twin brother, Jaxon, made his fifth trip to state this year. The two may have been the first set of boy-girl twins to appear in the Minnesota state wrestling tournament.

The Kenning twins are juniors at St. Cloud Tech high school. They joined MPR News senior producer Melissa Townsend to talk about the tournament.

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.

Do you like to explore caves? Then you probably have your favorite Minnesota destination. The Wabasha Street Caves in St. Paul. Niagara Cave in Harmony. The Stillwater Caves. Maybe you’ve even asked yourself, What’s so mysterious about Mystery Cave in Forestville State Park?

Jim Cotter, professor of Geology at the University of Minnesota – Morris, is no stranger to these underground wonders. Every month on Minnesota Now, Professor Cotter tells the story of our state through geology. He joined MPR News guest host Melissa Townsend with the dirt on caves: what they are, where they are and what made them.

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. 

After George Floyd was killed by police nearly three years ago, there was a call to wake up to racism and inequity. Dianne Haulcy works in early childhood education and at the time she decided to start a project focused on how we talk with very young children about race and racism. Her podcast is called Early Risers and its fourth season launches this month. Haulcy joined guest host Melissa Townsend to talk about what she’s learned from all the conversations she’s had and what’s in store this season. 

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. 

In 2015, the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute lined up nearly 6 million dollars to buy land called the Roof Depot site. They had a plan for a community farm, housing and commercial space. But in 2016, Minneapolis city officials decided they wanted that site to expand the city's aging waterworks facility. Now - the site is in a historically low income BIPOC neighborhood with higher than average rates of childhood asthma. Developing the site as the city wants to do - could potentially disturb arsenic in the soil. Experts say it won't hurt the community, but the community disagrees.

So for years - the two sides have negotiated and battled in court. In February community residents occupied the site and many were arrested. Most recently some community residents confronted city council members- yelling over others in city council meetings and issuing threats. Three council members have filed police reports saying they were threatened and intimidated.

Recently the council voted to ask state lawmakers to write clearer rules about public conduct. They also voted on a second measure to create stricter penalties for threatening public officials.

We are going to hear from a member of the city council and someone from the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute.

Minneapolis City Council Vice President Linea Palmisano introduced both motions to create a stricter code of conduct with greater consequences.

Cassie Holmes is a resident of the area and lives in the Little Earth of United Tribes housing complex. She's a citizen of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe. She sits on the board of the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute and has been a leader in the movement to build the community farm on the Roof Depot site instead of the city's plan to expand the public works on the site.

Palmisano and Holmes joined guest host Melissa Townsend to talk about the recent city council action and what’s at stake for East Phillips neighborhood residents.

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 documented hate crimes has been climbing across the country in recent years. But according to data from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension - the number of these crimes decreased in Minnesota last year. Supporters of a new bill in the state legislature say that's because these crimes are underreported -- And they want to create a system to change that. Brooklyn Center Representative Samantha Vang wrote the bill and joined guest host Melissa Townsend to talk about it.

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.