Minnesota Now

This week in sports news, Minnesota Now’s sports guys talk about why the Minnesota boy’s hockey tournament is a huge deal, why Twins fans are so polite, and what’s new with Gopher hockey.

Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson join MPR News host Cathy Wurzer on Minnesota Now weekly.

Wally is creator of Minnesota Score Magazine and the co-host of Ten Thousand Takes Sports Show. Eric Nelson is the other co-host of that show and the Vikings reporter for CBS Sports’ Eye on Football show.

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. 

Back in the day, travelling by train was elegant. It was a little slow, but you could see the scenery at a leisurely pace, have lunch or dinner in a dining car, and then perhaps retire to your own little room with a bed.

The people who helped not only build the railroads but attended to the needs of passengers were Black. The Minnesota Transportation Museum is telling that story with a new exhibit opening in March. It’s called “Twin Tracks”. Marvin Anderson is a curator for the exhibit. He is also co-founder of Rondo Avenue, Inc., which is working to build a land bridge over I-94 in St. Paul to link up parts of the old Rondo neighborhood. He and MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke about the history.

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. 

Imagine walking down a city street. You see pavement, bricks, power lines, pipes, windows, lights, maybe some graffiti, a tree or two. Artist Kahlil Robert Irving thinks that a city street landscape can tell a community’s story. The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis recently opened an exhibition by Kahlil called Archeology of the Present. Kahlil joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about his latest exhibit.

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. 

A hacker group has posted data from Minneapolis Public School families and staff online. What’s going on? We’ll talk to a reporter who’s been tracking cases like this around the country.

Another winter storm is on the way - we'll get the details from Paul Huttner.

Descendants of the first Black residents of Hastings say they want to bring more attention to their families’ wins, not just their traumas.

For International Women’s Day, a Minneapolis non-profit is spreading awareness about mental health crises among immigrant and refugee women. We’ll hear from two providers about what may help.

An artist is using the city street to tell the story of a community. We’ll hear about his new exhibit at the Walker.

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.  

International Women’s Day is a day to celebrate women’s triumphs, but also a day to raise awareness of problems affecting women around the world. MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke to two guests who are confronting the obstacles that get in the way of immigrant and refugee women taking care of their mental health.

Rehan Dunkal is manager of mental health services for Isuroon, an organization that serves Somali women in Minneapolis and Burnsville. Elizabeth Ruskin Shanklin is a Clinical Supervisor for the organization.

The conversation includes mention of suicide. If you or someone you know is at risk of harming themselves or others, call the suicide and crisis lifeline at 988.

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. 

A winter weather advisory is in effect for northern Minnesota Wednesday and come Thursday, a winter storm watch will blanket central and southern Minnesota. MPR Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner chatted with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer with all the details. They covered who will get light snow on Wednesday, the latest forecast model read on Thursday’s winter storm, who will get the heaviest snow this week, and where Minnesota ranks in snowfall 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. 

The fallout continues in a cyber attack that has affected the IT for Minneapolis Public Schools and apparently exposed student and staff data, including email and home addresses.

First, hackers shut down district systems for over a week. And now, a hacker group called The Medusa Media Team has taken responsibility for the event, posting data from students and employees in a video online.

How often are schools the target of a data breach like this? Mark Keierleber is an investigative reporter for The 74, an online news site focused on education. He joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about what it all means.

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. 

Current and former staffers of the Minnesota Veterans Home in Hastings say a toxic workplace culture has decimated staffing levels and made the facility unsafe. Pioneer Press Capitol Bureau reporter Christopher Magan has been looking into the allegations of harassment and retaliation at the state-run home. He joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer 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. 

State lawmakers spent Tuesday talking about the proposed Sanford-Fairview Health merger. In a rare joint appearance Tuesday evening, former governors Tim Pawlenty and Mark Dayton with testify in a Senate committee against the merger.

Fairview runs the University of Minnesota teaching hospitals and clinics, which is a snag in the merger deal. The University of Minnesota wants $300 million from the state to buy it’s hospital back from Fairview and another $650 million to run it. In a letter sent to the University on Monday, Fairview’s CEO said they’ll sell the hospitals back to the university if it helps clear the way to Fairview’s merger with Sanford Health of South Dakota.

DFL Senator Melissa Wiklund is chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee who will hold the gavel in the Tuesday evening hearing. She joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the process.

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. 

Heavy hitters including former Governors Dayton and Pawlenty are weighing in on the big possible merger between Fairview and Sanford Health systems.

Millennials and Gen Z have a higher risk of colon cancer than generations past. Why? Dr. Jay Sheree Allen from Mayo clinic gave us the scoop.

Staff at a veterans home in Hastings are reporting it's a hostile environment that is negatively impacting veteran care. We got the details about what’s being done about it.

The latest in our Minnesota-made podcast series is about the stories behind some of the most interesting pieces of art in Minnesota.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full show. 

Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.