Minnesota Now

Trump administration officials have announced new fraud charges.

Meanwhile, a federal judge has sentenced the ringleader of the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal to nearly 42 years in prison. Our reporter Matt Sepic was inside the courtroom for Aimee Bock's sentencing.

The city of Minneapolis is set to memorialize Birdell Beeks by placing her name on the street sign above the intersection where she was killed by a stray bullet ten years ago. Her daughter reflects on the work she's done to honor her mother's life.

Plus, six years after George Floyd's murder, a look at construction at George Floyd Square.

And we learned about an effort working to provide music education in Duluth and Haiti.

In the 10 years since losing her mother to gun violence Bunny Beeks has made it her mission to help other families endure these senseless tragedies and find justice. Now, she has honored her mother’s legacy once again by successfully asking the city to place her name, Birdell Beeks, on the street sign over the very intersection in north Minneapolis where her life was taken in May 2016.

It happened in broad daylight while she sat in her minivan in the middle of crossfire she had nothing to do with. Bunny Beeks joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini in the studio to reflect on the time that has passed since her mother’s death and the work that remains.

For the past few weeks, a group of young people in Duluth have been learning to write and perform music through the “That’s a Rap!” program by the Music Resource Center and the Kako Foundation, which also provides music education programs in Haiti.

They’ll have their final performance Thursday night.

Their instructor, Terrell Grier, and Rudy Perrault, president of the Kako Foundation, shared more about the program.

With the legislative session wrapped up, Minnesota Now dug into how crucial funding is being spent. First, how millions of dollars will help HCMC out of a financial crisis. Plus, how $90 million in technological upgrades will support counties in administrating SNAP and Medicaid.

A new scorecard on school test results nationwide found large achievement gaps at Minneapolis Public Schools.

Plus, Minnesota's Muslim community is tackling safety concerns after the mosque shooting in San Diego.

We heard from the state's next Supreme Court Chief Justice.

Meteorologist Sven Sundgaard gave the holiday weekend forecast.

And a Minnesota-made podcast is helping kids navigate puberty.

The Minnesota Music Minute was “Down Home Blues” by Deb Jenkins and “500 Dollars” by The Lamont Cranston Band was the Song of the Day.

Minnesota’s Muslim leaders are gathering their community together after a deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego in California on Monday. Minnesota's Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR-MN, gathered imams and mosque leaders along with local law enforcement to talk about the shooting and security preparations for upcoming large Muslim gatherings in Minnesota on Tuesday evening. The organization will host a virtual public training about safety protocols and tips for the Muslim community on Saturday.

Puberty is something everyone goes through in life. But it is an uncomfortable topic to talk about for many. A new podcast is putting puberty front and center of the conversation. Presented by Brains On Universe, the podcast is simply titled “Puberty (The Podcast).” It’s designed for kids ages 7-12 and is also a resource for parents helping their kids navigate their changing bodies and brains.

The show’s host and executive producer, Molly Bloom, joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about it.

New scorecards are out for school districts across the country. Known as the Education Scorecard, the results in Minneapolis Public Schools show large achievement gaps across race and class.

The findings are based on average test scores from 2022-2025.

MPR News host Nina Moini talked with two guests who have worked to address educational disparities in Minneapolis about what to make of the numbers.

Bernadeia Johnson was superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools from 2010 to 2015. She is currently a professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Jennifer Stern is CEO of Great MN Schools, a nonprofit that works closely with public and charter schools in Minneapolis.

MPR News has reached out to Minneapolis Public Schools for a statement.

An ICE agent is facing state charges for allegedly shooting and wounding a man in north Minneapolis in January. It's the second time a federal agent has been charged in relation to this winter's ICE surge. We'll have details, plus legal analysis on the case.

The state legislative session is over. Among the proposals that did not pass was relief money for businesses struggling from impacts of the federal surge.

College students have finished another school year transformed by AI. We'll talk to a professor who's been writing his way through the changes.

We'll go to Rochester, where the city's pre-professional women's soccer team is getting ready for their first game against Eagan-based Minnesota Aurora.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Um Dia” by D. Santos and our Song of the Day was “Valkyrie Drive” by Cardboard Fishtank.

It’s a good time to be a women’s sports fan in Minnesota. In basketball, Lynx season is underway. In Rugby, Twin Cities Gemini won their first game Sunday. On Thursday there’s a match between the state’s two women’s pre-professional soccer teams. It’s the home opener for Minnesota Aurora and the first game of the season for the Rochester FC Loons.

Rochester Coach Eric Feil and team captain Rachel Jackson joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about how the team has evolved since it launched a few seasons ago.

College students across the state have just wrapped up the school year. It was the third school year where access to generative AI was commonplace. Artificial intelligence has changed how many students – and their professors – look at getting an education.

Chris Wells is chair of the Environmental Studies department at Macalester College. Like most other educators over the past few years, he’s constantly navigating his students' relationships with AI and the classroom. He admits like most educators, he’s still figuring it out. He writes a newsletter about what AI means for college teaching called Teaching Upside Down.

Wells joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about the shifts he’s noticed in the classroom, how he’s changed assignments with AI in mind and how he’s rethinking what getting an education means when generative AI can accomplish so much.