Minnesota Now

State lawmakers are officially on break after a busy session. Among the key issues this year at the Capitol: addressing the impacts of the surge of federal immigration agents.

Several proposals were introduced, including legislation to establish a $100 million relief fund for businesses that may have lost revenue or faced other difficulties due to the surge. Gov. Tim Walz also put forth a $10 million relief package in February.

Both proposals did not pass.

Aaron Sepulveda is legislative and policy director with the Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs. He’s been talking to businesses across the state and he told MPR News more about where things go from here.

A second ICE agent is now facing state criminal charges for actions during Operation Metro Surge. On Monday, charges were filed against Christian J. Castro who is accused of shooting and wounding a Venezuelan man in north Minneapolis in January. He’s also charged for allegedly lying to law enforcement about the incident.

In April, ICE agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. was charged with assault for allegedly pointing his gun at two people during a February road rage incident.

A judge has issued nationwide warrants for the arrests of both agents.

What happens next is unclear. Lauren Bonds, executive director of the National Police Accountability Project. She said it’s novel legal territory. Bonds joined Minnesota Now to explain.

Parts of the North Shore and central Minnesota are still under evacuation orders after two separate wildfires broke out over the weekend. We'll get the latest from the DNR. Plus, the legislative session is over. What passed and what didn't make the cut.

According to a new investigation, Minnesota's hospitals are some of the least generous in the nation when it comes to helping patients cover their bills. A closer look at why.

Data also shows the percentage of Black Minnesotans in the Twin Cities who own a home has declined for the first time after rising for several years.

Plus, the season may be over for several Minnesota teams after playoff losses. But for others, it's just getting started. Our sports contributors will have the rundown.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Kdot (Untitled 05) ft. Desean Jones” by L.A. Buckner and our Song of the Day was “Disco 3 Love Sick” by Karate Chop, Silence.

There’s been a seasonal shift over the last week and we’re not talking about the weather. The playoffs ended in elimination for the Minnesota Frost, the Wild and the Timberwolves. But another set of sports teams are still busy, like the Twins in baseball and the Loons in soccer. The Minnesota Lynx are just getting started.

Minnesota Now sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined the program to help with the transition.

The Twin Cities metro area Black homeownership rate has backtracked. That’s according to new data from the Minneapolis Federal Reserve. In 2023 the region’s rate had risen to 34.3 percent, but in 2024 the regional Black homeownership rate fell back to 29.1 percent.

The data also shows that compared to 11 other similar metro areas in the U.S., the Twin Cities has the largest gap between Black and white homeownership rates at nearly 47 percent.

AsaleSol Young is the executive director of Housing in Action, a local housing justice organization that works with socioeconomically disadvantaged families to find affordable and safe housing. They joined the program to talk about what may be behind the numbers and potential solutions.

For many low-to-middle-income households, a health emergency can quickly turn into a financial one. Because nonprofit hospitals and health systems receive tax breaks, they are legally obligated to help cover some patients’ medical bills. But Minnesota’s hospitals do this at a lower rate, on average, than in most other states. In other words, they are some of the least charitable in the nation.

That’s according to a recent investigation by the Minnesota Star Tribune and the health outlet KFF News. Star Tribune reporter Jeremy Olson joined Minnesota Now to talk about what their report found.

We’re tracking two large wildfires that sparked over the weekend. The first, the Stewart Trail Fire, burned dozens of buildings on the North Shore and it’s more than 60 percent contained as of Monday morning.

Meanwhile in Crow Wing County, north of Brainder, is the Flanders Fire. It’s about 20 percent contained and evacuation orders remain in place.

William Glesener has been following both of those fires and helping coordinate firefighting efforts. He is the wildfire operations supervisor at the Department of Natural Resources and spoke to Minnesota Now host Nina Moini with a status update on the wildfires across the state.

Short-on-sleep Minnesota lawmakers are at the Capitol for a session sendoff. They can’t pass any more bills; that deadline arrived at midnight. But they’re counting up the wins and losses from a three-month stay in St. Paul. They’re also bidding farewell to colleagues who have already announced they won’t be back in 2027.

Peter Cox has an ear on the House and the Senate but took a quick break to bring the latest on Minnesota Now.

Minnesota lawmakers and Gov. Tim Walz have brokered a budget deal. It includes funding for HCMC, cuts to vehicle registration fees and property tax relief. We broke down the agreement and checked in on what work still needs to be done in the final days of the session.

A new Minneapolis-based study shows that hospitals are an important place for gun violence prevention.

And, there's a growing list of cities choosing to fly Minnesota's old flag instead of the new one. A look into the debate.

Plus, a new project is mapping 50 years of Hmong history in Minnesota.

And, Art-A-Whirl is a big weekend for painters, photographers and other artists. But it's becoming a landmark event for music, too. We'll look at the lineup.

From the first Hmong businesses, to homes that became museums and a regenerative Hmong farm, a new map seeks to document important historical and cultural sites for the Hmong community in Minnesota.

Led by the Hmong Museum, the Hmong StoryMap Project shares the stories behind more than 20 places across the state. It covers some 50 years of history since the first Hmong family arrived in Minnesota. And after a yearlong effort, the digital map will finally be unveiled on Saturday.

We heard more about the project from two people who were a part of it. Bee Vang-Moua is a writer and researcher for the story map. Pheng Her is the founder of Guerilla Pastures, which is one of the places on the map.