Minnesota Now

Minnesota isn’t what it used to be. More than 80 million years ago, when dinosaurs walked the earth, a sea covered much of Minnesota. And one of its most successful predators is still with us in today’s oceans. Jim Cotter is professor of Geology at the University of Minnesota – Morris. Every month on Minnesota Now, Professor Cotter tells the story of our state through geology.

In a state renowned for its forests, there is arguably no Minnesota tree more majestic than the white pine. Giant white pines, some 150 feet tall, once covered much of the northern half of Minnesota. Just a tiny fraction of old growth trees remain, but efforts to bring them back are slowly taking root. MPR News reporter Dan Kraker covered the story and joined host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the tree’s past, present, and future.

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.

Climate change is one of the biggest threats facing our planet. Glaciers are melting. Water levels are rising. Temperatures too. Wildfires are tearing through forests and neighborhoods. Some storms are super charged and do major damage.

What’s at the root of climate change? Carbon dioxide—created by the fossil fuels we burn. Andrew Jones is CEO and co-founder of Carba, a Minnesota-based company that is trying to figure out how to permanently remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere—and wants to share that technology.

It's been a little over a month since a University of Minnesota regent ignited a firestorm over the makeup of the university of Minnesota Morris student body. Some regents visited the campus yesterday, and Cathy spoke to the president of the Morris Campus Student Association to learn what happened.

We’ll learn about efforts to bring back a majestic Minnesota tree.

Climate change is threatening the planet, but a Minnesota startup hopes to be the solution by permanently removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Cathy spoke with the co-founder of the startup.

Minnesotans are gearing up for a big Thanksgiving feast this Thursday, and resident gardening expert Meg Cowden has some tips on how to bring your garden to your table this time of year.

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.   

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar is pushing back on the potential republican house leader's threat to remove her from a key committee job. We'll get the context and what might happen from the move.

The holiday travel season is underway. We'll tell you what to expect.

A new podcast about a St. Paul family explores the lifelong questions that linger when a couple adopts a child from a mother in another country.

An investigation into contract for deed deals shows Somali Muslim families are being targeted and put at risk.

And in our latest installment of "Minnesota Now and Then" we go back to 1977. We will meet Bonnie Wallace. She went to the historic National Women's Conference that year. We'll find out why that was such a big deal.

It was 44 years ago this month when 15,000 people attended the National Women’s Conference in a hotel Houston, Texas. It was the first and only women’s conference approved of and funded by the federal government.

The goal was to create a women’s agenda and a plan of action to be submitted to Congress and the president. Bonnie Wallace was there. She’s a feminist and an enrolled member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

She was part of the American Indian Women’s caucus at the event, and she joined host Cathy Wurzer to look back at that historic event.

Buying a house a part of the American Dream. Some people have a mortgage through a lender, others through a “contract for deed.” But this direct transaction between buyer and seller is risky.

A new investigation from ProPublica and the Sahan Journal has found that local real estate investors are targeting Somali Muslim families to engage in these risky financial deals.

Jessica Lussenhop is one of the reporters behind the investigation, and she joined host Cathy Wurzer to explain 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.

If you’ve adopted children or are considering adoption, the new podcast called Defining Diego might get you thinking. Laurie Stern is a reporter living in St Paul.

Back in 2000 she read about a first of its kind report from the United Nations finding the international adoption system was set up to help wealthy white people buy indigenous babies from poor families.

She was appalled.

But the thing is — she read this report when she herself was in Guatemala — adopting her own little boy from a Mayan woman.

She thought, what do I do now?

Now, 22 years later, Laurie and her son Aa Tiko’, also known as Diego Luke, are telling their story about how international adoption has shaped their lives. They both joined host Cathy Wurzer to tell their story.

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 Twin Cities airport is a busy place this week. Thanksgiving holiday travel is expected to equal or surpass that seen in 2021, and officials say pack your patience because more than 32,000 passengers are expected to clear security checkpoints over the next few days. Kyle Potter is the executive editor of travel website Thrifty Traveler and he joined Cathy to talk about travel prep.

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.

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar is pushing back on threats to remove her from key committee assignments. Speaking on Fox News on Sunday, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy threatened to make the move over what he called anti-Semitic comments.

Omar said in a statement that McCarthy's comments were an example of "fear, xenophobia, Islamophobia and racism." Omar is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee.

It wouldn't be the first time a House member has been removed from their committee assignments over controversial statements. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green was stripped of her assignments in February 2021.

Amy Koch is a political strategist, former Minnesota Senate Republican majority leader and co-host of the podcast Wrong About Everything.