Minnesota Now

A new study is looking at how hospitals can play an important role in gun violence prevention. HCMC and The Violence Prevention Project teamed up and compared hospital data with homicide data in Minneapolis. They found from 2013 to 2022, that 1 in 50 people admitted to HCMC with a violent trauma injury, ended up later involved in a homicide, as a victim or perpetrator.

Joining Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to dig into the data is two authors of the study. Jillian Peterson is with the executive director of The Violence Prevention Project and Dr. Derek Lumbard is a trauma surgeon at HCMC.

Northeast Minneapolis' beloved Art-A-Whirl returns this weekend. For more than 30 years, painters, printers, sculptors, jewelry makers, glass blowers and more have flung open the doors of their studios and invited guests to check out how they make their art, to buy their art, and to even make art of their own.

But there's another side of the weekend, too, that's been growing larger and larger since the festival began in 1995. It's live music! The venues and schedules are stacked this year with bands out to show their stuff.

Diane Miller, host of the Local Show on The Current, joined to help us parse through the thick lineup.

Leaders at the Minnesota Capitol have a budget deal – and four days left to finish the legislative session. House and Senate leaders along with Gov. Tim Walz reached the spending agreement Wednesday night.

It includes anti-fraud measures, cuts to vehicle tab registration fees and money to help a critical hospital in Minneapolis stay open.

MPR News Politics Editor Brian Bakst joined Minnesota Now to talk about the deal and what remains unresolved.

State health officials say they’re monitoring a Minnesotan who may have been exposed to hantavirus. The person was briefly in contact with a cruise ship traveler who tested positive for the virus.

The Minnesota Department of Health says the individual is not currently showing symptoms and the risk to the public remains very low.

Hantavirus is normally passed on by rodents but the Andes strain linked to the cruise ship outbreak is the only known type that can spread person-to-person.

Dr. Ruth Lynfield, epidemiologist at the Minnesota Department of Health, shared more about the steps being taken and what to know about the virus.

A Minnesotan may have been exposed to hantavirus. The Minnesota Department of Health is monitoring this person for symptoms. The state epidemiologist explained this virus, how it spreads and how health officials are making sure it stays contained.

You might be looking at gas prices and thinking it’s time to go electric. We checked in on the state of the EV industry in Minnesota.

Plus, prediction markets are on their way to being banned in Minnesota. But the ban is likely to face legal obstacles.

It's a picture-perfect spring day. We got an extended forecast from MPR News Meteorologist Sven Sundgaard.

This weekend, a herd of bison will be released in the St. Croix River Valley. We learned how the animal is crucial to habitat preservation.

Every spring, a herd of bison stampede onto prairieland in the St. Croix River Valley. This Saturday, the Bison Festival at the Belwin Conservancy in Afton will draw hundreds of people to watch the release of the animals.

The herd sticks around for the summer and helps create a healthy habitat. Belwin Conservancy naturalist Lynette Anderson joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about the incoming bison herd.

Websites like Kalshi and Polymarket have unleashed a new era of betting on sports and current events. Minnesota lawmakers Tuesday passed a bill banning these prediction markets from the state. To become law, it will need to be signed by Gov. Tim Walz.

The bill is the latest move by states and tribal nations that want to reign in these platforms. If what’s happened elsewhere in the country is any guide, the bill will likely attract lawsuits. A federal agency has sued five states for their attempts to regulate prediction markets. The platforms themselves have also filed lawsuits.

Todd Phillips has been surveying this legal landscape. He’s an assistant professor of law at Georgia State University, where he specializes on financial regulation. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini to explain.

Gas prices are continuing to climb. On Wednesday, according to AAA, the average price in Minnesota was $4.15. It’s averaging even higher in the seven-county metro at $4.24. You may have looked at the price at the pump recently and wished you had an electric car.

But data shows the number of Minnesotans buying electric dropped by 50 percent in the last few months of 2025. From January through October of 2025, EVs made up 8.4 percent of vehicle registrations in the state. In November and December, that dropped to 3.9 percent, according to the Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association.

Association President Scott Lambert said high gas prices are unlikely to reverse the trend. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini for a check-in on the EV industry.

State lawmakers passed a bill creating a new Office of Inspector General aimed at combating fraud. Once Gov. Tim Walz signs the bill, the state will have until September 2027 to launch the office. We learned more about its responsibilities and the challenges it could face.

For three families, this season marks five years since a series of shootings in north Minneapolis killed two children and critically injured another. We spoke with the grandfather of one of the victims and heard about the status of the investigations.

The Trump administration is suing Minnesota over the state’s climate change lawsuit against fossil fuel companies. A legal expert joined us to explain the case and its broader implications.

We looked at a growing housing trend in Minnesota: luxury single-family rental homes.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “the noise” by Vinny Franco and our Song of the Day was "Climbing High" by Clover and the Bee.

This spring is five years since a tragic series of shootings on the north side of Minneapolis. Three children were hit by stray bullets within weeks of one another.

LaDavionne Garrett Jr, a ten-year-old at the time, was shot and seriously injured on April 30, 2021. On May 15 and May 17, 9-year-old Trinity Ottoson-Smith and 6-year-old Aniya Allen was hit by stray gunfire. Both girls died. Despite a 180-thousand-dollar reward for information leading to arrests, only Ottoson-Smith’s case has been solved.

For years before, Aniya Allen’s grandfather KG Wilson worked to prevent gun violence in the neighborhood and support families who lost their loved ones. He joined Minnesota Now to talk about the toll of Aniya's unsolved killing and how, all these years later, he’s keeping her memory alive. Then, MPR News host Nina Moini talked with Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans about the two open investigations.