Minnesota Now

Comics are big business these days – Marvel and DC Comics rake in billions at the box office. Guest host Tim Nelson talked about a different type of comic today though that also made it to the screen, the Peanuts!

On Oct. 2, the comic featuring Charlie Brown, his dog Snoopy and the crew turns 72 years old. The strip was the creation of St. Paul cartoonist Charles Schulz. Benjamin Clark, the curator of the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, California, joined us.

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. 

Did you know that September is Sickle Cell Awareness Month?  Sickle cell is a genetic trait affecting red blood cells — and it causes intense pain and anemia.  Sickle cell disease occurs among one out of every 365 African American births. But some health care providers miss sickle cell symptoms or don’t take seriously people who have the condition.

To learn more about why, guest host Tim Nelson spoke with Rae Blaylark and Dr. Stephen Nelson. Rae Blaylark is the President and CEO of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Minnesota. Dr. Stephen Nelson is a pediatric hematologist oncologist and Chief Medical Officer at the foundation.

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. 

St. Paul’s city council has voted 5-2 to roll back parts of its rent control policy that was put in place less than five months ago. The details of the rent control policy made it one of the most stringent of its kind in the country.

The new amendments to the policy, which were passed last week, mean that now, low income housing and newly constructed buildings are exempt from the three percent cap on annual rent increase. Max Nesterak has been following this story closely. He’s deputy editor of the Minnesota Reformer.

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. 

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday he will “proudly support” legislation to overhaul rules for certifying presidential elections, bolstering a bipartisan effort to revise a 19th century law and avoid another Jan. 6 insurrection.

The legislation would clarify and expand parts of the 1887 Electoral Count Act, which, along with the Constitution, governs how states and Congress certify electors and declare presidential winners. The changes in the certification process are in response to unsuccessful efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to exploit loopholes in the law to overturn his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden, and the violent attack on the Capitol by his supporters as Congress counted the votes.

“Congress’ process for counting the presidential electors’ votes was written 135 years ago,” McConnell said. “The chaos that came to a head on Jan. 6 of last year certainly underscored the need for an update.”

McConnell made the remarks just before the Senate Rules Committee voted 14-1 to approve the bill and send it to the Senate floor, where a vote is expected after the November election. The only senator to vote against the legislation was Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, one of two senators to stand and object to Biden’s certification last year.

The GOP leader’s endorsement gave the legislation a major boost as the bipartisan group pushes to pass the bill before the end of the year and ahead of the next election cycle. Trump is still pushing false claims of election fraud and saying he won the election as he considers another run in 2024. McConnell’s support for the law could put him even more at odds with Trump, who frequently berates the GOP leader and has encouraged Republicans to vote against it.

The House has already passed a more expansive bill overhauling the electoral rules, but it has far less Republican support. While the House bill received a handful of GOP votes, the Senate version already has the backing of at least 12 Republicans — more than enough to break a filibuster and pass the legislation in the 50-50 Senate.

As he announced his support, McConnell noted that Democrats also objected to legitimate election results the last three times that Republicans won the presidency. “The situation obviously called for careful, methodical and bipartisan work,” he said, noting that the bipartisan group that negotiated the bill worked on the language for months.

McConnell called the House bill a “non-starter” in the Senate because of the bipartisan compromise on the Senate language. “We have one shot to get this right,” he said.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Rules panel, expressed a similar sentiment. The Senate legislation is the bill that “will achieve a strong bipartisan consensus,” she said.

Cruz, who stood with Trump as he made false claims of fraud in 2020, called the legislation a “bad bill” and said it would make it harder for Congress to challenge fraudulent elections. He questioned why any Republican would support it.

The bill is all about “Democratic rage” at Trump, Cruz said.

Still, Cruz was the only dissenter. Among the Republicans on the Rules panel who voted for the bill shortly after McConnell’s statement were Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, one of only eight senators to vote against Biden’s certification, and Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty, a strong Trump ally.

Senators made minor tweaks to the legislation at Tuesday’s meeting but kept the bill largely intact. The bill, written by Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, would make clear that the vice president only has a ceremonial role in the certification process, tighten the rules around states sending their votes to Congress and make it harder for lawmakers to object.

The changes are a direct response to Trump, who publicly pressured several states, members of Congress and then-Vice President Mike Pence to aid him as he tried to undo Biden’s win. Even though Trump’s effort failed, lawmakers in both parties said his attacks on the election showed the need for stronger safeguards in the law.

If it becomes law, the bill would be Congress’ strongest legislative response yet to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, in which hundreds of Trump’s supporters beat police officers, broke into the Capitol and interrupted the joint session as lawmakers were counting the votes. Once the rioters were cleared, the House and Senate rejected GOP objections to the vote in two states. But more than 140 Republicans voted to sustain them.

Differences between the House and Senate bills will have to be resolved before final passage, including language around congressional objections.

While the Senate bill would require a fifth of both chambers to agree on an electoral objection to trigger a vote, the House bill would require agreement from at least a third of House members and a third of the Senate. Currently, only one member of each chamber is required for the House and Senate to vote on whether to reject a state’s electors.

The House bill also lays out new grounds for objections, while the Senate does not.

A Minnesota Appeals Court ruled against a group of Twin Cities parents in a school segregation case. What does that mean for Minnesota families? It is high turtle crossing season and we’ll find out why the Minneapolis parks board so interested. Paul Huttner is back with special guest Craig Edwards in Florida as we follow the path of Hurricane Ian. Thousands of runners are gearing up for the big Twin Cities marathon this Sunday. And Vikings wide receiver Blake Proehl talks about moonlighting on Tik Tok.

MPR Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner talks with former MPR meteorologist Craig Edwards who is now living in Fort Myers, as Hurricane Ian barrels inland there. Huttner also gives a weather update closer to home.

This week a Minnesota Appeals Court ruled against a group of Twin Cities parents who say segregation based on race and class in Minnesota schools is violating the state’s constitutional obligation to educate all students adequately. Beth Hawkins, Senior Writer and National Correspondent with the online education newspaper “The 74” talks with guest host Tim Nelson about the case and what’s next.

Falls is high turtle crossing season! MaryLynn Pulscher from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board talks with guest host Tim Nelson about what’s going on with the turtles and why the park board is paying attention.

The forecast says it will be clear and 50 degrees on Sunday morning, October 1 and you could hardly ask for better weather for the 40th running of the Twin Cities 10 mile and the Twin Cities marathon this year. The marathon’s executive director Virginia Brophy Achman talks with guest host Tim Nelson about this year’s milestone race.

In 2021, Blake Proehl was the Minnesota Vikings’ most promising free agent. But a devastating knee injury pushd him to explore a new talent. He talks with guest host Tim Nelson about his unexpected turn.