Minnesota Now

Much of southern Minnesota is abnormally dry with the Twin Cities in a severe drought. The lack of rain is a big concern for farmers as is the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine which is creating volatility in agriculture markets. Kent Thiesse is Farm Management Analyst and Senior Vice President at MinnStar Bank. He joined host Cathy Wurzer to talk more about what Minnesota farmers are experiencing.

Our colleagues on our investigative team, APM Reports, have a story out today about a Covid-19 testing company that operates in Minnesota. The team found that Nebraska-based GS Labs was slow to report some tests to state regulators and that some customers waited weeks to get results from the company, if they ever got them at all. Tom Scheck joined host Cathy Wurzer to talk about this story.

You could say one Minnesota baseball bat company hit a home run this week signing a licensing deal with the Major League Baseball Association. It’s Pillbox Bat Company based out of Winona. When founders Zak Fellman and Dan Watson first started the company a few years ago, they never imagined it how fast it would grow. Now they have achieved their dream of officially designing bats, pennants and other art for all 30 MLB teams. Dan Watson is co-founder of Pillbox Bat company. He joined host Cathy Wurzer to share more.

More than a million frontline workers applied for hero pay from the state - we'll find out when they might get paid and how much.

Is your neighborhood buying extra police patrols? We ask an expert how this is affecting public safety in Minneapolis.

Paul Huttner is here with a look at drought conditions and the forecast.

Are we officially counting down to the state fair? You bet we are. And we're talking crop art today.

And if you've been hankering for a little vintage brass band music, you're in luck. We'll find out where you can find it this weekend.

How about a moment of calm for your Wednesday? Earlier this season, producer Ellen Finn went bird watching with leaders from the Urban Bird Collective and the Lower Phalen Creek Project at Wakan Tipi in east St Paul. You can hear leader Ari Kim along with bird song and the sounds of the city.

The Vintage Band Festival, now in its 16th year, features bands from all over the United States as well as local favorites.

Host Cathy Wurzer talks to festival founder and artistic director Paul Niemisto ahead of this weekend's festival.

It’s that time of year when folks around Minnesota are preparing for the Minnesota State Fair. This week on Minnesota Now we’re spotlighting a quintessentially Minnesota art from. Crop art. Cathy talks to Sam Stroozas, a digital producer at MPR News whose current story is about a crop art class that happened over the weekend.

This week has been quite a respite from the intense heat of the past few weeks. And there’s even been a little rain which is a very good thing. Is it enough to bring us out of these drought conditions?

The Minneapolis Police Department’s “buyback” program allows organizations, sports teams, or neighborhoods to buy extra overtime police patrols. But the program has been criticized as inequitable and further stretching the department’s resources at a time when some less wealthy neighborhoods say police are totally unresponsive.

Nearly 1.2 million Minnesotans applied for Hero Pay. That’s the money frontline workers can get from the state for working through the pandemic. Back in April the legislature agreed on $500 million to be split equally between people working in 15 specific job sectors. But when will folks applications be approved? And when will they get that money?