The Minneapolis City Council voted eight to five on Thursday to pass a contract with the city's police union. MPR reporter Jon Collins shares more details on the contract and the vote.

What are religious leaders doing about declining attendance? If you're Pastor Travis Norvell, you hop on your bike and talk to neighbors near your church. That led to more conversations, and now a new book. Travis Norvell is the senior pastor at Judson Memorial Baptist Church in Minneapolis. His book is called "Church on the Move: A Practical Guide for Ministry in the Community."

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has been in confirmation hearings most of this week, and she now awaits a vote from the Senate Judiciary Committee. She stands to be the first Black female Supreme Court Justice and the first former federal public defender.

Host Cathy Wurzer talks with Dana Mitchell and Jules Porter from the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers.

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As Minnesota’s COVID-19 cases plunge, politics editor Mike Mulcahy talks with Gov. Tim Walz about new challenges facing the DFL governor including his plans for the budget surplus, his vision of paid family leave and running for reelection as inflation surges. 

Over the next several months, MPR News will bring you stories on the radio and on our website that reflect the culture and history of communities in our state.

People of color recently became the majority in Worthington, Minnesota. Yet politics in the city and across Nobles County remain nearly all white and male. Reporter Hannah Yang introduces us to some residents who are trying to change that.

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The U.S. house, led by Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, just passed the Crown Act last week. It will outlaw racial discrimination against people based on their hairstyle and texture. Fourteen states across the country have passed the Crown Act. Crown stands for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.

Why pass legislation dealing with hair? It’s a workplace issue for many Black Americans. Lori Tharp - a journalist and educator-has written about this in her book “Hair Story - untangling the roots of black hair in America."

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Gordon Parks was a celebrated photographer, filmmaker, musician and artist. Originally from Fort Scott, Kansas, Parks moved to St. Paul as a teenager and lived with his sister until he was forced to leave. He worked as a staff photographer at local black-owned newspapers, the St. Paul Recorder and the Minneapolis Spokesman, and he shot the latest fashions for Frank Murphy’s Department Store in downtown St. Paul. Parks rose to become a powerful storyteller and activist, with much of his work centering around Black life. A new play at the History Theatre in St. Paul honors his legacy.

Robin Hickman-Winfield is Parks’ great-niece and a media creator, producer and community advocate in her own right. She joined host Cathy Wurzer to talk more about the play called Parks: A Portrait of a Young Artist. Robin, welcome to Minnesota Now.

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Minnesota native Joe Whitcomb, who had been living in Ukraine, has made it across the border into Poland. Host Cathy Wurzer followed up with Whitcomb, who was living and working in Kyiv, Ukraine, before he evacuated.

Only 21 percent of U.S. workers have access to paid family leave through their employer, so some states — including Minnesota — are looking at creating state-funded paid leave programs. Host Cathy Wurzer spoke with MPR News politics reporter Brian Bakst about how viable the bill is and what it would take to get it to pass.

Politics Friday: MPR News host Mike Mulcahy talks with Republican gubernatorial candidate Dr. Scott Jensen. As Gov. Tim Walz seeks another term, more than a half dozen Republicans are competing for the chance to run against him. Jensen is the GOP frontrunner. He’s a family physician who served one term in the Minnesota Senate and got national attention for criticizing the state’s handling of COVID-19.