Minnesota Now

As a child, Stephanie Pearson grew up like a lot of northern Minnesota kids do: She hiked the Superior Hiking Trail from her home in Duluth and spent summers canoeing in the Boundary Waters.

Those adventures kick started her career in outdoors writing.

Her job has taken her all over the country and gave her the chance to explore national parks and remotes trails.

Now, she's back in Duluth and has just published a book with National Geographic about her time on the trail titled, “100 Hikes of a Lifetime USA”

She shared her favorite hikes and how she put this behemoth of a book together on Minnesota Now.

The U.S. Senate voted 50-49 Thursday morning to overturn a 20-year ban on mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Republican Rep. Pete Stauber, who represents northeastern Minnesota, introduced the legislation. Both of Minnesota's U.S. senators, Democrats Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, urged their colleagues to vote it down.

President Donald Trump is expected to sign the measure into law. Its passage is a win for the company Twin Metals, a subsidiary of the Chilean mining firm Antofagasta, which aims to open an underground copper-nickel mine just south of the boundary waters.

Julie Lucas represents Twin Metals and other companies as executive director of the industry group, MiningMinnesota. She joined MPR News host Kelly Gordon with reaction to the Senate’s vote.

U.S. senators could vote Wednesday on legislation that would roll back protections against mining in the Boundary Waters. Supporters say there are great economic benefits to mining in the area, but those opposed say there are dire ecological risks.

State Republican lawmakers took a preliminary step to impeach Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison Wednesday morning. We were inside the polarizing hearing.

Plus, a look at the trend of young Minnesotans moving to rural parts of the state.

Did you find yourself turning into an amateur astronaut during the Artemis Two mission? There is even more wonder to explore during Dark Sky Week.

And we talked with Duluth musician Gaelynn Lea, who is out with her first memoir.

The Minnesota Music Minute was Lea’s rendition of the traditional song “The Parting Glass” and “Late Bloom” by Zippy Laske was the Song of the Day.

It was ten years ago that Gaelynn Lea rose to fame by winning the NPR Music Tiny Desk contest. Her memory of getting the call, is the first chapter of her new book “It Wasn’t Meant to Be Perfect.” Lea was born with the rare genetic disease osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bones disease. Her memoir traces her upbringing in Duluth and how she’s navigated her disability in all different facets of life.

Lea spoke to MPR News host Kelly Gordon about her memoir.

Space has been a major topic of conversation lately, after four astronauts flew a figure-eight around the moon and returned safely back to Earth last weekend. The Artemis II livestream may be over, but if we are lucky, we can find a window to the universe just by looking up.

This week happens to be dedicated to the night sky. International Dark Sky Week began in 2003 to raise awareness, not only of the beauty of nighttime, but also the artificial light that can erase it.

Governor Tim Walz recently signed a proclamation recognizing Dark Sky Week in Minnesota for a third year in a row. And Voyageurs Conservancy, the non-profit partner of Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota, is leading a series of programs focused on the night sky. MPR News host Kelly Gordon talked with the group’s associate director, Breanna Trygg.

A new report shows many parts of greater Minnesota are diversifying and growing. However, sustained population growth looks unlikely with an aging Baby Boomer generation and declining birth rates. That's the topline from the 2026 State of Rural report by the Center for Rural Policy and Development.

Ben Winchester says there's even more to the story around these trends — and it has a lot to do with housing. As a rural sociologist with the University of Minnesota Extension, he studies housing dynamics across the state. MPR News host Kelly Gordon talked with him on Minnesota Now.

A Minnesota House committee went into rare and highly polarizing territory Wednesday. It began discussing impeachment of DFL Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison. As weighty as that sounds, it’s important to note this is a preliminary step in a process that has next-to-no chance of coming to fruition.

The resolution before the committee laid out a process to impeach the constitutional officers over their leadership during a time when Minnesota programs experienced widespread fraud. MPR News politics reporter Dana Ferguson was in the Capitol hearing. She joined MPR News guest host Kelly Gordon from the Capitol.

The U.S. Senate could vote Wednesday on legislation that would roll back protections against mining in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

If passed, this would overturn a 20-year ban on mining across more than 200,000 acres of the Superior National Forest that was put in place in 2023.

The measure led by Minnesota Republican congressman Pete Stauber passed the House back in January. It has stalled in the Senate since.

Chris Knopf, executive director of Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, joined MPR News host Kelly Gordon to talk about the possible vote.

A Minnesota man was violently tortured and killed in New York in 2024. We heard from his family as the suspects in his death head to court.

Plus, Ramsey County attorneys are investigating a federal immigration arrest as a possible kidnapping.

In Minneapolis, a group of former diplomats gathered for a conference on nuclear proliferation in a tense global environment.

And St. Paul's negotiating a new contract with its largest supplier of electricity.

We also got the latest on the Minnesota Lynx after Monday’s WNBA draft.

And the movie Fargo turns 30 this year. We heard from the actor from an iconic scene involving a woodchipper.

The Minnesota Music Minute was “The Lake” by Bunny Blood. The Song of the Day was “Feral Eyes” by Garden Tigers.

The city of St. Paul is in the midst of negotiating a new contract with one of its largest electricity suppliers, Xcel Energy. The final outcome of these discussions will be a new franchise agreement.

Franchise agreements are contracts between a city and a utility laying out how the company can use the city's existing infrastructure to provide its services.

Unidos MN has been working behind-the-scenes to push the city toward what it would see as a more climate-forward and flexible agreement with Xcel Energy. Madi Johnson, an organizer with Unidos MN, explained more about the process and what's at stake.