The Senate has approved $1.1 billion in cuts to public media stations. It could impact rural and tribal radio stations disproportionately. We hear from U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar about the funding cuts.

Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, took to the witness stand in her burglary trial. We hear some of her testimony.

New regulations are on the way for feedlots, where animals are kept for agriculture. We hear more about the changes that aim to reduce water pollution.

Plus, the historic Rondo neighborhood is celebrating their community with the annual Rondo Days. We learn about the festival's decades-long legacy.

And we talk to an athlete who will be competing in the National Veterans Wheelchair Games taking place this weekend in Minneapolis.

Today’s Minnesota Music Minute was “Freedom Fighter” by Lewiee Blaze. The Song of the Day was “Devil’s Kettle” with Trapper Shoepp.

The National Veterans Wheelchair Games is taking over Minneapolis this weekend. It's the largest annual wheelchair sporting event for veterans in the world. The games bring together hundreds of veterans from across the country for a week of athletic competition and community building.

Dave Tostenrude, the director of the program for the Department of Veteran Affairs, and Mark Schultz, a Marine Corps veteran, Vietnam War combat vet, and a multi-sport athlete from Victoria, Minn., competing this weekend, joined Minnesota Now to talk about the event.

On Saturday, thousands will gather for Rondo Days, a celebration of the historic Rondo neighborhood in St. Paul.

Rondo Days was started in 1983 after the vibrant, predominantly Black neighborhood was ripped apart by the construction of I-94 in the 1960s. Despite the destruction, the community has been coming together for decades now for Rondo Days. This year it’s taking place at the Martin Luther King Center in St. Paul.

Gayle Smaller, the board chair with Rondo Avenue Inc., and Merina Neal, a Rondo Days board member, joined Minnesota Now to share more about the event.

The state of Minnesota is asking for input as it looks to change its rules for feedlots for the first time in 25 years.

Feedlots are buildings or confined areas where animals are kept for agriculture. There are about 18,000 in the state, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

These areas allow livestock producers to raise more animals on less land. They also produce a lot of manure, which can pollute drinking water. Since the state made its last major changes to feedlot regulations in the year 2000, these operations have grown and consolidated.

Lisa Scheirer, the MPCA’s feedlot section manager, joined Minnesota Now to talk about potential regulation changes for feedlots.

The U.S. Senate approved a rescissions package that cuts $1.1 billion from public media over the next two years. That includes funding from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting that goes to 16 media organizations in Minnesota.

Some of those organizations are MPR News and our sister music stations, as well as regional PBS stations and small radio stations. At those smaller stations, federal dollars cover up to half the budget.   

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has commented that the cuts could shutter tribal and rural radio stations. She joined MPR News host Nina Moini on Minnesota Now to talk about it.

Disclosure: While MPR receives money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, when reporting on the business of MPR and public media, we do so independently from news executives and do not let them review material before it runs.

New details have emerged in the shootings of Minnesota lawmakers. A grand jury has indicted the suspect on federal charges. Plus, we recap day one of the burglary trial for Democratic state Senator Nicole Mitchell.

Traffic cameras in Minneapolis will crack down on speeding drivers. We learn about the new program.

We hear how proposed federal cuts to public housing could impact Minneapolis residents that rely on housing vouchers.

We are halfway through meteorological summer. What will the second half bring? Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner will join us with that answer.

Each year Minnesota and North Dakota students launch mini-canoes in the Red River Valley. One of them may be floating down a river near you.

The Minnesota Music Minute was ”Pouring Rain at Dawn” by The Jayhawks and “More to Me” by Amateur was the Song of the Day.

Water in the Red River Valley takes a path that may look odd on a map. That’s because the Red River flows north to Lake Winnipeg in Canada. From there, it heads for saltwater, emptying into the Hudson Bay and eventually reaching the ocean.

Somewhere along this route, lodged in a beaver dam or trucking downstream, are small wooden canoes that were decorated and launched by students from about 40 elementary schools in Minnesota and North Dakota. Each boat has a QR code and postcard instructing anyone who finds it to share the location.

For more on the program called River of Dreams, MPR News host Nina Moini talks with Taylor Lemieux and Ashley Loe. Lemieux is a watershed education coordinator for the International Water Institute, based in Fargo, and Loe is a fifth-grade teacher in Grand Forks, N.D.

Minnesota has had an eventful 24 hours of weather, with lots of rain and a big drop in temperatures. It all comes at the halfway point of meteorological summer. To find out how the second half of the season could unfold, MPR News host Nina Moini talks with MPR Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner on Minnesota Now.

Now that President Trump has signed his “Big Beautiful Bill” into law, Congress will shift focus to next year’s budget. Congress is considering some initial budget proposals this week.

Trump’s original budget request to Congress back in May outlined a 44 percent cut to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees federal rental assistance programs and Section 8, or Housing Choice, vouchers.

Dominic Mitchell is the executive deputy director of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority and joins MPR News host Nina Moini to explain how the proposed cuts would impact his agency as well as renters who use the programs.

When you are driving in Minneapolis, you may get a speeding ticket without even getting pulled over by police. The city has announced the installation of speeding cameras at five intersections around the city. Eventually there could be more than 40 of these cameras. They are part of the city’s Vision Zero plan, aimed at reducing traffic accidents.

Vision Zero coordinator Ethan Fawley joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about the new program.