Minnesota Now

Some Minnesotans are in a legal limbo as uncertainty continues surrounding the temporary protected status program. The Supreme Court ruled on Monday to temporarily block the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians and Syrians.

Lawmakers in the state House and Senate are set to discuss potential regulations for self-driving taxis on Minnesota roads Wednesday. Waymo, the company behind these autonomous cars, has been doing tests in the state since last fall. One expert talked about the future of Waymo in the state.

The Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa celebrated the return of nearly 90 acres of land on Monday.

Thousands of Minnesotans are out on the streets of downtown St. Paul for the 60th annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. We got a glimpse of the festivities.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was "Farewell to Nova Scotia" from The Inland Seas and our Song of the Day was “Danny Boy” by Johnny Cash.

Federal immigration officers arrested 23-year-old Andrea Pedro-Francisco in early February, a week before she was scheduled to have a cyst removed from her ovary.

Members of Congress have taken up her cause, but they have not been able to reach her. That’s in part due to a measles lockdown at Camp East Montana, where she is being held. 

Minnesota Reformer Deputy Editor Max Nesterak wrote about her story and joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about it.

Waymo, the autonomous taxi business, has been testing its vehicles in Minnesota since last fall. Both House and Senate committees will discuss regulations they could place on self-driving taxi services like Waymo during hearings on Wednesday. 

Frank Douma researches autonomous vehicle policy at the University of Minnesota. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini to chat about the future of Waymo in the state.

Temporary Protected Status for several countries is in legal limbo. The legal status known as TPS is an immigration status that allows people to temporarily live and work in the U.S. because of dangerous conditions in their home country such as war or environmental disasters.  

Last fall, the Trump administration moved to end TPS for Somalia. It was set to end Tuesday, but a court ruling earlier in the month paused that. Additionally, on Monday the Supreme Court ruled to temporarily block the end of TPS for Haitians and Syrians.  

Ana Pottratz Acosta is an immigration law expert and visiting clinical professor of law at the University of Minnesota. She joined MPR News host Nina Moini to sift through the meaning of the legal back-and-forth.

Thousands of green-clad Irish and Irish wannabes were downtown St. Paul for the city’s 60th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. One of the VIPs at the parade was Gabe Morcomb. She was awarded the 2026 title of Miss Shamrock. We heard from her along with MPR News reporter Regina Medina, who was at the parade.

A late winter snowstorm led many schools and businesses to change their plans Monday. We'll find out how much snow fell in different parts of the state. And we'll hear from Minnesotans who braved the aftermath with shovels in hand.

The snow also led a hunger relief advocacy day at the state capitol to move online. We'll talk with the leader of The Food Group about priorities this year, as some Minnesotans stand to lose their SNAP benefits.

And some business owners want the federal government to pay them back for tariffs the Supreme Court ruled were illegal. We'll talk with a trade lawyer and a St. Paul manufacturer.

Plus, the NCAA women's basketball tournament is coming to Minnesota this week.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Winter Builds Character” by USPOP and our Song of the Day was “Deep Dark Water” by Bethany Larson and the Bee's Knees.

Girl’s and women’s basketball are taking over the Twin Cities. The state girl’s basketball tournament just wrapped up in St. Paul, with the Providence Academy Lions making Minnesota history as the first team to win five straight state titles.

Meantime, the Gophers women’s basketball team has made it to the NCAA tournament for the first time in nearly a decade.

Minnesota Now sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined the program with basketball headlines and other sports news.

Businesses across the state and country are scrambling to understand if and when they might get refunds for illegal tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled President Donald Trump did not have the authority to set tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

It’s estimated the federal government has collected some 160 billion dollars through these tariffs. But the ruling did not lay out a clear pathway forward for refunds to affected businesses.

Joining Minnesota Now to help make sense of it all is international trade lawyer David Townsend and owner of St. Paul-based MISCO speakers Dan Digre.

Some legislative hearings at the Minnesota Capitol were canceled Monday because of the heavy snowfall over the weekend, but about 300 hunger-relief advocates are still connecting with lawmakers virtually for Hunger Day on the Hill.

The event is organized by the statewide by the nonprofit The Food Group and a coalition of about 40 organizations. Advocates are pushing lawmakers to strengthen food access programs such as funding for food shelves and efforts to help people who could lose SNAP benefits because of federal policy changes.

Rachel Holmes, the director of advocacy and community at The Food Group, joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about legislative priorities.

The state Senate approved rent help for Minnesotans affected by the surge of federal agents, but its future in the state House remains uncertain. We got the latest from our politics reporter.

Plus, we met the Metro Transit’s new police chief.

And a coalition of Latino-led organizations is asking lawmakers to keep local government from cooperating with federal immigration agents.

Also, meat packing workers are facing faster factory lines. Union leaders say it could be dangerous. We heard from one of those leaders.

And local news reporter Courtney Godfrey is co-hosting the Paralympics at NBC. We talked to her about the games.

The Minnesota Music Minute was “Easy Silence” by Dan Wilson, and “Playing House” by Anna Devine was the Song of the Day.