Minnesota Now

A coalition of more than 20 mayors across Minnesota is calling on the state for help with recovery from the surge of federal agents in the last two months. We'll hear from the mayor of Brooklyn Center about the group's number one ask to state lawmakers.

It's been a week since border czar Tom Homan announced a plan to significantly reduce the number of federal agents in Minnesota. But has that been the case on the ground? What data on flights out of MSP carrying detainees indicates.

Homan also claimed federal agents had located more than 3,000 supposedly missing unaccompanied children during the surge. A local expert breaks down what that might mean.

And we'll meet a Minnesota ER doctor consulting for the hit TV show “The Pitt.“

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Minneapolis Madness” by room3, Alex Brown, David Feily and LA Buckner. Our Song of the Day was “Human” by Brandi Carlile.

The number of ICE detainees flown out of state has dropped significantly since border czar Tom Homan announced a major drawdown of federal agents from Minnesota last Thursday — an indication that federal enforcement activity could be easing.

Nick Benson is an activist with MN50501 who has been tracking flights leaving Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport chartered by the federal government. He said more than 3,600 people have been flown out of the state on these flights since early November when he began documenting.

The hit HBO medical drama “The Pitt,” follows a fictional emergency room in Pittsburgh, Penn. for one day. Each episode, is an hour of their shift. The show has been complimented for its accuracy in portraying a real emergency room. That’s thanks in part to a Minnesota doctor.

Dr. Jacob Lentz is an emergency room doctor at MHealth Fairview Lakes Medical Center in Wyoming, Minn. and he served as a medical consultant for the show. Season two is airing now on HBO.

Dr. Lentz spoke to Minnesota Now host Nina Moini about his role on the show and how he helped contribute to its medical accuracy.

If you follow women’s hockey, you know this rivalry well. The United States women's Olympic hockey team and the Canada women's Olympic hockey team have defined Olympic gold medal games for nearly three decades. Since 1998, they’ve met in the Olympic finals seven out of eight times. The U.S. has taken gold twice. They’re trying for a third gold Thursday afternoon.

And Minnesota fans have plenty of reasons to watch. Six players representing the U.S. also play for the Minnesota Frost.

Frost General Manager Melissa Caruso is watching her players compete on the sport’s biggest stage — and she joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about the game.

A group of mayors in Minnesota are asking the legislature for economic relief from the impacts of the surge of federal immigration agents to the state. The Cities for Safe and Stable Communities Coalition now includes more than 20 communities, mainly suburbs in the Twin Cities metro area.

Hopkins Mayor Patrick Hanlon said getting aid to city governments is the group’s number one ask to state lawmakers.

“We won't be asking for handouts,” said Hanlon, “We are asking for fairness, for justice and resources to fix a crisis we didn't create in order.”

Brooklyn Center Mayor April Graves was part of the creation of this group of mayors and she spoke to Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk more about their priorities.

When border czar Tom Homan announced a drawdown of federal agents in Minnesota, he said something else that stood out: “ICE, here, in this state, have located 3,364 missing unaccompanied alien children. Children that the last administration lost and weren’t even looking for.”

Unaccompanied minors is a term the federal government uses to describe children under 18 who don't have lawful status in the U.S. and who don’t have parents or legal guardians in the country who can care for them. Many live with other family members or connections who are known to the government as their sponsors.

The Trump Administration has pledged to step up tracking of 450,000 unaccompanied minors nationwide. The goal, it says, is to protect them from abuse and child labor. Joining Minnesota Now to talk more about this is Kim Boche from The Advocates for Human Rights. They lead a team of attorneys focused on unaccompanied minors.

For more than two months, Minnesotans in immigrant communities have been in hiding – fearing arrest, detention or deportation. At the peak of what the Trump administration called “Operation Metro Surge,” there were 3,000 federal immigration agents in the state. 

It led many immigrants to limit trips outside the house, some not leaving at all. They’ve seen ICE agents racially profile or wrongfully detain family and friends.

MPR News collected stories from several people under those circumstances across the state. They recorded voices memos or spoke to a reporter over three days between Jan. 24 and Feb. 4, sharing what their day was like. They answered questions including: did you leave the house today? What did you not get to do today that you normally get to do? How is this impacting your life?

The result is an intimate portrait of Minnesotans who have been deeply impacted by the surge of federal immigration agents in the state. We are only using first names or first initials due to safety concerns.    

Hennepin County attorney Mary Moriarty is filing a request to get evidence from the federal government on a pair of shootings in Minneapolis during the surge of ICE agents.

More than a foot of snow has piled on the North Shore with up to 10 more inches on the way as blizzard conditions continue. MPR chief meteorologist Paul Huttner has been keeping an eye on the storm.

Plus, tenants advocates were at the state capitol Wednesday morning calling for an eviction moratorium and rent relief funding for those economically affected by the presence of thousands of federal agents.

Plus, a new exhibition is showcasing 3,000 years of Chinese artwork that features the horse.

The year of the horse has officially begun after Tuesday’s Lunar New Year marked the end of the year of the snake. Lunar New Year is a holiday celebrated by many Asian cultures across the world. Each year is tied to a specific zodiac animal as well as one of five elements.

2026 is the first time in 60 years that we are welcoming the year of the fire horse. To usher in this new era, a new exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Art showcases the significance of the horse across 3,000 years of Chinese art.

The exhibition, “Year of the Horse: Hoofbeats Through Time” opened Wednesday and will be open through Aug. 30.

Curator Liu Yang joined Minnesota Now to talk about the exhibition.

In a new series, Minnesota Now is airing the voices of people who have been hiding in their homes due to fear of arrest, detention or deportation during Minnesota’s federal ICE surge. We asked them to send us voice memos for three days in a row, describing how they are spending their days.

L is a Mexican mother of two. We are not using her full name for her safety. She has not left her home in Northfield for several weeks. She told MPR News she is still in hiding, despite federal officials saying the ICE surge in Minnesota is ending. L still receives ICE watch messages with pictures of federal vehicles in Northfield nearly every day. She said even if the drawdown happens, she thinks she will feel afraid leaving her house forever.

Hear more voices from the series in our podcast feed or on our show page.