Minnesota Now

Two professional women’s volleyball leagues recently announced they are coming to Minnesota. Major League Volleyball and League One Volleyball will launch teams in 2027. But it won’t be the first time Minnesota has had a professional women’s volleyball team.

In 1987, a brand-new professional women’s volleyball league brought the Minnesota Monarchs to the state. The league fell apart halfway through the season in 1989 due to financial problems. But while it lasted, the Monarchs had a steady fanbase.

Former Monarch Annie Adamczak-Glavan is a coach and director of Club 43, a youth volleyball club based in Hopkins. She joined MPR News host Chris Farrell to share more about the Monarchs and what she thinks about the new leagues.

Belém, Brazil hosted this year’s United Nations climate conference, which wrapped up last weekend.

More than 50,000 people attended COP30. Even though representatives of the United States government were absent, a few Minnesotans were there, including students from a class at the College of St. Benedict and Saint John’s University.

St. Ben’s juniors Ella Chiroux and Abby Robinson joined MPR News host Chris Farrell to share about their experience.

Much of the state is under a winter storm warning through Wednesday morning. The forecast has shifted to include more snow hitting the Twin Cities metro.

This comes at one of the busiest travel weeks of the year with Thanksgiving. MPR News host Chris Farrell spoke to MPR News meteorologist Mandy Thalhuber for an update on the forecast and MnDOT spokesperson Anne Meyer, who shared advice on how to drive in winter weather.

Whether you're the kind of shopper who will line up at the big box stores for Black Friday or if you like to keep it low-key with a few small businesses, chances are holiday shopping feels slightly different this year.

Due to tariffs, rising costs and overall economic uncertainty, shoppers may be more hesitant to spend this holiday season. Projections for Minnesota-based retailer Target show a challenging outlook for the holiday season. MPR News has reported on multiple small businesses that have been affected by the tariff rollercoaster.

Bruce Nustad, the president of the Minnesota Retailers Association, joined MPR News host Chris Farrell to break down these trends.

President Donald Trump has called to eliminate temporary protected status to Somali migrants in Minnesota. We'll break down how this could impact Minnesota's Somali community with an immigration lawyer.

At 22, Kristin Collier learned her mother had taken out more than $200,000 of loans in her name without her consent. She wrote a book about the experience. We'll hear from her.

Plus, Waymo, the self-driving rideshare service, is coming to Minneapolis. But can it navigate our winter weather? A U of M researcher explains.

We'll get an update on the first winter snowstorm of the season ahead of Thanksgiving travel.

And it’s win or go home for Minnesota United in round two of the playoffs.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was in-memoriam of Jellybean Johnson, with the song “Jungle Love” by The Time. Our Song of the Day was “Jet Airliner” by Steve Miller Band.

President Donald Trump called to eliminate a program that provides what’s known as temporary protected status to migrants to the U.S. from Somalia. In a social media post on Friday, he linked Minnesota’s Somali population to a quote “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity” and alleged without proof that Somali gangs are terrorizing the state.

Minnesota is home to the largest population of Somali immigrants in the country. Joining Minnesota Now to explain temporary protected status and how this is affecting Minnesota is Julia Decker, the policy director at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota.

Waymo, the autonomous vehicle ride-sharing service, is currently on the streets of Minneapolis beginning testing. For now, there is a driver behind the wheel. But eventually Waymo wants you to take a ride with no driver.

Minneapolis would be one of Waymo’s first winter-weather markets and the company says it has been testing in winter conditions including the Sierra Nevada and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

MPR News host Chris Farrell spoke to Raj Rajamani, an autonomous vehicle expert at the University of Minnesota and Frank Douma, who researches autonomous vehicle policy at the University of Minnesota.

Some households, friend groups and workplaces in our region are divided over their feelings about Sunday night’s game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Vikings.

The Packers won 23-6 and quarterback J.J. McCarthy was sacked five times. McCarthy is in concussion protocol following the game.

As the Purple pick up the pieces, sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined Minnesota Now guest host Chris Farrell to talk about this and other sports headlines.

Minnesota’s first big winter storm system of the season is on its way. The timing isn’t great for Thanksgiving travel.

AAA predicts that across the Midwest, 5.8 million people will be driving for Thanksgiving. And there could be more winter weather as people travel home from Thanksgiving this weekend.

MPR meteorologist Sven Sundgaard spoke to Minnesota Now guest host Chris Farrell about which parts of the state could see the most snow and the best time to hit the roads to avoid bad conditions.

It’s a given for many college students that they’ll begin their adult lives with student loan debt. For the author of a new memoir, the experience was extreme.

At 22 years old, Kristin Collier walked into a bank to apply for a credit card. She walked out with the knowledge that somehow, she already owed more than $200,000. Her mother had taken out the loans in her name, without her consent.

Collier confronts that debt — and the way debt shapes life in the United States — in the book, “What Debt Demands: Family, Betrayal and Precarity in a Broken System.”

She lives in Minneapolis and joined Minnesota Now guest host Chris Farrell to talk about the book.