A new exhibit opens at the Minneapolis Institute of Art Friday. The exhibit, called “Giants,” marks the first major showcase of the Dean Collection, owned by Swizz Beats and Alicia Keys. 

The show is organized by the Brooklyn Museum and highlights nearly 100 significant works by Black artists.  

Kimberli Grant is the curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Brooklyn Museum and Casey Riley is MIA’s chair of Global Contemporary Art. Both joined Minnesota Now to talk about the exhibit.

On Wednesday afternoon, state economic officials will present their important forecast. It’s the one that sets parameters for lawmakers building a new budget.

We already know the top line items: the state is on track to have a smaller cushion in the next budget than was previously predicted. And Minnesota could have a nearly $6 billion deficit in the budget two years down the road if lawmakers stay on the course they’re on now.

MPR News senior politics reporter Dana Ferguson joined Minnesota Now for an update.

Farmers know that the pressures of making it through unpredictable weather, crop or livestock disease and rural life make the job tough. LGBTQ+ farmers say they face additional struggles, like isolation from fellow agricultural workers. Some LGBTQ+ farmers are coming together to talk about it — and connect with each other.

This Saturday the state agriculture department and the University of Minnesota are hosting a conference called Ag for All in St. Cloud. It’s the first conference of its kind in Minnesota.

Emily Krekelberg is an organizer of the conference with the University of Minnesota and Michael Romanski is the owner of a chicken and sheep farm in Monticello. Both joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about the inaugural conference.

A winter storm is leaving behind a mess and high winds are still causing trouble in parts of the state. We get the latest on snow totals from MPR Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner and an update on hazardous road conditions in southern Minnesota from MnDOT.

President Donald Trump's address to Congress highlighted a stark partisan divide. We talk with our Gen-Z political panel about what they heard.

Plus, we check in with a fired federal worker from Minnesota who was in Washington for the address.

The executive director of a local organization providing support to the Horn of Africa talks about the impacts of cuts to foreign aid.

And let’s play hockey! A sports journalist and author shares the most memorable moments from the Boys State Hockey Tournament.

The Minnesota Music Minute was “Snow Days” by Trip Shakespeare and “Stuck Again“ by Diet Lite was the Song of the Day.

The U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday morning ordered the Trump administration to immediately pay $2 billion dollars owed to USAID contractors for work they have already done. But the ruling does not change the administration’s move to cut $60 billion dollars in aid delivered through the agency. Countries that would have received that aid are already feeling the impact.

Countries in the Horn of Africa, like Djibouti, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia, have seen projects that combat malaria, provide food assistance, health care and nutritional services close. Many countries in the region are facing famine and Sudan is in the middle of a civil war that has created the world’s largest and fastest displacement crisis.

Mohamed Idris is the executive director of Twin Cities-based American Relief Agency for the Horn of Africa, also known as ARAHA. The organization has field offices in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Sudan. He joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about the situation in the region.

The puck drops Wednesday on high school hockey's biggest stage, the Boys Hockey State Tournament. Downtown St. Paul is filled with high school hockey families who have driven from all corners of the state to compete. The annual tournament has a storied history that goes back to 1945.

The book “Tourney Time: Stories from the Minnesota Boys' State Hockey Tournament" by sports journalists David La Vaque and L. R. Nelson takes a year-by-year look at the tournament. Minnesota Now revisits a conversation MPR News host Tom Crann had with La Vaque in 2020.

In a speech Tuesday night that echoed his campaign rallies, President Donald Trump celebrated his first six weeks in office and the electoral win that came before. His words were punctuated by protests from Democrats and cheers from Republicans.

Trump won the popular vote by 1.5 percent over former Vice President Kamala Harris. His win was clear, but the results were close enough to reflect the strong divides in our country's politics.

In the series State of Democra-Z, Minnesota Now heard from a group of college-age voters from different points on the political spectrum throughout the presidential campaign. MPR News host Nina Moini checks in with them about the beginning of Trump’s second term and his address to Congress.

• Cori Stockard is a senior at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities and a Democrat.




• Addie Raum is a junior at St. Olaf College in Northfield and a conservative.




• Cory Hallada is a senior at St. Olaf College in Northfield and a Republican.

You didn't think we'd get through another Minnesota March without a doozy of a snowstorm, did you? Minnesotans across the state woke up Wednesday to several inches of cement-like snow on the ground. Minneapolis, St. Paul and the surrounding Twin Cities region declared snow emergencies and southern Minnesota saw blizzard conditions.

Gov. Tim Walz Wednesday morning authorized the Minnesota National Guard to support emergency winter storm operations and help rescue stranded drivers in Freeborn County. By noon, blowing snow was still causing problems on the roads in southern Minnesota. Several highways in the area were closed, including Interstate 90, and no travel was advised for most state highways in multiple southern Minnesota counties.

MPR News host Nina Moini talked with MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner for a closer look at the storm and what’s next. And Bryan Lillie, maintenance superintendent for MnDOT in south-central Minnesota, shares the latest on road conditions in his region.

While some Democratic lawmakers boycotted President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress Tuesday night, others invited former federal workers from their districts as guests to the speech. It was part of a wider campaign to protest the administration’s mass firings and funding cuts.

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar invited Chris Wicker as her guest. As part of the first round of layoffs by the Department of Governmental Efficiency, or DOGE, the Air Force veteran was fired as deputy director of Minnesota’s Small Business Administration Office last month. Wicker joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about his experience attending the speech.

Sloppy weather is on the way for much of the state. We break down what you need to know about a spring storm in the forecast.

An election one week from Tuesday will decide control of the Minnesota House. We learn about the candidates.

Our digital world uses a lot of electricity that has a real-world footprint. We have the latest on one proposed data center in Minnesota.

Parenting is costly, especially with just one income. We learn about a Minneapolis organization's strategy for helping single moms and their families get out of poverty.

Registration opened Tuesday for the Twin Cities marathon. With more people getting into distance running in recent years, we find out why the hobby is getting more competitive.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was ‘Love Me 2’ by Gully Boys and our Song of the Day was ‘Lost Time’ by Loud Mouth Brass.