Minnesota Now

A recent raid on a construction site in St. Paul has alarmed neighbors and immigrant advocates.

ICE confirmed agents arrested four people who were working on a roof project on Thursday. A spokesperson for the agency said three of the four had criminal convictions but did not provide names or further information. MPR News has not independently verified those details.

At a vigil, immigrant advocates said arrests like these are creating a climate of fear. MPR News host Nina Moini talked to Merle Payne about how this moment is impacting people working in the Twin Cities who could be subject to immigration arrests. Payne is executive director of the worker advocacy group, CTUL.

Wednesday morning, security guards at Temple Israel in Minneapolis discovered the synagogue had been vandalized with what synagogue leaders are calling antisemitic rhetoric.

The vandalism at Temple Israel comes on the heels of a break-in at Alhikmah Islamic Center in Minneapolis on Tuesday. The week prior, there was a fire at the same mosque. Police are investigating whether the two mosque incidents are connected.

For more, MPR News host Nina Moini talked with Temple Israel Senior Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman and Jaylani Hussein, executive director of Minnesota’s Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Correction (Oct. 8, 2025): A previous version of this story misstated the day of the mosque break-in. The above version has been updated.

Tuesday marks two years since the beginning of the war in Gaza. Currently, there is a new round of peace talks between Israel and Hamas over a plan drafted by the U.S.  

The war began when Hamas militants stormed across the border, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. 48 hostages remain in captivity. Israel responded by launching an attack in Gaza, which has killed 67,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.  

College campuses have been a flashpoint for the war. On Tuesday, the University of Minnesota is both a place of protest and place for support for Jewish students.  

Rabbi Jill Avrin is the director of campus affairs for the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas. She spoke to MPR News host Nina Moini about working with Jewish students across the spectrum of political beliefs.

Soybean farmers are getting hit by the U.S. trade war with China. They could catch a break if the federal government moves forward with plans to send out billions of dollars in aid. We talked with an agricultural economist about what a bailout would mean for Minnesota growers.

It's been two years since the Hamas attack on Israel and the onset of war in Gaza. In the U.S., college campuses have been central to clashes in public opinion. We talked to a rabbi who is working for the University of Minnesota to support Jewish students who hold a wide range of views of the conflict.

We met a Minneapolis writer with roots in St. Paul. As a child in the 1960s, she watched Interstate 94 tear through her family’s historically Black neighborhood. Now, she's out with a new novel about a little girl having that same experience. It's called “The House on Rondo.”

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “No Water” by Libianca and our Song of the Day was “Never be the Same” by Sarah Morris.

It's been more than 60 years since the construction of Interstate 94 destroyed much of the historically Black St. Paul neighborhood known as Rondo. Minneapolis writer Debra J. Stone remembers visiting her grandparents as a child in Rondo every Sunday without fail. She even remembers playing in an enormous dirt pit from I-94 construction growing near their house. It was only when her grandparents' house was demolished that she realized the effect the interstate would have.

Debra wrote a novel about a little girl, not unlike herself at the time, grappling with the destruction of the Rondo neighborhood in 1963. The book is called “The House on Rondo,” and it is out Tuesday.

She spoke to MPR News host Nina Moini about her experience growing up visiting Rondo and her new book.

Debra will read from her new book at Black Garnet Books in St. Paul for a book launch event on Oct. 11.

As soon as Tuesday, the Trump administration is expected to announce a significant bailout package to help soybean producers and other farmers. President Donald Trump’s trade policies have had an outsized impact on farmers. China, the biggest buyer of U.S. soybean exports, isn’t buying any beans. It’s leaving Minnesota’s soybean farmers in a lurch.

Ed Usset is a grain market economist for University of Minnesota Extension. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini to explain why soybean farmers need government assistance and the potential impact of that federal aid.

The city of Minneapolis is celebrating its second annual Latino Business Week. But how has the city's Latino community been navigating business during the Trump administration's immigration actions? We'll hear from a restaurant owner and Minneapolis city council member Jason Chavez.

The Trump administration says Minnesota violated federal civil rights law. That's because the state allows transgender student athletes to compete in sports consistent with their gender identity. If Minnesota doesn't comply, the state could lose funding for education. We'll break it down with an education civil rights lawyer.

Plus, what's next for the Minnesota Vikings after they stay undefeated in London, with our sports contributors Wally and Eric.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “When I Was Younger” by WILD HORSES and our Song of the Day was “Autumn Almanac” by The Kinks.

Business owners and city leaders kicked off the second annual Minneapolis Latino Business Week. The city partnered with multiple community organizations to put on training events, mixers and a celebration highlighting the many businesses led by Latinos in the city. The recognition week comes amid a year of highly restrictive enforcement and efforts to limit both illegal and legal immigration by the Trump administration.

The heart of Latino Business Week is at Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis. One business owner, Wilin Castro, runs a restaurant there called Andy's Garage. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini along with Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez.

The Minnesota Vikings remain undefeated in London. They kept the streak alive Sunday with a comeback against the Cleveland Browns. Jordan Addison caught a touchdown pass from Carson Wentz with 25 seconds left in the game. That play made the final score 21-17.

The team has now played five regular season games in London, starting in 2013. It’s part of the NFL’s effort to grow its fan base in the United Kingdom.

Lynx player Napheesa Collier made national headlines when she called out WNBA leadership — specifically, league commissioner Cathy Engelbert. Now Collier has canceled a meeting with Engelbert that was scheduled after this dispute.

Joining MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about this plus other Minnesota sports news are contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson.

The Trump administration says Minnesota is in violation of Title IX due to a policy that lets transgender student athletes compete in sports consistent with their gender identity. Title IX is a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in programs that receive federal funding.

Administration officials say Minnesota must end its policy by Thursday or risk losing federal education aid. Previously, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has argued that the policy is consistent with Minnesota’s human rights laws.

Joining MPR News host Nina Moini to break this down is Jessica Heiser, a Minnesota-based education civil rights lawyer with Imprint Legal Group.