Minnesota Today

New state test data released Thursday, shows the majority of Minnesota students are below state proficiency standards in math, and just over half are proficient in reading - a sharp decline since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.  This is an evening update from MPR News hosted by Mike Mulcahy. Music by Gary Meister.

As the rest of Minnesota prepares for two weeks in the sun at the State Fair, Gerry Kulzer is preparing his parka, gloves and carving tools.

This is a morning update from MPR News, hosted by Cathy Wurzer. Music by Gary Meister.

Minnesota college students and graduates stand to benefit from a program announced by President Biden Wednesday. It will forgive up to $10,000 in federal student loans for most borrowers, and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. Those expected to benefit most include those who attended the state’s two year colleges and technical institutes. This is the afternoon MPR News update for August 24, 2022. Hosted by Kirsti Marohn. Theme music by Gary Meister.

Police at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport say they’ve found the family of an infant girl who turned up with a woman at one of the airport's light rail stations.

This is a morning update from MPR News, hosted by Cathy Wurzer. Music by Gary Meister.

The investigation continues after police say a 19-year-old man died from a self-inflicted gunshot Monday at a sporting goods store at the mall. Eden Prairie police say the man asked to see a semi-automatic handgun, then ran with it to another part of the store, loading and firing it one time. This is the MPR News afternoon update for August 23, 2022. Hosted by Peter Cox. Theme music by Gary Meister.

Authorities locked down the Eden Prairie Center mall on Monday night after a report of a gunshot fired in the building. Police said they found a man dead in the mall, but that there was no ongoing danger to the public.

This is a morning update from MPR News, hosted by Cathy Wurzer. Music by Gary Meister.

Copper nickel miners sue feds for revoking mineral leases near Ely and nurses picket at Hennepin Healthcare as nursing workforce issues continue to heat up across the state. This is an evening update from MPR News, hosted by Tim Nelson. Music by Gary Meister.

Hennepin County prosecutors contend that 56-year-old Jerry Arnold Westrom stabbed Jeanne Ann Childs dozens of times in a south Minneapolis apartment that she used for sex work. The 1993 case lay dormant for decades until forensic geneaologists allegedly matched a sample of Westrom's DNA from a napkin he discarded at a 2019 hockey game to DNA from the apartment.

This is a morning update from MPR News, hosted by Cathy Wurzer. Music by Gary Meister.

The city of Superior, Wisconsin has returned two sacred sites to the Fond du lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in a historic land transfer. The parcels include a burial ground at the end of Wisconsin Point, where nearly 200 Ojibwe people were exhumed in the early 1900s, and a mass grave site at a cemetery in Superior where the bodies were reburied.  This is the MPR News afternoon update for August 19, 2022. Hosted by Hannah Yang. Theme music by Gary Meister.

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter is proposing a 15 percent hike in the city's property tax levy in his 2023 budget. About half that jump comes from a change in how the city pays for street maintenance and street lights — shifting those costs from fees or assessments, to the general fund which comes from property taxes.

This is a morning update from MPR News, hosted by Cathy Wurzer. Music by Gary Meister.