Minnesota Today

The number of people canceling or not using their permit to visit the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness rose again in 2025. The U.S. Forest Service says more than 40 percent of permits for May 1 through September 30 last year were never used.

Depleted by injury, the Minnesota Timberwolves saw other players step up on Thursday to lift them to a first-round playoff series win over Denver. Now the battered Wolves face another tough test against San Antonio in the Western Conference semifinals starting Monday night.

Expect traffic delays on a busy central Minnesota highway over the next couple of months as a detour goes into effect starting Monday. That detour is along U.S. Highway 10 just east of Wadena. MnDOT says it's to allow crews to replace a culvert under the highway. It'll be a short detour to start, but that will be extended to a much longer route in early June as crews replace a second culvert. The detour will remain in place until early to mid-July.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey vetoed a pair of ordinances yesterday.

The average price of gas in Minnesota has now climbed above $4 a gallon amid the ongoing war in Iran and uncertainty about the Strait of Hormuz.

Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Kelly Bleyer. Music by Gary Meister.

A bill to make Minnesota’s bridges safer passed the House unanimously Thursday. The measure directs the Minnesota Department of Transportation to make a statewide plan to identify bridges with high suicide rates and incorporate suicide prevention in new bridges.

The judge presiding over the Feeding Our Future case is limiting convicted ringleader Aimee Bock’s access to confidential case documents after she allegedly directed her sons to send the files to reporters and elected officials.

As gas prices climb, drivers want to fill up at the gas station offering the cheapest gas. One south Minneapolis independent gas station with cheaper prices says it's seeing heavier traffic since the start of the war in Iran.

A document obtained by MPR News shows that dozens of Minneapolis police officers worked with a previously undisclosed Homeland Security Task Force last year, which city leaders say is not involved in immigration enforcement.

And Minnesota's unemployment rate stayed steady last month. The state added 800 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis between February and March, but fewer people were looking for jobs.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has upheld the first-degree premeditated murder conviction of Adam Fravel. Fravel was convicted in 2024 and sentenced to life in prison for killing Madeline Kingsbury of Winona. Kingsbury, who had two young children with Fravel, disappeared in 2023. Her body was found after a two-month search.

Three members of a Prior Lake family are facing federal charges for allegedly attacking a conservative influencer outside the Whipple federal building earlier this month.

A bill to help the financially troubled HCMC hospital and fill gaps left by federal cuts in Medicaid and food assistance passed the state Senate Wednesday afternoon.

And a citizens group is suing the northeastern Minnesota city of Hermantown to block a proposed Google data center.

Go deeper with the latest edition of the Minnesota Today newsletter.

From 2024: Adam Fravel sentenced to life in prison for murdering Madeline Kingsbury

Prior Lake family charged with assaulting conservative influencer at ICE protest

Citizens' group files lawsuit to block Google's proposed Hermantown data center

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More Medicaid fraud investigators remain in the mix for the state Attorney General's office.

And the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating after gunfire left one person dead and a police officer injured early this morning in Richfield.

Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

A DFL gun violence prevention package faces one last committee hurdle Wednesday in the Minnesota Senate.

Gov. Tim Walz delivered his final State of the State speech Tuesday. The two-term Democrat had plenty of support from members of his party as he listed off the changes his administration has ushered through.

A new health inequities analysis released Wednesday shows widespread racial and ethnic disparities persist in Minnesota.

Runoff from this week’s snowmelt and heavy rain continues to keep rivers running high in northeastern Minnesota. A flood warning goes into effect Thursday morning along the South Kawishiwi River near Ely.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz says today’s execution of search warrants at multiple locations across the Twin Cities is an example of state and federal agencies working together.

The federal Department of Homeland Security says the warrants are part of an ongoing criminal investigation related to fraud. The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families confirmed the operation, saying it stems from information it shared with state and federal law enforcement.

That story and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

A bill to allow pharmacists to prescribe and dispense drugs to treat opioid withdrawal passed the Minnesota House unanimously Monday. The Senate is considering similar legislation as part of a larger healthcare bill.

President Donald Trump signed legislation Monday that overturned a 20-year ban on mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. The Senate passed the bill by just one vote two weeks ago. It allows copper and nickel mines to now resume exploration and submit mine plans. It's a win for Twin Metals, which wants to open an underground mine near Ely.

North Dakota state legislator Liz Conmy died in a plane crash Saturday. Her family, friends and colleagues are remembering her as a mentor and “a source of joy.”

And a bill to help businesses affected by this winter's federal immigration crackdown is headed for a Minnesota Senate floor vote.

Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.