Minnesota Today

Gov. Tim Walz activated the National Guard today for cyber protection assistance in response to a cyberattack on the city of St. Paul.

Parts of western Minnesota -- including Stevens County -- experienced flash flooding last night as another round of severe storms moved across the region.

Those stories and more in today’s evening update. Hosted by Jacob Aloi. Music by Gary Meister.

The driver who killed two people and injured 12 while driving drunk into the patio at Park Tavern in St. Louis Park last September was sentenced to 30 years in prison Monday. Steven Bailey pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree murder and three counts of criminal vehicular operation in May.

The storm front that blew through the state overnight will fuel more storms later today.

This is an MPR News Evening update, hosted by Jacob Aloi. Theme music is by Gary Meister.  

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State Sen. Nicole Mitchell has resigned, 10 days before she'd initially announced, following her conviction for breaking into her stepmother's home. Mitchell, a DFLer who represents Woodbury, initially said after her conviction last week that she would step down Aug. 4.

The Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed Amir Locke during a no-knock raid in 2022 will no longer lead use of force training for the department.

In record numbers, mosquitoes are testing positive for West Nile virus in all seven counties of the Twin Cities metro.

This is an MPR News Evening update, hosted by Gracie Stockton. Theme music is by Gary Meister.  

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or RSS. 

Derrick Thompson was sentenced Thursday to 58 years for killing 5 women in high-speed crash. In June, a Hennepin County jury found Thompson guilty on all charges, including five counts of third-degree murder and 10 counts of criminal vehicular homicide.

Officials say they've found the body of a missing Wisconsin graduate student in the Mississippi River.

Nearly six weeks after the political assassination of Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband -- and targeting of other lawmakers -- state legislators will get financial help to improve their safety.

This is an MPR News Evening update, hosted by Gracie Stockton. Theme music is by Gary Meister.  

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or RSS. 

Beginning Wednesday, Minnesota will offer rewards in missing and murdered Indigenous persons cases. The office of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives will offer rewards of up to $10,000 in eligible cases. Rewards will be offered in cases open with a law enforcement agency and the MMIR office

Heavy rain has been sweeping across Minnesota Wednesday, with reports of up to a foot of water over roads in Ely and a number of flood watches and warnings in effect through Thursday morning. The National Weather Service reminds folks to avoid putting yourself in peril by driving on flooded roads.

This is an MPR News Evening update, hosted by Gracie Stockton. Theme music is by Gary Meister.  

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or RSS. 

Twin Cities public television, or TPT, is laying off some of its staff. In an email to employees Tuesday, President Sylvia Strobel said, “Due to the loss of federal funding, we have made the decision to reduce our staff.”

The email did not say how many people were let go. It said those impacted were notified Tuesday morning and their last day is Wednesday. Last week, Congress approved a recission bill that cut 1.1 billion dollars from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

In Minneapolis, racial justice and police accountability leaders are criticizing city leaders for promoting a police officer who shot and killed a young man during a no-knock raid in 2022. Sgt. Mark Hanneman became a trainer several months after he shock Amir Locke, who was sleeping at an apartment when police burst in.

A jury in Minneapolis has convicted two more members of the Highs street gang of racketeering. The men are among more than 100 defendants charged in a federal anti-gang effort.

The chair of the Metropolitan Council, a long-time transportation leader in the state, will step down in September.

More than a dozen people called for the shutdown of the Hennepin County trash incinerator outside a Hennepin County Board of Commissioners committee meeting Tuesday.

State Sen. Nicole Mitchell is due to be sentenced Sept. 10 following her burglary conviction. The first-term DFLer was found guilty on a pair of burglary charges last week. They stemmed from a 2024 break-in at her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home.

Hundreds of clinic workers at Essentia Health locations return to work Wednesday after a two-week strike. Nurses at several Twin Ports-area clinics are negotiating their first union contracts and they say Essentia is bargaining too slowly. Essentia has agreed to add more bargaining dates.