Minnesota Today

The Minnesota House voted down a bill Monday night that would have prohibited transgender athletes from participating in girls sports. The bill sought to define who can be considered female based on their reproductive capacity. It also sought to restrict anyone who doesn’t meet that definition from playing on girls sports teams.

Voting ends March 11 for the special election that will determine whether Republicans have a majority in Minnesota House or if the chamber will be tied. The district includes the cities of Shoreview and Roseville. A Democrat won the seat in November, but he was disqualified on residency grounds. Republican Paul Wikstrom was the Republican candidate then and now. David Gottfried is the Democratic candidate this time.

Those stories and more in today’s morning update.

President Donald Trump's plan to apply 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican exports is set to begin tomorrow, and a bill that would postpone the launch of Minnesota's paid family and medical leave program is advancing.

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

The Minnesota House will take up a bill Monday that would ban transgender athletes from participating women’s and girls youth sports. The plan would prohibit trans women and girls from playing on elementary or secondary level athletic teams. Opponents note the state high school league has let athletes choose teams that best align with their gender identity for a decade.

Gov. Tim Walz isn’t ruling out a presidential run in 2028. In an interview with David Remnick on the New Yorker Radio Hour on Sunday, Walz said Democrats need to find a candidate with the right set of skills as their next presidential candidate.

The National Institutes of Health has slashed billions of dollars in overhead costs tied to grant-funded research. The move is prompting uncertainty for cancer researchers at the University of Minnesota. A federal judge temporarily blocked the NIH’s plan to cap indirect costs, but the change could have far-reaching effects on cancer treatments and clinical trials for patients.

Those stories and more in today’s morning update.

An infectious disease expert says it's concerning that federal officials canceled a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee meeting scheduled for next month to select the strains to be included in next season's flu shot.

And PRISM, a Golden Valley-based food shelf, needs to come up with an additional $30,000 that was originally promised by the USDA to buy food from local farmers and other sources. Otherwise, it’ll have to pull the money from its reserves.

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

Minnesota state government leaders say programs that operate with federal funding have faced disruptions. Programs run by the departments of commerce, natural resources and agriculture are among those where federal funding awards are currently inaccessible. State leaders say the situation has been fluid, with the status of funds changing from day to day or the actions by the Trump administration too vague to determine what will come next.

Arctic Cat in Thief River Falls says it will lay off 385 employees. Textron, the parent company of the snowmobile and outdoor vehicle maker, will begin layoffs May 8.

Those stories and more in today’s morning update.

The Minneapolis City Council this morning overrode Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto of a plan to pursue a pedestrian-only plaza at George Floyd Square, and Red Wing Public Schools canceled a Black History Month event where Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison was scheduled to speak.

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

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter announced Wednesday the city will join San Francisco in taking legal action against President Donald Trump. The city said an executive order from the president threatens to withhold over 200 million dollars in federal funding because of St. Paul's immigration policy.

Carter says St. Paul's ordinance prohibits city employees from asking about immigration status. Carter called the withholding of federal funds unlawful over what he says is an unlawful political demand.

The Department of Justice has charged a Maplewood man with using AI technology to produce sexual abuse images of children in his care, as a school district employee from 2021 until last month. He remains in custody, pending a formal detention hearing early next month.

A week after a Minnesota woman working with the U.S. Forest Service in Colorado was let go, she now says she’s been rehired.

Those stories and more in today’s morning update.

Gov. Tim Walz says he's staying out of Minnesota's U.S. Senate race, and the city of Minneapolis is moving ahead on plans to redevelop the site where a Kmart store has blocked Nicollet Avenue for nearly 50 years.

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

All Minnesota GOP lawmakers in Congress joined their fellow Republicans in voting for a budget framework that includes $2 trillion in spending cuts. While it doesn’t specify the programs, Republicans have targeted Medicaid and food aid programs.

Tribal leaders are asking members of Congress to address funding concerns and uphold federal government’s treaty obligations to tribes. Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Secretary-Treasurer Leonard Fineday testified to a House Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday afternoon.

A new report released Wednesday by the Minnesota Chamber Foundation found that nearly 60 percent of the state’s total labor force and employment growth came from foreign-born workers from 2019 to 2023.

Those stories and more in today’s morning update. Hosted by Gracie Stockton.

Rideshare drivers in Minnesota would be able to unionize under a bill state lawmakers plan to introduce, and warm temperatures and a dwindling snowpack have forced organizers of this year's John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon in northeast Minnesota to move the starting location.

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