Laurie Putnam is the superintendent of St. Cloud Public Schools, and the first woman to lead the district. 

Her husband, Aric Putnam, is a DFL state senator, representing District 14, which includes St. Cloud. 

Together, they’re navigating politics, education, family life and the challenges of leading in the public eye.

MPR News host Angela Davis revisits another conversation in her Power Pairs series. She talks with the Putnams about how they support each other and why they picked careers that serve their community.

MPR News host Angela Davis revisits a conversation she had with a brother and sister who are both award-winning storytellers. They talk about their work and how they support each other as part of our MPR News Power Pairs series.

Guests:

• Daniel Bergin is a filmmaker, executive producer and director of history at Twin Cities PBS, where he was hired more than 30 years ago as a production assistant. He has won more than 20 regional Emmy Awards for his films covering diverse topics rooted in Minnesota history, including “Jim Crow of the North,” “North Star: Minnesota’s Black Pioneers,” and “Out North: MNLGBTQ History.” 
• Lea B. Olsen is a veteran TV analyst who has covered the Minnesota Lynx and is a sideline reporter for the Minnesota Timberwolves. She also covers both the boys’ and girls’ state high school basketball tournaments. Beyond the court, Lea is a professional speaker and the founder of Rethink the Win — a platform that challenges athletes, coaches and parents to see sports as a powerful tool for growth, connection and lifelong impact.

Listen to all the conversations in our Power Pairs series.

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Some say religion and politics don’t mix. But they do in the lives of couple Marcia Zimmerman and Frank Hornstein.

Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman is the senior rabbi at Temple Israel in Minneapolis.   

Frank Hornstein served for 22 years in the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing neighborhoods near downtown Minneapolis and Lake of the Isles before stepping down in early 2025.

They have raised three children together and supported each other in their individual callings through more than four decades of marriage.

MPR News host Angela Davis revisits Power Pairs conversations from 2025 this week, starting with a conversation about faith, politics and the importance of strong relationships — in marriage and community.

Guests:

• Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman is the senior rabbi at Temple Israel in Minneapolis. 
• Frank Hornstein served as a DFL representative from District 61A in the Minnesota House of Representatives for 22 years until deciding in 2024 not to seek reelection.

Listen to all the conversations in our Power Pairs series.

Do you know a 'Power Pair? Send us your suggestions.

Only six percent of Americans follow a vegetarian diet, according to a Statistica poll. And even fewer follow a strict vegan lifestyle, avoiding all animal products in food and clothing.

But many people are starting to incorporate more plant-based foods into their diets, often for health reasons and out of a concern for the environment.

More vegan and vegetarian options are going mainstream. Think about “meatless Mondays” or the Impossible Burger. Don’t want cow milk? Your local grocery store’s dairy case probably carries milk made from oats, soybeans, rice, almonds, coconuts or cashews.  

MPR News host Angela Davis revisits a conversation she had about what it means to be vegan or to follow a mostly plant-based diet. What makes people decide to do it? Are there health benefits or health hazards? Can you get the protein and nutrients your body needs without eating animal products?

Guests:

• Jacque Reid is the founder of the “Vegan Sexy Cool” brand, which includes a digital lifestyle magazine and a podcast. She is also an Emmy-award winning journalist. She co-hosts the “Reid This/Reid That” podcast with former MSNBC host Joy Reid. She previously hosted lifestyle TV shows on NBC affiliates in New York and Boston and was the lead news anchor for “CNN Headline News” and the “BET Nightly News.”   
• Megan Baumler is an assistant professor and director of the Nutrition and Dietetics Program at St. Catherine University in St. Paul. She is a licensed and registered dietitian nutritionist. 

As winter settles across Minnesota — when lakes freeze, snow quiets the land, and nights stretch long — many Indigenous communities enter a season of storytelling.

It’s a time to gather indoors and share stories that carry history, teachings and connection, passed carefully from one generation to the next.

MPR News guest host Leah Lemm talks with two Native storytellers about the significance of storytelling in our lives, particularly during the darkest days of the year.

Guests:

• Hope Flanagan is is a storyteller and teacher who works at Dream of Wild Health, a Minneapolis nonprofit organization that recovers and shares knowledge of Indigenous foods, medicines and ways of life. Stories were passed to her from Ona KingBird from Red Lake reservation. She comes from the Turtle Clan, from the people of Tonawanda, Seneca Reservation.

  
  

  Teresa Peterson is an avid gardener and author of several books, including "Grasshopper Girl," "Voices from Pejahutazizi: Dakota Stories and Storytellers," and "Perennial Ceremony." She is Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota and a member of the Upper Sioux Community.

Millions of dollars for homeless services in Minnesota are up in the air after the Trump  administration proposed changing the rules for housing programs that helped people get off the streets.   

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to shift money away from long-term housing programs that provide services.   

Instead, more federal money would go toward breaking up homeless encampments and to short-term shelters with work requirements and mandatory addiction treatment.  

Critics warn this could force thousands of Minnesotans back into living in their cars, onto friends’ couches or onto the streets — including people who have relied on supportive housing for years.

On Dec. 19. a judge temporarily halted the administration’s proposals, creating more uncertainty. 

MPR News guest host Catharine Richert talks with her guests about what helps people move into permanent homes and how federal policy shifts could affect Minnesotans.

Guests:

• Chris LaTondresse is the president and CEO of Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, one of Minnesota's largest nonprofit providers of supportive housing for families, single adults and youth who have experienced homelessness. He previously served as a Hennepin County Commissioner and chaired the Hennepin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority.
• LeAnn Littlewolf is the executive director of the American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO) in Duluth. The nonprofit organization runs Gimaajii Mino-Bimaadizimin, a community center with supportive housing for women and children. She is a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and previously worked with the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless.  

From shorebirds to warblers to backyard regulars, the Great Lakes region is a critical stopover for millions of birds every year.

MPR News guest host Catharine Richert talks about winter birdwatching, how to attract birds to your yard and how to make birding more welcoming to more people.

Guest:

• Dexter Patterson is the co-founder of the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, an organization dedicated to making birding more accessible and inclusive for people of color. He also co-hosts The Bird Joy Podcast and is the author of the book, “Birds of the Great Lakes."

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Many of us think about, talk about and chase happiness. But it can be elusive and surprisingly complicated.

MPR News guest host Catharine Richert talks with a philosopher who says happiness — at least the way we usually think of it — is really just a feeling that comes and goes. She says what truly matters is flourishing — living in a way that reflects our values, our relationships and the kind of person we’re trying to become.

Guest:

• Valerie Tiberius is a professor of philosophy at the University of Minnesota. She is also the author of “What Do You Want Out of Life? A Philosophical Guide to Figuring Out What Matters.”

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.     

From local Nutcrackers to community choir concerts, ‘tis the season for holiday shows put on by your friends and neighbors.

Across Minnesota, stages are booked with theater, dance and music performances — and many of the people in the spotlight aren’t even paid professionals.

They’re adults with day jobs who rehearse after dinner, all for the joy and community they find in amateur arts groups.

MPR News guest host Catharine Richert talks about what tapping into your inner performing artist does for your own well-being and how these local productions enrich our communities.

Guests:

• G. Phillip Shoultz III is the associate artistic director of VocalEssence and works with several of the organization’s non-professional choruses. He also oversees music at Westwood Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, is an adjunct member of the music faculty at the University of St. Thomas and is artistic director of Sing Democracy 250, which is organizing choir performances next year in all 50 states to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. 
• Dylon Starr is the director of Disney’s “Frozen” at the Rochester Civic Theatre and has acted and directed in other community theaters in southeastern Minnesota. He’s also director of programming and music at Peace United Church of Christ in Rochester.  

Two mass shootings over the weekend left communities in two countries shaken. Two gunmen killed 15 people at a Hanukkah Festival in Australia and dozens remain hospitalized.

MPR News guest host Catharine Richert talks about what we know about the shootings, what research says about patterns in mass violence and what these attacks mean for communities processing fear and grief.

Guests:

• James Densley is professor and department chair of criminology and criminal justice at Metro State University and co-founder of the Violence Prevention Project Research Center at Hamline University. 
• Jillian Peterson is a professor of criminology and criminal justice, director of the forensic psychology program and executive director of the Violence Prevention Project Research Center at Hamline University. 
• Rabbi Adam Stock Spilker is the senior rabbi at Mount Zion Temple in St. Paul.