A new crop of Christmas movies are made each year, but only a few become beloved classics that people look forward to re-watching around the holidays.

Stephanie Curtis, the movie maven, joined Angela Davis to discuss her favorite Christmas movies and why they stand the test of time.

Use the audio player above to listen to the program.

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

MPR News’ race, class and communities team focuses on covering issues that expand the narrative of what it means to be Indigenous, working class or a person of color in Minnesota.

MPR News senior reporter Riham Feshir and editor Laura Yuen join the program and share some of their most memorable stories from 2019. They include one about how substance abuse is stigmatized in the Muslim community; another on vocal training for transgender people, and a story about a former CIA worker who helped bring the Hmong to America.

Use the audio player above to listen to the program.

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

MPR News mental health reporter Alisa Roth spent 2019 in prisons, medical offices and in the homes of families to report on some of the most compelling mental health stories in Minnesota this year.

Some of her most memorable stories from 2019 cover telepsychiatry in prisons, the shortage of rural mental health care and the intersection between gun control and mental health.

She joined the program to talk about those stories and share what she wants to focus on in 2020.

Use the audio player above to listen to the program.

The stories heard are part of Call to Mind, an initiative from MPR to foster new conversations about mental health.

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

Updated: 2:43 p.m.

Ask a 'sotan is an occasional series exploring questions from curious Minnesotans about our state. Have a question about life in Minnesota? Ask it here.

Have you ever looked at a map and something didn’t look quite right? Like when a street ends where you didn’t expect to end? Or, a city that has a directional term in its name doesn’t match with its actual location?

That second query is one that MPR News listener Hal Davis pondered when he planned to pick up some food.

“I grew up in New York, and when living in Minneapolis, I tasted a Jersey Mike’s sub, and it brought back memories because it did capture, perfectly, the taste of a hero sandwich from the East Coast,” Davis said.

Later, Davis got a Jersey Mike’s coupon in the mail and wanted to use it so he could reconnect with a favorite food item from his youth.

“West St. Paul seemed to be the most logical place. So, I checked it on a map and was amazed to discover that West St. Paul seemed to be south of St. Paul,” he said.

And as many Minnesotans know on this one, the map doesn’t lie.

The answer to this geographical head-scratcher has to do with settlers and where the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers join in the metro area.

Kelly Swanson is a geography professor at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul. He notes that near that connection point, the Mississippi takes a big turn, thus creating a geographical quagmire.

“The river almost makes a horseshoe bend around St. Paul, what is now the west side of St. Paul today. And so, the left side of that river is actually to the south [of downtown St. Paul], even though it is to the left of the river and hence, it got the name on the west side, or West St. Paul,” Swanson said.

So, when you look at the map, the general land area where West St. Paul is situated comes to a point, and much of it is on the west banks of the river as it starts to flow south again after that big hook.

History The year downtown St. Paul '...

Nearly 18,000 patients have been certified for Minnesota’s medical marijuana program.

This number could soon grow. Minnesota regulators have unveiled plans to expand the state’s medical marijuana program by August 2020.

The state Health Department plans to grant patients more access to sites where medical marijuana can be purchased. This includes individuals dealing with chronic pain and age-related macular degeneration.

MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with Chris Tholkes, Dr. Kyle Kingsley and Jessica Hauser about the new legislation and what it will mean for the cost, accessibility and manufacturing of medical marijuana in Minnesota.

Guests:

Chris Tholkes, acting director of the office of medical cannabis at the Minnesota Department of Health

Dr. Kyle Kingsley, founder and CEO of Vireo Health and Minnesota Medical Solutions

Jessica Hauser, vice chair of Sensible Change Minnesota and mother of a medical cannabis patient

Use the audio player above to listen to the program.

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

The debate over the name change of Lake Calhoun to Bde Maka Ska is now before the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Justices will consider whether the Department of Natural Resources has the power to make that change. The lake was named for U.S. Vice President John Calhoun, who defended slavery.

Dakota public historian Kate Beane joined the Counter Stories team to discuss restoring Native American names to well known landmarks.

Beane has been one of the leading voices in the campaign to restore the Dakota name Bde Maka Ska. For Native Americans a name can give a sense of home and history, connecting people to the land and their ancestry. And it’s a step toward correcting the stories and practices that erased Indigenous people’s history and culture.

This episode’s co-hosts are:

Hlee Lee, owner of “the other media group”

Don Eubanks, associate professor at Metropolitan State University

Anthony Galloway, Art-Us

Marianne Combs, MPR correspondent

And guest Kate Beane, Flandreau Santee Dakota and Muskogee Creek and public historian

MPR News recently launched a new beat dedicated to Minnesota’s aging population.

Reporter Peter Cox spent the year looking at housing, employment, health care and quality of life issues that affect older Minnesotans and their families.

He joined the program to talk about those stories and share what he wants to focus on in 2020.

Use the audio player above to listen to the program.

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

MPR News education reporter Elizabeth Shockman spent her year in classrooms across the state.

Some of her most memorable stories from 2019 include a story about how racism affects student learning, how libraries build community and how one teacher turned a President Trump rally into a civics class.

She joined the program to talk about those stories and share what she wants to focus on in 2020.

During the first three years of life, children are building the circuits in the brain that will be the foundation for learning and emotional response throughout the rest of their lives.

To help parents nurture their children’s brains, HealthPartners has created a campaign called Little Moments that promotes playing, reading, talking and singing with infants and toddlers. That’s one of the ideas that host Angela Davis discussed recently with a panel of experts and a live audience in MPR’s UBS Forum in St. Paul.

Guests:

Dr. Judy Cameron is a neuroscientist at the University of Pittsburgh. She is a leading researcher in brain development.

Andre Dukes is the collaboration director for early childhood, Northside Achievement Zone, Minneapolis. This is an agency that works to end generational poverty in north Minneapolis by closing the achievement gap.

Mary Brainerd is the former CEO of HeathPartners and an advocate for early childhood education.

Use the audio player above to listen to the program.

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

In Minnesota, nothing stops cyclists — not even snow or negative-degree weather.

Winter biking is championed by many, but hard to understand for others.

Two brave, all-season bike commuters — Melissa Wenzel and Lori Klongtruatroke — say they ride for many reasons.

“We like a challenge. We definitely like being outdoors and not being locked indoors during the winter,” Klongtruatroke said. “It’s exercise, it’s a stress reducer, it’s a way to get in daily movement without really taking too much out of my daily life to go to a gym, in a car.”

A big part of making winter biking comfortable is having the right gear. The main requirements: warmth and safety. Klongtruatroke wears a snowboarding helmet she bought used for $8.

Your local bike shop can help outfit you with studded tires for traction in the snow and ice. There’s plenty of community online among winter bikers who share tips and tricks, too.

Plus, there’s a sense of freedom that comes with going car-free.

“There’s a lot more things you can do with the money if you sell your car and buy a bike,” Wenzel said.

Use the audio player above to hear tips and tricks on how to be safe (and warm) on the road and some advice for those who are curious about winter biking.

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