One in six American women has been the victim of a rape or attempted rape in their lifetime, but most survivors of sexual violence never report the assault to law enforcement. 

Although the public conversations of the “Me too” movement raised awareness of sexual harassment and rape, advocates in Minnesota say communities still downplay the harm caused by sexual assault, law enforcement can be too slow to respond and victims aren’t given enough support.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks about preventing sexual violence, improving services for survivors and why Black women and girls are especially vulnerable to sexual violence. The conversation includes an excerpt from an April 27 conversation with author and sexual assault survivor Roxane Gay.  

Guests: 

• Artika Roller is the executive director of the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault, a statewide network of organizations working to end sexual violence. 

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

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

Minnesota farmers have identified climate resiliency as their most pressing issue right now, according to the Minnesota Farmers Union. 

That’s why the union is launching its first of a series of agriculture and climate conversations on Tuesday.

MPR News host Angela Davis finds out how our state’s agriculture industry is adapting to extreme weather, such as droughts, floods and abundant snowfalls. 

Guests: 

• Heidi Roop is the director of the University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership. She’s also an assistant professor of climate science and an extension specialist for climate science and adaptation at the U of M. She’s the author of the recently released book, “The Climate Action Handbook: A Visual Guide to 100 Climate Solutions for Everyone.”




• Ariel Kagan is the Climate and Working Lands Program Director with the Minnesota Farmers Union. She has worked across sectors to support farmers, climate resilience and policy development. 




• Hannah Bernhardt and her family own Medicine Creek Farm, a 160-acre sustainable and regenerative grass-fed pork, beef and lamb farm in Finlayson, Minn. She’s also on the National Farmers Union’s Climate Change Policy Advisory Panel and she’s part of Minnesota’s Climate Land Leaders, an initiative among landowners that aims to address the climate crisis. 

  
  

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

When people who are incarcerated have access to education and other resources, they’re more likely to be successful when they come home to their communities.

More than 8,000 people are incarcerated in Minnesota correctional facilities and thousands more are in county jails and federal prisons in the state.

Coming up at 9 a.m. on Thursday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with the leaders and alumni of three programs that provide opportunity — and hope — to people behind bars. 

Guests: 

• Jennifer Bowen is founder and artistic director of the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop, which teaches creative writing and offers one-on-one mentorships in all the adult correctional facilities in Minnesota. 




• Antonio Williams is an alum of the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop and founder of Tone Up, an organization that helps formerly incarcerated people find a place back into their communities. 

  
  
  




• Sgt. Adam Hernke is program director at the Hennepin County Adult Detention Center where he oversees the HOPE program, which stands for “Helping Others by Providing Education.”




• Brittany Kallman Arneson is the executive director of Voices of Hope, a nonprofit organization that brings choral music to prisons.




• Ashleigh Casey sang with the Voices of Hope Choir at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee and has continued singing with alumni of the choir after her release.

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

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

Minnesota has a lot of grassroots groups getting into the grass and into the roots.

MPR News host Angela Davis speaks with two Minnesotans who are helping others experience the joys of the outdoors and the health benefits. 

Spending time in nature can improve mood, emotional health, mental health, attention and memory.

Getting outside doesn’t have to look like a week-long portaging trip, either.

A simple walk, sitting in your yard or even just looking outside can potentially have health benefits. 

Guests:

• Asha Shoffner is the environmental and outdoor education coordinator for Saint Paul Parks and Recreation. She’s the founder of Fiwygin Outdoors, an acronym for fit in where you get in (pronounced “fusion.”) The group is for people who are underrepresented in outdoor spaces. She’s also the founder of BIPOC Outdoors Twin Cities, a Facebook group of around 2,000 people who host outdoor experiences and workshops for BIPOC people in Minnesota. 

• Lynnea Atlas Ingebretson is the diversity, equity and inclusion officer at Girl Scouts River Valleys. She’s on Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources Advisory Committee and Minnesota’s Parks and Trails Legacy Advisory Committee. She spends her free time teaching cross-country skiing and snowboarding, and leading hikes year-round with the Loppet Foundation, Melanin In Motion and Girl Scouts.

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

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

When violence erupts, it creates a shock wave that impacts entire communities. The trauma embeds itself in both victims and perpetrators, and like a virus, often spreads and multiplies. How do we break the cycle?  

Last week, MPR News host Angela Davis sat down with community leaders for a live In Focus conversation. How does violent crime wound us, and how can we allow those wounds to heal? What are some new and creative strategies to inoculate communities from the contagion of violence. 

Listen to the discussion at 9 a.m on Tuesday.

Guests:

• Lynnaia Jacobsen works as the Neighborhood Safety Community Council manager in St. Paul’s Office of Neighborhood Safety, which was created in 2022.




• Isaac Russell is the chair of St. Paul’s newly launched Neighborhood Safety Community Council. He also serves as director of public policy at the Center for Economic Inclusion. 




• Darlene Fry is the executive director of Irreducible Grace Foundation, a St. Paul nonprofit focused on creating safe spaces with youth of color through mentoring, self-care practices and life skills. 

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

Do you have a particular food that reminds you of home? Maybe it’s your grandma’s spaghetti recipe, the lumpia your family used to make or the pozole from the Mexican restaurant down the street.

Food has the power to comfort us and connect us with our families and cultures. And when we find a restaurant that serves those familiar foods, it can make us feel more at home.

Listen back to a conversation from earlier this year, as MPR News host Angela Davis talks about two restaurants that did just that for many Minnesotans — Khyber Pass in St. Paul and Keefer Court in Minneapolis.

Both restaurants closed in late 2022. And they’re not the only ones: A handful of other longtime Asian-owned restaurants in the Twin Cities closed in 2022 — like Asia Chow Mein in Columbia Heights and David Fong’s in Bloomington.

The New York Times reported in 2019 the share of Chinese-owned restaurants in major metropolitan areas is on the decline. 

Guests:

• Michelle Kwan is the former owner of Chinese bakery Keefer Court in Minneapolis. Keefer Court closed in Dec. 2022.




• Emel Sherzad  is the former owner of the Afghan restaurant Khyber Pass in St. Paul. Khyber Pass closed in Nov. 2022. 




• Ánh-Hoa Thị Nguyễn is a poet and writer raised in St. Paul by parents from Vietnam. She’s worked in grocery stores and restaurants, and has written about the connection between food and cultural identity.

Parents, you’ve got a lot on your shoulders.

Many adults are worried about the mental health of kids and teenagers, the price of basic needs like food, and how to solve big problems like racial disparities and climate change.

All of these factors play a part in the well-being of our communities and families.

MPR News host Angela Davis speaks with two Minnesotans who support families and play a role in teaching communities how to create healthy, thriving families. The guests share different parenting strategies.

Guests: 

• Mi Yang is a district program facilitator with Minneapolis Early Childhood Family Education in Minneapolis Public Schools. She coaches and supports parent educators and early childhood teachers. She has taught parents and young children across various cultural and social-economic backgrounds since 2000. 




• Ann Gaasch has worked with children and families for more than 25 years. She’s currently the chief executive officer of FamilyWise, an agency that runs parenting education programs. She has a certificate in trauma effective leadership and has co-authored a grief support curriculum.

  
  

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

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

Spring allergies can sneak up on people. If you’ve been rubbing your eyes, sniffling and sneezing, you could be suffering from allergies. 

When spring comes to Minnesota, trees pop with pollen and melting snow releases mold spores into the air. Both of these are common allergens that can trigger an overactive immune system response. 

One in every four adults and one in five children have seasonal allergies, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For people with allergies, symptoms can also include a sore throat, coughing, fatigue and even wheezing for people who have allergy-triggered asthma. 

The good news is that there are plenty of ways to get allergies under control. And, that will only become more important as climate change lengthens the pollen season and makes some plants produce more pollen. 

MPR News host Angela Davis talks about what’s happening with allergies and how to manage symptoms. 

Guests: 

• Dr. Pramod Kelkar is an allergy and asthma specialist with Allina Health who practices in Blaine, Maple Grove and Woodbury. 




• Kenneth Mendez is president and CEO of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, a national patient organization for people with asthma and allergies, which is involved in support, advocacy, education, and research. 

  
  

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The Minnesota legislature has passed a bill that protects people who come to the state for gender-affirming care. Gov. Tim Walz is expected to sign that bill into law later this week. 

Minnesota joins Colorado, Illinois, Maryland and New Mexico, which have passed similar bills this year. 

Meanwhile, Minnesota’s neighbors — Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota — have banned gender-affirming care for minors, claiming that this kind of care causes irreparable harm. 

MPR News host Angela Davis speaks with one of the authors of Minnesota’s bill and a physician who provides gender-affirming care to children and teenagers. Plus, we hear from teenage transgender Minnesotans about why the gender-affirming bill matters to them. 

Guests:

• Dana Ferguson is a politics reporter with MPR News.




• Rep. Leigh Finke is a DFL lawmaker in the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing St. Paul. She is also the author of the trans refuge bill in the House of Representatives. 




• Dr. Angela Kade Goepferd is Medical Director of the Gender Health Program at Children’s Minnesota. They are also the system’s Chief Education Office. 

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

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

If you’re a high school or college student looking for a job, now is a good time to apply for one.

The pandemic has had lasting effects on jobs for pretty much everyone, and in some ways that has opened up opportunities for teenagers and young adults.

The unemployment rate for teenagers ages 16 to 19 was under 10 percent last summer, the lowest it has been since Nov. 1953. 

MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with guests who help teenagers and young adults find work. We talked about the job market for this age group and tips for how they can land jobs.

Job resources:

• CareerForce MN




• 218 Trades jobs




• ARCHS MN




• Elevate Futures

Guests: 

• Elena Foshay is the director of workforce development for the City of Duluth. Her agency is the lead partner at CareerForce in Duluth, which is part of a statewide career development and matching resource that works with employers and individuals, including teens and college students.

• Amanda Justen is the Minneapolis Public Schools program strategy manager at Achieve Twin Cities. The organization partners with that school district and Saint Paul Public Schools to help students plan for their careers and postsecondary education. 

• Chris Farrell is a senior economics contributor at Marketplace, American Public Media's nationally syndicated public radio business and economic programs. He’s also a senior economics contributor at MPR News.

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

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