Environmental, conservation groups apply pressure on nitrate contamination in southeast Minnesota Environmental groups and concerned well owners in southeast Minnesota hope a lawsuit against the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Department of Agriculture will open up the rulemaking proces...

Environmental groups and concerned well owners in southeast Minnesota want to speed up meaningful regulation to mitigate high nitrate concentration, arguing it has a detrimental effect on human and ecological health.

Their son joined ISIS. Then they learned he had kids in a Syrian detention camp Years after their son left the U.S. to join ISIS, a Minnesota couple learned they had two young grandsons trapped in a Syrian desert camp. Bringing them home was complicated — and took years.

This is an incredible story.

History we don’t teach: Floyd’s murder an uneasy subject in Minnesota schools Minnesota was the epicenter of American history after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. But five years later, you’re unlikely to find it taught in Minnesota schools. Some teachers say...

“Many of Johnson’s peers around the state won’t touch the subject. Some educators and administrators say it’s too politically charged to tackle, and they fear a public backlash.” Via @eshockmanwrites.bsky.social

After a grueling year in the ICU and at George Floyd Square, an unexpected friendship More than a year after two epidemics — of COVID-19 and racial injustice — collided in Jeanette Rupert’s world, the nurse and social justice activist says she’s learned no one person can go it alone. I...

And there was this unexpected bright spot in those dark month. After hearing our story, Peggy Jones - a total stranger - reached out to Jeanette and invited her family to her up north cabin. The two have been friends ever since.

In the ICU and at George Floyd Square, one nurse fights two pandemics Nurse Jeanette Rupert is hard to keep up with. When she's not treating COVID-19 patients in the ICU, she's dispensing medical care at George Floyd Square, just blocks from where she was born and raise...

When I met Jeanette in 2020, she was an ICU nurse treating Covid patients and volunteering in George Floyd Square with her siblings.

With pictures from the wonderful Evan Frost.

Siblings reflect on 5 years of serving George Floyd Square and south Minneapolis Jeanette Rupert, Jeanelle Austin and Butchy Austin grew up around 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis and all took action in different ways following the murder of George Floyd. They shared ...

This update from Jeanette Rupert, one of the most remarkable people I met during the pandemic, has been a high point in my week.

Near the Twin Cities, a hermitage invites all to embrace the silence In the Isanti County woods, austere cabins at the Pacem in Terris center offer visitors silence, solitude and simplicity. Some people have profound spiritual experiences, some struggle with the silenc...

Would do (might not last a day).

Via @mprnews.org’s Dan Gunderson.

Minnesota lawmakers fail to finish budget on time, head toward special session The Legislature limped to session finish as overtime beckons. Most of the budget is yet to be complete.

Less than 10 percent of the Minnesota budget fell into place prior to the end of the Legislature’s 2025 session, forcing lawmakers into an overtime period with plenty to sort out before they can complete their must-do task.

Twin Cities conservative and liberal college students try not to stay in their lanes For the last year, a group of conservative and liberal college students have been meeting monthly to talk politics. The result? New friendships and new perspectives.

“Is it possible that a fairly liberal school and a fairly conservative school could sit down at the table and learn to have constructive and civil conversations together about the world?"

These students have spent the last year finding out…

U of M shuts down research center plagued by plagiarism allegations The school announced the closure of the Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity one day after its founder, Rachel Hardeman, departed.

Prof. Rachel Hardeman announced last month that she was resigning from the University, a process she said had been in the works for months before plagiarism accusations were made public. She criticized the U’s decision to shutter the center.

In Duluth, a controversial condo proposal brings out both NIMBYs and YIMBYs The Duluth City Council votes Monday on a controversial housing development project. It pits NIMBYs or "Not In My Backyard" opponents against so-called YIMBYs or “Yes In My Backyard,” who advocate for...

A controversial housing project in Duluth is pitting NIMBYs or "Not In My Backyard" opponents against yes-leaning YIMBYs who advocate for new housing. The Duluth City Council votes Monday on the housing development.

Viral video of racial slur incident sparks calls for legal action in Rochester In a video that’s gained national attention, a Rochester woman called a Somali American child a racial slur on a playground at a public park. Leaders of the Black and Somali American communities in Ro...

Leaders of the Black and Somali American communities in Rochester are calling for legal action after a video surfaced online of a Rochester woman calling a child a racial slur on a playground.

Schools across Minnesota face ‘reckoning’ as they struggle to close budget gaps Minnesota schools are facing budget shortfalls and staffing cuts as they face inflation, uncertainty from possible federal cuts and the rising costs of recent state legislation.

“A recent survey of more than 50 metro-area school districts showed the vast majority expect budget shortfalls for the upcoming academic year. Some rural and suburban districts are also struggling to close gaps.”

For the last week and a half I’ve been looking into how the U of MN handled plagiarism allegations against one of its most decorated professors. Read and listen below 👇

Longtime All Things Considered host Tom Crann returns to classical music roots The longtime host of All Things Considered on MPR News is returning to his roots in classical music radio. Tom Crann, who has served as regional host of the station’s flagship evening news program for...

Big news for @mprnews.org! Tom is one of the kindest and funniest journalists I’ve had the pleasure to work with… good thing he’s just heading upstairs to Classical 🎶 Onward and upward, Tom!

Influential U of M public health professor resigns amid plagiarism allegations Rachel Hardeman’s work catapulted her to prominence following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. A St. Louis researcher, however, says Hardeman copied her work. Hardeman denies it. A University of Mi...

The announcement came four days after a former protégé and colleague posted on LinkedIn that U of M Prof. Rachel Hardeman poached her work and passed it off as her own.

With reporting help from Matt Sepic.

This story from @elliemroth.bsky.social is a must read.

Low income housing around the state have serious problems that go unrepaired. Ellie’s investigation found that housing shortages mean city leaders are hesitant to hold landlords accountable.

MSU Mankato student detained by ICE President Edward Inch notified students and faculty with a campus-wide email about the detainment on Monday afternoon. No reasons were given for the student’s detainment.

JUST IN: Minnesota State University, Mankato said in an email Monday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehended a student at an off-campus residence.

University of Minnesota says ICE detained a graduate student U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials Thursday detained a University of Minnesota graduate student at an off-campus residence. The international graduate student was enrolled at the scho...

The international graduate student was enrolled at the school’s Twin Cities campus, according to the email sent Friday evening.

She’s a rabbi. He’s a Palestinian peace activist. They’re trying to start a movement A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has ended. But even as peace in the region seems out of reach, a group of Twin Cities Palestinian peace activists and Jewish people have continued to meet ...

A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has ended. But even as peace in the region seems out of reach, a group of Twin Cities Palestinian peace activists and Jewish people have continued to meet and have difficult conversations.

Especially proud of this one. Give it a listen.

COVID boosted efforts to track diseases in wastewater Before the COVID pandemic, wastewater sampling wasn't routinely done for public health purposes. But as the case number climbed scientists and public health officials saw the value of getting a sneak ...

Wastewater sampling wasn't routinely done for public health purposes before the COVID pandemic, but as case numbers climbed, scientists and public health officials saw the value of getting a sneak peak of where the virus was spreading — and where the next hot spot might be.

In Rochester, a new program helps students’ families avoid eviction In many cases, the cycle of homelessness can start with an eviction. Kids with unstable housing struggle to learn in school. So a new program in Rochester is preventing evictions from ever happening t...

In many cases, the cycle of homelessness can start with an eviction. Kids with unstable housing struggle to learn in school. So a new program in Rochester is preventing evictions from ever happening to kids and their families.

Love is political? ‘Love is Blind’ Minneapolis season centers politics more than ever Production of season eight took place in early 2024 while primaries were still underway for the presidential election. During the pods, participants had in-depth conversations about the LGBTQ+ communi...

Never watched Love Is Blind before, probably won’t again.

But it sure did raise some interesting questions for Talking Sense.

(Audio only, writing from @mprnews.org LIB experts @samstroozas.bsky.social and Feven Gerezgiher).

COVID in Minnesota: Five years in five graphs The COVID-19 pandemic upended life in Minnesota and across the country in March 2020. Schools and businesses closed. Hospitals nearly reached a breaking point as deaths and hospitalizations leaped. Fi...

The COVID-19 pandemic upended life in Minnesota and across the country in March 2020. Schools and businesses closed. Hospitals nearly reached a breaking point as deaths and hospitalizations leaped. Five charts show different ways in which the pandemic shaped us.

You can catch the second half of my interview with Osterholm on @mprnews.org’s All Things Considered broadcast tonight.

TL/DR: He’s got some different worries about public health now.

We will have stories throughout the week marking COVID’s gruesome five year anniversary.

Osterholm predicted a pandemic for years. Then the battle against COVID-19 became personal Five years ago, news of a fast-spreading respiratory virus was making headlines in the United States. In Minnesota, public health expert Michael Osterholm was keeping close tabs.

Today, it’s very hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic started five years ago. It didn’t end fast and millions did die.

As part of our 5 year coverage at @mprnews.org, I talked to Michael Osterholm. He’d predicted a pandemic for years… and then it became personal.

“If it is over fast, millions of people will have died.”

As if on cue, my phone pinged with an email alert from the Walz admin: Schools would be closed for a few weeks.

Suddenly, something that felt far away was very close.

🧵5-ish years ago, I was at a dinner party with a bunch of doctors. We mostly talked about this coronavirus (we didn’t really have a name for it yet) that had made its way from China to the U.S.

Their anxiety was palpable. I remember saying to one “well, maybe it will be over fast.”

Her answer….

At Welch Village, people living with disability learn courage through skiing For decades, people living with disabilities have hit the slopes at Welch Village ski resort. They ski, they snowboard and enjoy being outside — all as students in the Courage Kenny adaptive ski progr...

The Courage Kenny adaptive skiing program has been teaching people living with disabilities downhill sports for decades. A few weeks ago, they let me tag along.