North Star Stories

Honoring the 51st anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Eagan sues a data center, and Today is Veterans Day. ----- Executive Producer: Tracie Wells Collier Producer: Xan Holston Reader scripting: Tracie Wells Collier, Xan Holston  Image: Edmund Fitzgerald Lifeboat Displayed on Valley Camp (Museum), Soo Locks. [Image credit:  Gary Todd, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons] Audio credit: "Oh C...

Cities Church defendants push for dismissal, UMN wants help tracking ticks, and upcoming Veterans Day events. ----- Executive Producer: Tracie Wells Collier Producer: Xan Holston Reader scripting: Tracie Wells Collier, Xan Holston  Image:  Cities Church defendants outside federal court. [Image credit: Xan Holston] ----- For the latest episode drops and updates, follow us on social media.  instagra...

Tied elections leave two cities waiting for winners, more measles cases in Todd County, and St. Paul honors a lifesaver. ----- Executive Producer: Tracie Wells Collier Producer: Xan Holston Reader scripting: Tracie Wells Collier, Xan Holston  Image:  A part of Pipestone National Monument [credit: Public Lands Institute] ----- For the latest episode drops and updates, follow us on social media.  in...

A highway honors the Hortmans, early voting breaks a midterm record, and Duluth sends rotten ideas up in smoke. ----- Executive Producer: Tracie Wells Collier Producer: Xan Holston Reader scripting: Tracie Wells Collier, Xan Holston  Image: Unveiling the Hortman Memorial Highway [photo credit: Office of Governor Tim Walz] Audio credit: freesound.org ----- For the latest episode drops and updates,...

El concejo de la verdad presenta un informe preliminar, cientos de personas oponerse un proyecto de centros de datos en Hermantown, y los resultados de las elecciones de esta semana. The Truth Council presents a preliminary report, hundreds of people oppose a data center project in Hermantown, and the results of this week’s elections. ----- Productor/ Producer : Victor Palomino Voiceover/ Voiceove...

This week, we visit a new space for the Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum in Central Minnesota, and we reflect on the contributions of the many cultures and communities that contribute to the nation's military.  ----- Executive Producer: Victor Palomino Producers: Britt Aamodt Anchor: Victor Palomino, Britt Aamodt Reader scripting: Victor Palomino, Xan Holston Fact checking: Joel Glaser, Trac...

Razor-thin races, data center backlash, and voters remember Alex Pretti and Renee Good. ----- Executive Producer: Tracie Wells Collier Producer: Xan Holston Reader scripting: Tracie Wells Collier, Xan Holston  Audio credit: Somali TV Minnesota ----- For the latest episode drops and updates, follow us on social media.  instagram.com/ampersradio/ instagram.com/northstarstoriesmn/ Never miss a beat....

From races big and small, Minnesota election results roll in. ----- Executive Producer: Tracie Wells Collier Producer: Xan Holston Reader scripting: Tracie Wells Collier, Xan Holston  Image: Minnesota smashed its record of early voting in a midterm election [Image credit: Xan Holston]  ----- For the latest episode drops and updates, follow us on social media.  instagram.com/ampersradio/ instagram....

Today is election day! Plus, Minnesota’s Truth Council releases a preliminary report, and invasive spiny fleas infect a BWCA lake ----- Executive Producer: Tracie Wells Collier Producer: Xan Holston Reader scripting: Tracie Wells Collier, Xan Holston  Image:  Zooplankton, Cladoceran, water flea, Bythotrephes. July 2010. [Image credit: Photo by NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory is...

Panic disrupts a community market at Union Depot, Appleton’s prison sale raises questions over a massive price jump, and a guide to getting your vote counted. ----- Executive Producer: Tracie Wells Collier Producer: Xan Holston Reader scripting: Tracie Wells Collier, Xan Holston  Image:  Saint Paul Union Depot in Saint Paul, Minnesota. [Image credit: Photo by Michael Barera is licensed under CC BY...

A measles warning across Minnesota, a more inclusive place to play in Moorhead, and one last chance for Mankato’s jack-o’-lanterns to make a smashing impression. ----- Executive Producer: Tracie Wells Collier Producer: Xan Holston Reader scripting: Tracie Wells Collier, Xan Holston  Image: Don’t let your jack-o-lanterns rot on the steps — compost them at Mankato’s first ever pumpkin smash. [Image...

Unas escuelas se ven obligadas a recortar programas y puestos docentes. Y los cazadores de osos registran una de las mayores capturas en la historia del estado. Schools are forced to cut programs and teaching positions. And bear hunters record one of the largest harvests in the state's history. ----- Productor/ Producer : Victor Palomino Voiceover/ Voiceover : Natalia Toledo y Rito Ayala ----- Pie...

This week, we explore how scams work, how to recognize the warning signs, and what protections are available. We also look at how families can help safeguard the financial security of loved ones who may be especially vulnerable to fraud.  ----- Executive Producer: Victor Palomino Producers: Jules Yaeger Anchor: Victor Palomino, Britt Aamodt Reader scripting: Victor Palomino, Xan Holston Fact check...

Early midterm voting surges toward the state record, two men who said they’d expose voter fraud now faces felony charges, and don’t forget to set your clocks back Sunday. ----- Executive Producer: Tracie Wells Collier Producer: Xan Holston Reader scripting: Tracie Wells Collier, Xan Holston  Image:  Don’t forget to set your clocks back for daylight saving time this Sunday. [Image credit: Xan Holst...

After nine months, Alex Pretti’s parents speak out, Hermantown data center protesters break up a city council meeting, and luchadores take to the ring for Dia De Los Muertos. ----- Executive Producer: Tracie Wells Collier Producer: Xan Holston Reader scripting: Tracie Wells Collier, Xan Holston  Image:  Protesters shut down the Hermantown City Council meeting Moday. [Image credit: John Ramos, The...

Story description: Special education cuts could squeeze every Minnesota classroom, cattle thieves take a Bemidji farmer’s entire herd, and bats in Bloomington for Halloween. ----- Executive Producer: Tracie Wells Collier Producer: Xan Holston Reader scripting: Tracie Wells Collier, Xan Holston  Image:  A big brown bat [Image credit: Minnesota DNR] Audio credit: freesound.org  ----- For the latest...

Streamlined veterans’ services in Scott County, private rooms for people experiencing homelessness in St. Cloud, and wolf populations are down, but far from out. ----- Executive Producer: Tracie Wells Collier Producer: Xan Holston Reader scripting: Tracie Wells Collier, Xan Holston  Image:  Grey wolf diorama at the Bell Museum [Image photo credit: Xan Holston] Audio credit: National Park Service -...

Las comunidades rurales se enfrentan a una crisis en la atención hospitalaria, y un sacerdote da el primer paso hacia una posible santidad. Rural communities face a crisis in hospital care, and a priest takes the first step toward possible sainthood . ----- Productor/ Producer : Victor Palomino Voiceover/ Voiceover : Marisa Rueda, Rito Ayala ----- Pie de foto: Monseñor Joseph Buh podría convertirs...

A political row over a controversial streamer in Minneapolis, Twin Lakes’ City Council wants answers over a thrown rat, and the horns blow for UMN’s Homecoming. ----- Executive Producer: Tracie Wells Collier Producer: Xan Holston Reader scripting: Tracie Wells Collier, Xan Holston  Image: Goldy Gopher (2015) is located outside the University of Minnesota's Coffman Union. [image credit: Photo by Al...

New fights over the Google data center in Hermantown & the 2024 omnibus bill, plus Minnesota could get a new saint. ----- Executive Producer: Tracie Wells Collier Producer: Xan Holston Reader scripting: Tracie Wells Collier, Xan Holston  Image:  Monsignor Joseph Buh could become a Catholic Saint [Image credit: public domain/no credit needed] ----- For the latest episode drops and updates, foll...

This week, we explore what voters should know before casting ballots in the midterm elections, how accessibility shapes the voting experience for people with disabilities, and how to be an informed consumer of political media in the digital age.  ----- Executive Producer: Victor Palomino Producers: Jamad Jama Anchor: Victor Palomino, Britt Aamodt Reader scripting: Victor Palomino, Xan Holston Fact...

The fight between Cass County’s Sheriff candidates goes public, Mesabi Mines Iowa steel plant plan isn’t yet iron clad, and statewide symphonies “band together.” ----- Executive Producer: Tracie Wells Collier Producer: Xan Holston Reader scripting: Tracie Wells Collier, Xan Holston  Image:  A large crowd gathers at the Mesabi Metallics mine near Nashwauk to hear remarks from federal officials on S...

Nicole Amor’s husband questions Vice President J.D. Vance over the drone strike that killed his wife, Twin Lakes may get a new mayor — and then stop being a city, and a new “drill” for carving pumpkins. ----- Executive Producer: Tracie Wells Collier Producer: Xan Holston Reader scripting: Tracie Wells Collier, Xan Holston  Image: Fire Creates a Mosaic Pattern in the Forest; Bear Trap Fire, 2026 [I...

Questions around the Red Lake Nation’s Chairman’s tenure, Minnesota’s measle count goes up, and space garbage lands in Stevens County. ----- Executive Producer: Tracie Wells Collier Producer: Xan Holston Reader scripting: Tracie Wells Collier, Xan Holston  Image: “A large, metallic object, approximately 11-feet in diameter, presumably a space object.” [Image credit: Stevens County Minnesota Sherif...

Moose conservation efforts bring reasons to celebrate in Northern Minnesota, thousands of sandhill cranes flock to their annual stopover, and the latest in the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ investigation and takeover of Red Lake Nation’s child welfare program.  ----- Executive Producer: Tracie Wells Collier Producer: Xan Holston Reader scripting: Tracie Wells Collier, Xan Holston  Image: Moose Gatheri...