Minnesota Today

How social media looks on the devices of young Minnesotans could be in for a major change. The Minnesota House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to require social media age verification and less addictive interfaces for kids. The Wisconsin Department of Justice has finished its investigation of a Superior police officer shooting and killing a 42-year old man in April. It's one of two police shootings i...

The director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research said Sunday the hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship does not pose a serious public threat. The Fargo City Commission will likely approve a new police chief Monday night. Interim Chief Travis Stefonowicz is the sole finalist in the search for Fargo’s Chief of Police. Stefonowicz would be replacing Dave Zibolski, w...

U.S. Senator and past presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar says she wouldn't have run for Minnesota governor if she was contemplating another presidential run. And a preliminary report from federal investigators says a pilot radioed “abort” and started turning shortly after takeoff from Crystal Airport last month... before the plane crashed, killing both people aboard. Those stories and more in to...

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has nominated Police Chief Brian O'Hara to serve a second term. Now the city council gets a chance to weigh in. A proposal to create an independent watchdog over state government is nearing a signature from the governor. The proposal to create a new Office of the Inspector General overwhelmingly passed the House. White Earth Nation leadership shared program updates and...

Minnesota officials are forecasting air quality issues this summer due to wildfire smoke and high ozone levels. Meteorologists with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency say drought conditions are increasing the risk of wildfires and they're expecting 12 to 16 days of smoky air this summer. And a Minneapolis man pleaded guilty this morning to spraying vinegar on Congresswoman Ilhan Omar earlier t...

The Minneapolis City Council is expected to cast a final vote on a bill that would ban assault weapons in the city . A man accused of spraying vinegar on U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar is due back in federal court Thursday morning where he’s expected to enter a guilty plea. One of a series of bills to curb fraud in state programs stalled in a Minnesota House committee Tuesday. The bill aims to stop fraudste...

A Minnesota man who spent years in prison before his conviction for first-degree murder was vacated in 2023 may now receive several million dollars from the state . A judge found that faulty witness testimony was used in convicting Marvin Haynes for the 2004 killing of Harry Randy Sherer in Minneapolis. And local leaders and labor unions are urging Minnesota lawmakers to prioritize lead pipe repla...

The Hermantown City Council voted last night to table a vote on a massive Google data center. The tech giant wants to build a nearly $2 billion complex in the city near Duluth. And Minnesota's newly named temporary commissioner for the Department of Human Services is out on medical leave for at least the next month. Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Re...

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey will give his annual State of the City address Tuesday. It will be his first State of the City gathering since the federal immigration enforcement surge earlier this year. It is difficult for the courts to claw back public money stolen through fraud. So a group of Minnesota legislators are trying a new approach to create a tax on fraud . The U.S. Justice Department say...

The Legislature has two more weeks to complete its session work, and Capitol leaders are still in search of agreements on key issues. Gov. Tim Walz said he's hopeful for something on guns and school safety. The Minnesota Board of Pardons held an emergency meeting Monday to grant clemency to a man facing deportation to Laos because of a past conviction. At "Ricky" Chandee was convicted of second-de...

The number of people canceling or not using their permit to visit the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness rose again in 2025. The U.S. Forest Service says more than 40 percent of permits for May 1 through September 30 last year were never used. Depleted by injury, the Minnesota Timberwolves saw other players step up on Thursday to lift them to a first-round playoff series win over Denver. Now th...

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey vetoed a pair of ordinances yesterday . The average price of gas in Minnesota has now climbed above $4 a gallon amid the ongoing war in Iran and uncertainty about the Strait of Hormuz. Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Kelly Bleyer. Music by Gary Meister.

A bill to make Minnesota’s bridges safer passed the House unanimously Thursday. The measure directs the Minnesota Department of Transportation to make a statewide plan to identify bridges with high suicide rates and incorporate suicide prevention in new bridges. The judge presiding over the Feeding Our Future case is limiting convicted ringleader Aimee Bock’s access to confidential case documents...

A document obtained by MPR News shows that dozens of Minneapolis police officers worked with a previously undisclosed Homeland Security Task Force last year, which city leaders say is not involved in immigration enforcement. And Minnesota's unemployment rate stayed steady last month. The state added 800 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis between February and March, but fewer people were looking f...

The Minnesota Supreme Court has upheld the first-degree premeditated murder conviction of Adam Fravel. Fravel was convicted in 2024 and sentenced to life in prison for killing Madeline Kingsbury of Winona. Kingsbury, who had two young children with Fravel, disappeared in 2023. Her body was found after a two-month search. Three members of a Prior Lake family are facing federal charges for allegedly...

More Medicaid fraud investigators remain in the mix for the state Attorney General's office. And the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating after gunfire left one person dead and a police officer injured early this morning in Richfield. Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

A DFL gun violence prevention package faces one last committee hurdle Wednesday in the Minnesota Senate. Gov. Tim Walz delivered his final State of the State speech Tuesday . The two-term Democrat had plenty of support from members of his party as he listed off the changes his administration has ushered through. A new health inequities analysis released Wednesday shows widespread racial and ethnic...

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz says today’s execution of search warrants at multiple locations across the Twin Cities is an example of state and federal agencies working together. The federal Department of Homeland Security says the warrants are part of an ongoing criminal investigation related to fraud. The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families confirmed the operation, saying it stems...

A bill to allow pharmacists to prescribe and dispense drugs to treat opioid withdrawal passed the Minnesota House unanimously Monday. The Senate is considering similar legislation as part of a larger healthcare bill. President Donald Trump signed legislation Monday that overturned a 20-year ban on mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. The Senate passed the bill by just one vote two weeks ago...

North Dakota state legislator Liz Conmy died in a plane crash Saturday. Her family, friends and colleagues are remembering her as a mentor and “a source of joy.” And a bill to help businesses affected by this winter's federal immigration crackdown is headed for a Minnesota Senate floor vote. Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meiste...

Rising grocery, rent and tuition costs are making it harder for many college students to afford food and a growing number are turning to food pantries. More than 10,000 University of Minnesota students visited the U's food pantry last fall. Minnesota Senate Democrats passed their catch-all elections bill for the year on a party-line vote Thursday. The bill includes measures to shield home addresse...