Good morning, Minnesota! Here’s your roundup of the week’s top stories along with what you need to know for the weekend.
📻 Starting Monday, we have a new call-in show with MPR News host Catharine Richert.
Monday through Thursday at 11 a.m., she’ll be taking your questions about the headlines everyone’s talking about, whether the news is happening in Minnesota, nationally or on the other side of the world.
Coming up at 11 a.m. Monday: It’s about two weeks from the midterm elections. Host Catharine Richert will talk with two guests who can help you make sense of the political dynamics at play going into this final stretch of election season. What issues are most important to you going into this election season? Who are you voting for and why? Call us during the 11 a.m. hour starting Monday at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828.
WEATHER
☀️ Saturday and Sunday: We’ll have lots of sunshine all weekend. Temperatures will warm to near 60 degrees by Saturday with warmer temperatures on Sunday afternoon.
🌡️ Next week:
High temperatures will be in the 60s for the Twin Cities and southern Minnesota Monday. By Tuesday and the remainder of next week, we’ll see highs of 70 degrees or even a bit warmer.
📃 And be sure to check out the MN Shortlist, your weekly curated roundup of
recommended arts events from MPR News highlighting standout performances, exhibits and gatherings around the region.
The major party candidates for Minnesota’s U.S. Senate seat faced off in an hourlong debate Friday on MPR News with fraud, affordability and fallout from the Trump administration’s policies as key points of friction.
Were you paying attention to the news this week? Prove it by acing the MPR News Quiz ! Every week, the MPR News Quiz brings you a fresh set of questions about Minnesota and beyond.
Despite the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, immigrants in the country illegally continue to work in agricultural jobs, including one man who fled political violence in Nicaragua and who is now living on a Minnesota farm.
A new tool kit from researchers at the University of Minnesota will help local government officials better understand the potential risks and benefits of data centers, and potentially avert the controversy that has roiled some communities.
ICE officials say if a federal judge orders a detainee released because the judge finds fault with how the person was arrested, ICE can tell the person they’ll be released, give them their belongings, then immediately re-arrest them.
“We have folks that would be in the workforce if they had available and affordable childcare,” said Marshall Mayor Bob Byrnes. “We do have several childcare centers … but there's still a much larger need.”
🚨 What does gang activity actually look like in the Twin Cities?
Recent shootings have put renewed attention on gangs in the Twin Cities, especially what law enforcement leaders are calling “Somali gangs.” Here’s what we’ve learned about who’s in these gangs, what they do and how they compare to gangs in the past.
🏫 Minneapolis Public Schools backs off school closure plan
School leaders voted to avoid any school closures for the 2027-28 school year. In addition, board members committed to discuss enrollment growth strategies, early childhood enrollment, reviewing school start and end times, school choice assignments and the distribution of needs-based government funding.
💵 Minnesota State considers shifting funding to support struggling universities
The plan would reallocate up to $25 million each year for the next four years to "financially challenged" institutions. Most of that amount — a total of up to $15 million each year — would go to two schools: St. Cloud State University and Bemidji State University.
🎒 Minnesota schools say enrollment has fallen due to immigration enforcement
District 191, which stretches across Burnsville, Eagan and Savage, has lost 200 students since last year, which leaders attribute to Operation Metro Surge as well as a drop in birth rates. The loss of students has not affected the district’s budget. But not every district will be able to avoid financial loss.
🎤 Comedian Michael Che on Minnesota, his special and that daycare joke
Over 59 minutes, Che spends about 60 seconds discussing Minnesota. The “Saturday Night Live” writer and “Weekend Update” anchor talks to MPR News about his new Netflix special that was filmed at First Avenue in Minneapolis.
📕 Minneapolis author Jack el-Hai pulls a true-crime saga from history in new book
The Minneapolis-based author is a master at identifying lost historical moments and turning them into fascinating nonfiction books. He is back with another true story centered around a high-profile relationship in 'The Case of the Autographed Corpse'
👶 Marshall's labor force falls as childcare shortage climbs, population shifts
Experts say an aging workforce and a lack of affordable childcare help explain why Marshall's labor force is declining even as the city's overall population grows. It's a problem with no easy answers.
Two University of Minnesota Extension educators are exploring ways to help Minnesota’s forests adapt to a changing climate through the “Climate-Ready Woodlands” program.
🛝 Minnesota Children's Museum is all about helping kids play
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with the museum’s president Dianne Krizan about how the museum is doing following its post-COVID attendance slump, why play is so important for kids and how the museum is trying to help address anxiety in young children.
🏳️🌈 From rare prose to 'Heated Rivalry,' Quatrefoil Library celebrates 40 years of LGBTQ+ literature
