🌪️ Thunderstorms, hail and at least one tornado scoured southern Minnesota last night. The National Weater Service reported hail the size of golf balls — and even some the size of tennis balls — from Rushmore to Wabasha.
A tornado briefly touched down outside Amboy. Calmer weather is expected for the rest of the week.
🪨 Minnesota lawmakers are ready to take state license plates back to the stone ages. The state House gave overwhelming approval yesterday to a bill to authorize a state license plate design featuring the Lake Superior Agate as a North Shore tribute. The bill now awaits a Senate vote.
🎤 Fergus Falls native Chris Tungseth is now in the Top 9 on American Idol. After pretty critical feedback last week, the judges were more positive with his rendition of "Cold As Ice" by Foreigner
. Carrie Underwood called the song choice "fantastic,"and said it was one of her favorite performances by Chris.
📰 In sports news:
🏒 The Wild lost to St. Louis yesterday 6-3. The Wild have already clinched a playoff berth and have their final regular-season game against the Anaheim Ducks tonight in St. Paul.
⚾ The Twins beat the Red Sox yesterday 13-6. Those two teams play again today and tomorrow in Minneapolis.
⚽ Minnesota United beat San Diego over the weekend. Minnesota plays Sacramento tonight at 9 p.m.
Weather
🌧️ Today: Mostly cloudy. Areas of fog early in the morning. Chance of rain north in the morning. Chance of showers and thunderstorms southeast in the afternoon. Highs near 50 north to lower 70s south.
🌧️ Tonight: Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers and thunderstorms southeast, mainly in the evening. Areas of fog northeast. Lows in the 30s north, to near 50 southeast.
🌦️ Tomorrow: Partly sunny. Chance of showers south. Highs in the 60s, except in the mid-40s near Lake Superior.
To celebrate 30 years of “Fargo,” a special showing at the Fargo Theatre features one of its stars, Peter Stormare, who will watch the movie in its entirety for the first time. Here’s how the movie put Minnesota on the map and changed how people thought of the state.
American Rivers says the South Kawishiwi River is threatened by proposed copper mines in the watershed. The clock is ticking on a Congressional effort to reverse a 20-year mining ban in northeast Minnesota.
NEWS ROUNDUP
🔍 Minnesota investigates the arrest by ICE of a Hmong American man as a possible kidnapping. ICE officers bashed open the front door of Thao’s St. Paul home at gunpoint without a warrant, then led him outside in just his underwear and a blanket in freezing conditions.
🛟 Drownings drive new safety effort for Minnesota kids with autism. Fay Jede created Waeys Water Safety Foundation to honor her son who drowned after wandering from his home in 2024. She hopes to support mothers, especially in the East African community, with information on water safety and kids with autism.
🗳️ Special elections on April 14: Vacancies and ballot questions. There are a number of
elections happening across the state on Tuesday as voters fill a vacancy on the Columbia Heights school board and voters decide on city, school district and county referendums.
🏗️ Dissonance remains as Minneapolis proceeds with George Floyd Square reconstruction. Some neighbors still disagree with the city’s construction plan, Jeanelle Austin, the lead caretaker at George Floyd Square, told MPR’s Morning Edition.
🏥 Burnsville woman in ICE detention can’t access lifesaving surgery, lawyer says. Andrea Pedro-Francisco was arrested by immigration agents on her way to work in early February and sent to a detention center in El Paso, Texas, just days before she was scheduled for surgery to remove a large ovarian cyst.
🏀 Minnesota Lynx select Olivia Miles, Connecticut Sun pick Duluth's Gianna Kneepkens. The Minnesota Lynx selected TCU’s Olivia Miles as the second draft pick of the evening. Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams will return this season after re-signing.
🎞️ New documentary traces culture, land and identity through Indigenous dance.
"Why We Dance," premiering at MSPIFF, follows Indigenous dancers across North America, using movement to explore culture, history and resilience while centering joy over trauma.
MUST LISTEN
🎧 Dissonance remains as Minneapolis proceeds with George Floyd Square reconstruction. After years of debate, the city of Minneapolis is preparing to start street construction this summer at the intersection where George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer.
🎧 Behind the scenes with 911 call takers and dispatchers. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a 911 call taker, a dispatcher, and the director of Minneapolis’s 911 call center about what happens after the phone rings — how they gather critical details and send help where it’s needed.
🎧 New book with Minneapolis roots tells ‘How Black Music Took Over the World.’ Musician Melvin Gibbs has built a career over decades nimbly crossing genres. He spoke with MPR News host Clay Masters about his new book, described as part memoir, part history and part science.
🎧 Beading, weaving and animal hides: New exhibitions showcase diversity of Native textile art. Penny Kagigebi, curator for community collaboration for “TWO-SPIRIT STORIES,” and Delina White, curator for “Mni Sóta: Traditions & Innovations,” joined Minnesota Now for a conversation about their exhibits.
