MPR News | The 'sotan

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We’re excited to share that The ‘Sotan newsletter is merging with our new Minnesota Today – Weekend Edition. You’ll still get the latest on local art, festivals, and events you love, but now with even more to explore, including expanded content from the MPR News family.

Starting this week, look for Minnesota Today – Weekend Edition in your inbox every Saturday morning.

Can’t wait for the weekend? You can also stay in the loop with our Minnesota Today newsletter, delivered every morning Monday through Friday. If you already know our Minnesota Today daily podcast, you're in good company; our newsletter is its perfect companion.

Whether you prefer to read, listen, or both, we’re here to keep you connected to what’s happening in Minnesota. Thanks for being part of the community. We’re glad you’re here.

LEAD STORY

Ojibwe artist George Morrison’s family relishes his first solo exhibit at The Met

A few dozen Minnesotans traveled to New York to celebrate Ojibwe painter George Morrison, as the Metropolitan Museum of Art unveiled his first solo exhibition and placed the Minnesota-born artist among the giants of American modernism.

Read the story here!

FEATURED ART AND CULTURE STORIES

In rare visit, Cambodian bronze sculptures make U.S. debut at Mia

"Royal Bronzes: Cambodian Art of the Divine" is at the Minneapolis Institute of Art from Oct. 25 to Jan. 18, 2026.

The Minnesota story behind 'Mystery Science Theater 3000': An interview with Jim Mallon

Rochester native Jim Mallon co-created “Mystery Science Theater 3000” in 1988 as a new production manager on Twin Cities television channel 23.

From a rough week to a good party: Hiahli turns hard times into joy

Hiahli’s latest single, born from one broke week and a van jam session, turns struggle into a celebration.

In this west-central Minnesota town, fiddle jams draw players from ages 3 to 86

The Sunburg Minnesota Community Fiddlers started with a few people getting together to jam. One woman made it her mission to build that group into an intergenerational community centered around music and fun.

New Dyani White Hawk show at the Walker is a 'love letter' to community

The “Dyani White Hawk: Love Language” exhibition, which is up at the Walker through Feb. 15, is a big and bright kaleidoscopic show, an expansive mid-career survey spanning 10,000 square feet of the Walker and the last 15 years of the Minnesota artist's career.

Glowing puppets, a haunted theater and Midwest folk music

Art Hounds: Writer Kathleen Kenney Peterson, musician Greg Herriges and folk artist Sarah Larsson share their picks for spooky storytelling, microscopic spectacle and polka-powered dancing.

ARTS EVENTS

Jeremy Messersmith — Oct. 25

Jeremy Messersmith brings his love of spooky season to the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul for a Halloween variety show that’s equal parts clever and cozy. Expect cameos, costumes and those sharply observed songs that make him one of Minneapolis’s most beloved indie pop exports. Messersmith’s taken his music nationwide — he even once opened for Barack Obama.

‘Once on This Island’ — through Oct. 26

It’s the final weekend for Artistry in Blooming to offer its radiant take on "Once on This Island," a Caribbean retelling of "The Little Mermaid" that dives into love, class and colorism. Rooted in folklore and set to Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s unforgettable score, this musical finds magic where heartbreak and hope intertwine.

Curator Talk: ‘Cambodian Masterpieces from Phnom Penh and Paris’ — Oct. 26

Art and archaeology meet in this special talk tied to “Royal Bronzes: Cambodian Art of the Divine” at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Pierre Baptiste of Paris’s Guimet Museum explores Khmer bronze artistry and the discoveries reshaping its story. The Guimet, home to over 45,000 works from 17 countries, remains one of the world’s great troves of Asian art.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE EVENTS

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