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 in Superior in the past two months. A ban on prediction markets passed both the Minnesota Senate and House Tuesday, and now heads to the governor's desk.

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, who retired last month and drew criticism over the department’s use of artificial intelligence to identify and arrest a women for a crime even though she said she'd never been to Fargo. Minnesota is one of several states debating a proposal to allow for "plug-in solar" or "balcony solar." The bill allows people to quickly connect small scale solar systems to their homes or apartments.

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 today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

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 priorities for the coming year at the annual State of the Nation Thursday in Mahnomen. A stretch of Highway 12 in the western Twin Cities will be closed again this weekend. That closure runs between Interstate 494 in Minnetonka and Central Avenue in Wayzata. It begins at 10 p.m. Friday and runs through 5 a.m. Monday. Traffic will be detoured to Highway 55.

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 this year. Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

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 fraudsters from getting more state money from another agency. Without Republican support, it got bogged down in a tie vote. Border Czar Tom Homan says mistakes were made in Minneapolis earlier this year during ICE's enforcement on immigration. Homan says the public will continue to see mass deportations, especially in sanctuary cities.

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 replacement this year. Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

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 Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

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 says it’s suing the state of Minnesota to stop a lawsuit that the state filed against the oil industry over climate change. At issue is a 2020 lawsuit filed by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison alleging ExxonMobil, Koch Industries and the American Petroleum Institute deceived and defrauded Minnesotans about climate change. The suit is still making its way through the courts.

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-degree assault more than 30 years ago. He received a deportation order after serving his sentence. Chandee is among several immigrants who have asked the state to pardon convictions that disrupted their status in the U.S. Also Monday, a federal judge heard arguments in a lawsuit over federal agents’ treatment of protesters and observers during increased federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota.

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 the battered Wolves face another tough test against San Antonio in the Western Conference semifinals starting Monday night. Expect traffic delays on a busy central Minnesota highway over the next couple of months as a detour goes into effect starting Monday. That detour is along U.S. Highway 10 just east of Wadena. MnDOT says it's to allow crews to replace a culvert under the highway. It'll be a short detour to start, but that will be extended to a much longer route in early June as crews replace a second culvert. The detour will remain in place until early to mid-July.

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 after she allegedly directed her sons to send the files to reporters and elected officials. As gas prices climb, drivers want to fill up at the gas station offering the cheapest gas. One south Minneapolis independent gas station with cheaper prices says it's seeing heavier traffic since the start of the war in Iran.

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 for jobs.

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 attacking a conservative influencer outside the Whipple federal building earlier this month. A bill to help the financially troubled HCMC hospital and fill gaps left by federal cuts in Medicaid and food assistance passed the state Senate Wednesday afternoon. And a citizens group is suing the northeastern Minnesota city of Hermantown to block a proposed Google data center. Go deeper with the latest edition of the Minnesota Today newsletter. From 2024: Adam Fravel sentenced to life in prison for murdering Madeline Kingsbury Prior Lake family charged with assaulting conservative influencer at ICE protest Citizens' group files lawsuit to block Google's proposed Hermantown data center Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

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 disparities persist in Minnesota. Runoff from this week’s snowmelt and heavy rain continues to keep rivers running high in northeastern Minnesota. A flood warning goes into effect Thursday morning along the South Kawishiwi River near Ely.

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 from information it shared with state and federal law enforcement. That story and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.