On the last day of the Minnesota legislature’s 2026 session, lawmakers voted to fund a data collection project to study the spiraling health insurance costs for Minnesota school districts – a first step in reforming the health insurance program for school district employees as a whole.

This spring, more than 40 legislators from both parties co-sponsored a bill to create a single, statewide insurance pool, which would be large enough to more cost-effectively absorb expensive claims and give them more bargaining power against insurance companies.

DFL Rep. Liz Reyer of Eagan, lead author of the bill, told MPR News last month that the plan was to push for the bill to create a health insurance pool during next year’s session, which is a budget year. This year, she said the focus was on passing a companion bill, which would allow legislators to collect data from every school district to assess how much the new plan would cost the state.

“We know that all school districts are offering different benefits, paying different amounts, with different contributions from employees, so the data from this will help us really understand how it's working,” Reyer explained, “and then we'll be able to design a program that holds harmless school districts, so they don't have to pay more themselves.”

Last week, Reyer passed that first threshold. She said she is thrilled.

“It’s a really important step to being able to move forward with launching this new program,” Reyer said. “We needed good data and this is going to give it to us.”

There’s urgency in the education field to reform how school districts access health insurance.

Waseca school counselor Brianna Lawrence, for example, who is expecting a baby, faces an increase in her premium of up to nearly 400 percent after she gives birth to her first child this summer and has to switch to a family plan. She and her husband both work for the district, so now they’re seriously considering having at least one of them leave education and find a different line of work.

“[My husband] is so good at his job as a band director, and I love what I do as a school counselor,” Lawrence told MPR News. “I don't want to change. I don't want to leave this district. They've embraced us. They love us, and we love them. It would be heart wrenching to make that decision to leave, but it no longer is just us wanting to stay that's not enough. We have to see some changes happen for us to be able to stay.”

Insurance costs have long been a problem for smaller, rural districts, because their smaller staff sizes give them less bargaining power in the marketplace. But, in recent years, school districts of all sizes are getting hit by huge health insurance price increases. MPR News reported last year that even Anoka-Hennepin Schools, the largest district in Minnesota, saw premiums go up 22 percent in 2025. Other districts saw even bigger spikes.

There are several reasons for the higher insurance costs, including inflation, an aging population with greater medical needs, and expensive new pharmaceuticals like GLP-1s.The current system, in which school districts individually negotiate plans with health insurers each year, can increase those costs even more.

When the pool of workers is small – like in a 200-person district – just a few serious accidents or illnesses in a year can significantly drive up premiums. The proposed Educator Group Insurance Program, known as the EGIP bill, would create a statewide health coverage plan — one huge health insurance pool for all public school employees, spreading out the insurance risk.

The plan is modeled off SEGIP — the state employee group insurance program that has covered legislators and state government workers for decades. Reyer explained that larger group health insurance plans tend to have significantly lower cost increases over time, because they have more negotiating power on behalf of thousands of employees across the state, and there’s more stability.

“When you have so many smaller to mid size groups, they're much more volatile,” Reyer explained. “Think about it: if you have a group of 20 people, and someone gets really sick or has an accident, that drives [insurance] upgrades for everybody. And it's very unpredictable. [But] when you combine everyone into a group of, say, 150,000 like EGIP would have, then you get stability, because now that just becomes a ripple, rather than something that changes the nature of the group.”

Reyer said data will begin to be collected for the study this summer, and a report should be available at the end of the calendar year, ahead of the next year’s legislative session. That’s when Reyer will push to pass the EGIP bill and make a statewide health insurance pool a reality.

The study will be repeated annually, so that the state has access to up-to-date information as to the costs of the program.

There was little else Eric Samuelson could do but stare at the clouds of dust plowing through his crop farm in Crookston earlier this month.

“Dirt from miles away was up in the air,” Samuelson said. “The visibility was poor; it was just an extreme weather event that really was unsettling.”

Samuelson is no stranger to the windy nature of the Red River Valley. The region, which includes the northwest corner of Minnesota and northeast North Dakota, is mostly flat.

It also doesn’t have many trees, which means there’s not much to slow the high-speed winds sweeping across the valley.

That’s an issue because it’s been a windy Spring, with wind speeds frequently clocking over 40 miles per hour. And on the week of May 11th, those wind gusts reached speeds close to 50 miles per hour on multiple days, according to Crookston weather data.

“When the dirt's blowing to that extreme.. It's just an eerie, sickening feeling in your stomach to watch,” Samuelson said.

Samuelson grows wheat, soybeans, sugar beets and edible beans. He’d recently planted some of those seeds, so seeing the wind blow as hard as it did made him worried some of those seeds had been swept away in the storm.

When the dust settled, he let out a sigh of relief when he saw there wasn’t much damage to his farm.

However, he says neighbors around him have had to replant some of the crop seeds that were gone with the wind.

And still, concerns remain about losing valuable nutrients in the soil that, once gone, are lost for good.

An essential, but fragile part of farming

The uppermost layer of soil, also called topsoil, is often the most productive for plant growth.

There’s a bunch of leftover organic matter, bacteria and other microorganisms from past plants that once grew there, all of which help plants retain water and provide them with vital nutrients for growth.

But it takes centuries for that topsoil to build up, and it’s also very vulnerable to wind.

“It's considered a non-renewable resource, just because it takes so long to build,” University of Minnesota Extension Educator Angie Peltier said. “And unfortunately, as we've seen, it can take next to no time to lose.”

The more topsoil that the land loses, the harder it is for the dirt to retain water for crops to use whenever rainfall is scarce, according to Peltier.

The Red River Valley had recently been quite dry, leaving the earth particularly vulnerable to the high-speed winds that blew through. Peltier said she’d been getting a lot of phone calls about lost soil, and it’ll be difficult to pinpoint how much was lost.

According to Peltier, Minnesota loses about 5.2 tons of topsoil per acre per year. Across the Midwest, topsoil erodes at a rate of about 1.9 millimeters per year.

There are ways, though, for farmers to prevent topsoil loss and protect their ground. Planting cover crops, for example, can serve as a buffer that breaks up the wind before it blows the dirt away. The crops’ roots also stabilize the soil, making it harder for the wind to take it away.

The Red River Valley had once been home to a huge glacier over 10,000 years ago, which then melted, giving way to a tall-grass prairie. Its fertile soil was great for farmers.

But the more wind events like this that occur on the land, Peltier said, the likelier it is for the land to become less productive.

“It was a shock when I first saw the sheer amount of wind erosion in the Red River Valley,” Peltier said. “But [the recent] soil storms were next level.”

An agreement to end the war in Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz has been “largely been negotiated,” President Trump wrote in a social media post on Saturday, adding “final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly.”

Trump said that he had spoken with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain about a “Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to PEACE.” He had also spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone, which “went very well,” he said.

An Israeli official, writing on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly, said Netanyahu emphasized that Israel will “maintain freedom of action against threats in all areas, including in Lebanon.” The official also said that Trump indicated that he will not sign a final agreement unless Iran agrees to dismantle its nuclear program and remove all enriched uranium.

But there was no official confirmation from Iran and the semi official Fars news agency indicated there were still wide disagreements. Some of those centered on the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping waterway largely controlled by Iran.

Within the past 24 hours, at least 33 ships, including oil tankers have passed through the Strait of Hormuz with Iran's permission, according to Fars citing the IRGC Navy on Sunday. As of Saturday, about 240 ships are waiting for Iran's permission to pass through the strait, Fars also said.

Fars said early Sunday that the agreement provided for Iran to continue to manage the waterway. It called Trump's assertion that Iran would no longer control access “inconsistent with reality.”

Since originally saying the war launched by the U.S. and Israel on February 28th would be over in a matter of days, Trump has repeatedly announced the conflict is nearing an end, amid a fragile ceasefire, only for talks to fall through.

However, the latest announcement has been hailed by Pakistani mediators with Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar saying on X: “The achievements of these negotiations offer grounds for optimism that a positive and durable outcome is within reach.”

And a spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry said earlier on Saturday that the US and Iran were in the “final stage” of a memorandum of understanding and “the positions of the two sides are becoming closer.”

But the U.S. and Iran still appear at odds on some key issues.

Trump said the deal would involve Iran reopening the Strait Hormuz, the blockade of which is reverberating across the global economy, with Americans facing high fuel prices as millions travel for the Memorial Day holiday this weekend.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei told semi-official Iranian state media on Saturday that the Strait had nothing to do with the US, adding that Tehran was engaging with Oman, which lies across the waterway, to decide what happens there.

The news agency, Tasnim, reported that the Strait of Hormuz would “not return to its pre-war status” under an agreement.

There are also questions over Iran's nuclear program.

While Trump wants Iran to renounce any nuclear ambitions, Iran wants a permanent end to the war before negotiations on nuclear weapons. Iran also wants sanctions relief from the U.S. and other countries and reparations from the war.

It's expected that after any deal a period of one to two months of negotiations on Iran's nuclear program will follow.

Israel has made clear in past negotiations that it opposed a deal that provided any concessions to Iran.

A person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly told NPR that Israel is “very unhappy with the emerging deal” and views it as “an economic deal that doesn't address Israel's security concerns.” The person also said that Israel is “angry” at Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who Israel says is “pushing a deal at any cost.”

On Sunday, a senior Israeli official, writing on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, said in a statement to reporters: “The emerging agreement is bad because it signals to the Iranians that they possess a weapon no less effective than a nuclear one, and that is the Strait of Hormuz.”

The official said while Trump believes the agreement includes an opening of the Strait of Hormuz with progress linked to Iran dismantling its nuclear program it was not clear what would happen after the initial phase.

Trump has also been criticized by some members of his Republican party. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said on X the president should stick to his “red lines,” adding it would be a “disastrous mistake” if an agreement resulted in Iran being able to develop nuclear weapons and have control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Still, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was positive overall on Sunday, speaking to reporters while on a trip to New Delhi. America's top diplomat said it was possible the world would get some “good news” in the coming hours, but added there was “still work to do.”

NPR's Jane Arraf, Daniel Estrin, Chandelis Duster, Greg Myre, and Kate Bartlett contributed to this report.

Copyright 2026, NPR

Mauricio González subbed on in the 77th minute for Minnesota United and scored his first career goal in stoppage time Saturday in 1-1 tie with Real Salt Lake.

Joaquín Pereyra played a ball into the area from about 27 yards out on the left side and González flicked a header inside the back post to make it 1-1 in the third minute of stoppage time. The 21-year-old González made his sixth career appearance in MLS.

Minnesota won both matches with RSL last season and has a six-game unbeaten streak in the series.

Zach Booth opened the scoring with his first career goal in the 22nd minute. Zavier Gozo, beyond the top of the penalty arc, pushed a pass wide to right corner of the area, where Booth pushed it forward with his first touch and then blasted a shot into the top-netting.

Minnesota's Mamadou Dieng appeared to have scored on a header, off a corner kick played in by Tomás Chancalay, in first-half stoppage time, but was caught offside and the goal was nullified.

Minnesota (6-5-4) is winless in four straight. Drake Callender did not have a save.

Rafael Cabral had one save for Salt Lake (8-4-2)

RSL are 1-3-2 on the road this season.

Minnesota’s Kelvin Yeboah did not play, and missed Friday training session, due to “internal matter.” Yeboah leads the club with eight goals this season.

According to reports, RSL’s Diego Luna. who did not play (muscle tightness) Saturday, and the 19-year-old Gozo have been left off the U.S. men’s national team roster for the World Cup. The official announcement of the roster is Tuesday.

Indigenous Protector Movement first met with Our Savior's Lutheran Church in South Minneapolis three years ago.

After establishing a relationship, the church then proposed transferring an adjacent double lot and triplex house to the Indigenous-led group. The organization focuses on advocacy work and community safety and was founded by the grandchildren, nieces and nephews of the founders of the American Indian Movement.

Indigenous Protector Movement co-founder and board chair Vinny Dionne said he was initially apprehensive.

“It’s hard for us as a people to believe a church when they tell us something, especially something good,” he said.

Dionne said that history includes the colonization of Indigenous tribes and the boarding school era, which led to the suppression of Indigenous cultures and languages.

Rachel Dionne-Thunder, the organization’s CEO, said developing a relationship with the church over the last few years is not only about property transfers.

“[It’s] a step forward in healing this relationship between the Lutheran Church and the Indigenous community here in south Minneapolis,” Dionne-Thunder said.

Our Savior’s lead pastor Martha Bardwell said the church established a group of nine congregation members five years ago working toward reparations in the south Minneapolis community.

“It has grown into relationship building and digging into our own congregational history around what harms have we been complicit in,” Bardwell said, adding that the church had once donated money to an Indian boarding school in the 1920’s.

Aneesa Parks, a reparations team member, said the team took inspiration from other cases across the country.

That includes Presbytery of the Cascades giving land back to an Indigenous-led organization in Portland in 2023 and the Seattle Mennonite Church gifting a home to act as a hub for underserved communities in 2022.

Churches in nearby states have also transferred land directly to tribes. In 2025, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in La Crosse, Wis., transferred land to the La Du Flambeau Tribe. In 2017, the St. Francis Mission in South Dakota returned more than 500 acres to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.

Parks said the church focused on the Indigenous Protector Movement’s wishes when deciding on the transfer of the south Minneapolis property.

“This is about what their healing looks like, and if we're a part of it, we are there for that,” Parks said. “If we don't need to be a part of it, we're okay with that too.”

Before agreeing to the transfer, the church took the proposition to the entire congregation for input and a vote on whether to move forward. Bardwell said the congregation voted unanimously in favor.

“It was really joyful, and I think a testament to the hard work of discernment and relationship building,” Bardwell said.

Dionne-Thunder said the property acquisition will connect Indigenous community members to the land, especially in an urban setting like south Minneapolis -- which has a large population of Indigenous people and is known as a cultural corridor.

“We have existed here as indigenous people for hundreds of thousands of years since the beginning of time. We are the land, the land is us,” Dionne-Thunder said. “The land hasn't gone anywhere, and we haven't gone anywhere.”

Indigenous Protector Movement’s current location is one room in a shared building off Franklin Avenue East. It has space for a table and a few office desks. Expanding into another space with a yard and house gives the group more room to grow, said Dionne.

The group plans to build on their existing services and continue to build their relationship with the community, Dionne-Thunder said.

Dionne agrees with the sentiment of relationship building. He said the property transfer is an opportunity to strengthen the south Minneapolis community overall.

“It starts with us rebuilding our strength in the Indigenous community, but also expanding out to the rest of the community,” Dionne said.

The Indigenous Protector Movement will move onto the property in the coming months.

“I'm excited that this moment has finally come, because it's been a couple years in the making,” Dionne-Thunder said.

Chandra Colvin covers Native American communities in Minnesota for MPR News via Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.

The iconic, curved, bright white, triple dome house known around Duluth for more than a half century as the “Flintstone House” or the “Mushroom House” is for sale for the first time in five years for $369,999.

The home consists of three domes made out of polyurethane foam. During construction, giant balloons were inflated, and then the foam was sprayed on both sides. “That’s how you get the exterior walls and the roof,” explained listing agent Alicia Lokke with Messina & Associates Real Estate.

Duluth entrepreneur and ski legend George Hovland built the house in 1970, hidden on a wooded lot near the University of Minnesota Duluth campus. Hovland competed in the 1952 Winter Olympics in the Nordic combined event which includes ski jumping and cross-country skiing.

“It’s called the Flintstone House for a reason,” said Lokke. “It really does feel like you're in this modern Stone Age-feeling place. It's very zen, actually, I think is the word that I would use to describe it.”

The house was last sold in 2021, after Hovland died. It was designed by architect Stan Nord Connolly. It was built in the early 70s when dome-shaped homes were growing in popularity. Lokke knew of one other home in the Duluth area built in the same fashion, but it’s since been torn down.

Since the home went on the market Wednesday, “it has been gangbusters,” Lokke said, with virtually back-to-back showings for two days.

The eventual buyer she thinks will be someone “very connected with the earth,” or perhaps a UMD professor who wants to be close to campus.

With virtually no straight walls, sculpted spaces, and soaring domed ceilings, the house “just kind of feels like it’s giving you a hug,” Lokke said.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent accused of pointing his handgun at two people in an alleged Twin Cities road rage incident made his first court appearance Friday after returning to Minnesota and posting $100,000 bond.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty filed felony assault charges against Gregory D. Morgan Jr. in April.

According to the criminal complaint, two people were driving east on Minnesota Highway 62 near the Interstate 35W interchange when they spotted an unmarked SUV on the shoulder of the road trying to pass stopped traffic.

The driver, whose name is not included in court documents, briefly pulled onto the shoulder to try to stop the SUV from cutting in line. Morgan allegedly drove alongside the other vehicle, lowered his window, and pointed his gun at the two people inside.

Prosecutors say that Morgan was not wearing a uniform and gave no indication that he worked for ICE. Moriarty noted at her April news conference that the two alleged victims weren’t part of any community anti-ICE efforts or protests and were on their way to go shopping.

Defense attorney Ryan Pacyga said Friday that Morgan, 35, is not on administrative leave and is still on duty with ICE.

As part of his release conditions, Morgan is not allowed to possess a firearm, including his service weapon, and must abide by that prohibition even outside the state. Court records show that Morgan lives in a Maryland suburb of Washington.

Morgan has the option of posting a $200,000 unconditional bond that would allow him to keep his weapon. Pacyga said that he plans to discuss that option with ICE officials.

Pacyga said that there’s more to the story that’s not included in the prosecution’s narrative, but he’s still waiting for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office to turn over its evidence.

Federal authorities have refused to cooperate with state investigations into other incidents involving federal officers, including the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti during the wintertime immigration enforcement operation.

Pacyga says his client is cooperating with state authorities and trusts the court system to be fair.

Morgan didn’t speak during or after his initial court appearance Friday, but stood alongside Pacyga as the attorney spoke to reporters.

Because Morgan is a federal agent, he has the option to move the case to federal court, and Pacyga said he plans to file a motion to do that.

Even if the case goes before a federal judge, it would still be adjudicated under Minnesota law. If Morgan is convicted, he would not be eligible for a presidential pardon.

A possible advantage for Morgan in federal court is that federal jurors can be summoned from across the state, not just Hennepin County where there is more anti-ICE sentiment.

Morgan was the first ICE agent charged in connection with the enforcement operation. On Monday, Moriarty filed felony assault charges against agent Christian J. Castro for allegedly shooting and wounding Julio Sosa-Celis after a chase in January.

Court records list Castro’s case as dormant, but there’s an active warrant for Castro’s arrest.

As live-imaging sonar surges in popularity, researchers at the University of Minnesota are preparing to study if the technology could threaten future fish populations across the state.

Often known as forward-facing sonar, the technology lets anglers find and track fish in real time. It’s a major shift from traditional sonar, which only shows what’s beneath a boat.

The technology’s rapid rise has divided anglers. Supporters say it makes fishing more engaging and could attract younger participants to the sport. Critics argue it gives anglers too much of an advantage and could increase pressure on vulnerable fish populations.

“There's a lot of mixed feelings and strong feelings about this technology usage, but we don't really have a foundational baseline test or understanding about how this technology works in Minnesota lakes,” said Cam Mosley, a fisheries ecologist and postdoctoral research fellow at the university.

Mosley and a team of researchers will study whether live sonar changes catch rates and what the long-term effects could be for fish populations in different types of Minnesota lakes.

State lawmakers approved $676,000 for the three-year project from Minnesota’s Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, which receives a share of state lottery proceeds for environmental projects.

Researchers will begin by collecting information from angler surveys to understand how sonar is used to target species such as walleye, muskie and northern pike and whether anglers are releasing or keeping the fish they catch.

The next phase is real-world experiments in Minnesota lakes. Researchers will compare their fishing success using live-imaging sonar and traditional two-dimensional sonar during both open-water and ice fishing seasons.

“We're going to evaluate on the ground how that impacts catch rates for walleye,” Mosley said.

The team will use those findings to model if the use of live imaging could deplete fish populations over time. They’ll factor in sonar use rates, natural mortality and hooking mortality — when fish die after being caught and released.

The project starts July 1. Mosley said researchers will share their findings with the public when the study concludes.

Aaron Meyer, co-chair of the Minnesota Muskie and Pike Alliance, has raised concerns about the potential threat of forward-facing sonar on muskies, which are relatively rare and slow to produce. Muskies are typically difficult to catch, but the technology makes them easier to locate.

Meyer said he supports more research on the technology. But he questioned the university study’s methodology and its focus on whether live imaging is improving catch rates, which he said is already abundantly clear.

Mosley said the goal is to give anglers and fisheries managers better information as they consider possible best practices or regulations, with the goal of keeping fish populations sustainable.

“As scientists, we are just here to make sure that everyone has the best information possible to make any decisions or come to a community agreement about this new technology,” Mosley said.

The study will initially focus on walleye, Minnesota’s most sought-after game fish. But Mosley said researchers hope to also look at if live imaging could change populations of species especially vulnerable to angling pressure, such as muskies.

Mosley said the research comes at a time when Minnesota lakes are already facing multiple stressors, including invasive species and warming temperatures due to climate change.

“This is one thing we can control,” Mosley said. “We can understand how this technology works and then share that information and figure out as a community how to move forward.”

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which manages the state’s fisheries, is collaborating on the project.

Marc Bacigalupi, the DNR’s northwest fisheries manager, said the study’s findings will complement work the agency is doing to better understand forward-facing sonar, educate anglers and consider whether any regulation changes are needed.

So far, there’s been widespread support for the project, Mosley said. Regardless of how people feel about forward-facing sonar, they want to understand how it’s affecting fish, they said.

“I think we all want the same things, which is healthy fish … and for folks years from now to be able to have that same experience when they go to a lake and they catch a walleye,” Mosley said.

ISHØJ, Denmark (AP) — For more than a decade, Danish recycling artist Thomas Dambo has scattered wooden troll sculptures around the world. He has created almost 200 in 19 countries.

Now the poet and former hip-hop artist is bringing a collection of fairy tale-inspired creations in from the cold for his first museum exhibit.

“The Garbage Man,” at the Arken Museum of Contemporary Art on the outskirts of Copenhagen, tells the story of a group of mischievous trolls who secretly move into the museum, take it over and redesign it.

“They build and leave a giant human made of trash … as a lesson for the humans to behave better and don’t put their trash where everybody else lives,” Dambo said at his studio near the Danish capital.

The 46-year-old artist started spreading his trolls back in 2014, when he built two sculptures for a Danish music festival.

Two years later, he hid six giant trolls in wooded areas around Copenhagen. The project went viral, drawing millions of viewers online.

“I was like, if I tell a story that combines them all, then when I’ve done this (for) 10 years, I will probably have made over 100 sculptures and … I have made the world into my stage,” he said.

Twelve years on, Dambo has made almost 200. The artist and his team build about 25 new trolls annually. “Long Leif,” the tallest at 13 meters (43 feet) high, stands in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

Usually, Dambo’s work is as much treasure hunt as exhibit. His fairy-tale creations are tucked away in forests, mountains, jungles and grasslands around the world, discoverable using an online “Troll Map.”

There is “Little Lisa” hidden in a German forest, and “Happy Kim” lounging in a South Korean botanical garden.

Children clamber and adults gasp as they find the trolls. Dambo estimates about 5 million people visit his works annually.

“The sculptures bring people out to experience things that they would otherwise have been too lazy or maybe not creative enough to go and visit,” he said. “My trolls, they bring people to all these small, little corners of the world.”

Each of Dambo’s trolls has a unique name and design. In the Arken exhibit, which opens Sunday and will be on show until Nov. 29, his new works are based on friends he had when growing up.

They have “personalities of a late teenage, young 20s type of group of boys that are causing havoc, and the type of gang that would break into a museum and fill it up with trash,” Dambo said.

Trolls often appear in Scandinavian folklore, but Dambo said he chose to work with the mythical creatures as a vehicle to convey messages on waste and recycling.

The recycling artist’s sculptures are made almost entirely from waste and discarded materials, such as wooden pallets, old furniture and whisky barrels.

He said a museum exhibit means he can experiment with materials that wouldn’t survive outdoors, including discarded electronics, cardboard and clothes, lots of them.

In one corner, a troll named “Dyna Dee” dozes on a 6-meter (nearly 20-foot) mound of discarded clothing from a local recycling organization.

Dambo hopes museum visitors will leave with an urge to buy less.

“It’s not really about recycling, it’s about you probably have enough clothes in your cabinet to wear for the rest of your life,” he said. “This is not my recycling project, this is my stop buying stuff project.”

For the first time in two years, visitors to a state park in northern Minnesota can once again travel nearly a half mile underground into the dark bowels of a historic iron ore mine.

Underground tours at the Lake Vermillion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park near Tower, resume May 23, two years after they were shut down in 2024 after severe flooding damaged the mine following a massive rainstorm.

Prior to the flooding, the tours were also closed for two years beginning in 2022 for a $9 million project to reconstruct the mine shaft.

The mine opened in 1882, supplying iron ore that was shipped to blast furnaces around the Great Lakes to forge the steel that was vital to the nation’s rapid industrial growth.

Tours were offered starting just three years after the mine closed in 1962. Every year, about 35,000 visitors from around the world travel 2,341 feet underground in the mine’s vintage equipment.

Park staff were ecstatic when tours resumed for a few weeks in 2024 after the long construction project, said Andrea Doerr, interpretive supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which manages the park.

Then, in June, seven and a half inches of rain fell in less than 24 hours. At the same time, the mine was hit with a power outage.

“It was essentially the perfect storm,” said Doerr. Without the electric pumps used to keep the mine dry, rainwater and silt flooded into the mine. At Level 27, the deepest section of the mine where tourists ride an electric train into a giant cavern where the iron ore was dug out of the earth, tunnels were flooded with nine feet of water and dirty sludge.

"Everything that's electrical down there was essentially ruined, destroyed,” said Doerr. “Our locomotives, all of the lighting, all of that needed to get rebuilt and replaced.”

It was a big blow to staff who had worked so hard to reopen the mine following the shaft restoration project, Doerr said. They’ve worked every day since the flooding to get the mine ready to reopen.

“To be able to travel a half mile underground, experience brief total darkness, to imagine what it would have been like to work in an underground iron mine, it’s a really unique experience,” Doerr added.

If you go

Tours lasting 90 minutes are offered through the third week of October. The temperature in the mine is a constant 51 degrees year-round. Visitors are encouraged to wear a jacket and sturdy boots or shoes.

Tours cost $15 for adults, $10 for children 5-12, and are free for children under five. Reservations are recommended. Officials expect pent-up demand.

No purses, backpacks, or strollers are allowed underground. The three-minute cage ride down to the mine is in a dimly lit, closed, confined space.

Natasha Howard scored 26 points, including 14 in the second quarter, and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Chicago Sky 85-75 on Saturday.

The Lynx (4-2) took the lead for good with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter and they went on to go up 52-38 at halftime. Chicago rallied in the second half and a 3-pointer by Sydney Taylor drew the Sky within 70-67 early in the fourth quarter.

Kayla McBride made consecutive 3s to extend Minnesota's lead to 76-67 and the Lynx closed out the win despite committing 19 turnovers in the game.

Howard made 10 of 12 shots in her 20-point first half and also grabbed nine of her 14 rebounds.

Minnesota led 24-22 after the first quarter then added the first seven points of the second period. A 3-pointer by Antonia Delaere made it 34-24 with about six minutes left in the quarter. Chicago closed to within 34-29, but Howard scored nine of Minnesota's next 18 points to finish the half.

Azurá Stevens, who made her season debut, blocked a shot in the lane, grabbed the rebound and hit a 15-foot jumper at the other end to highlight a 10-0 run that got Chicago within 63-57 with 1 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. She missed the team's first five games while dealing with a bone bruise in her left knee. She finished with six points in 16 minutes.

Minnesota led 68-58 heading to the fourth.

Minnesota's three starting guards all average 15 points per game. They combined for 44 points on Saturday. Courtney Williams scored 17, Olivia Miles 14 and McBride 13.

Kamilla Cardoso scored 17 points and Skylar Diggins had 13 points, six rebounds and six assists for Chicago (3-3). Taylor scored 11 points off the bench.

Chicago defeated Minnesota 86-79 on Sunday but lost leading scorer Rickea Jackson to a season-ending knee injury.

Foreigners in the U.S. who want a green card will need to leave and apply in their home country, the Trump administration announced Friday, in a surprise change to a longstanding policy that sowed confusion and concern among aid groups, immigration lawyers and immigrants.

For over half a century, foreign nationals with legal status have been able to apply for and complete the entire process for permanent residence in the United States — including individuals married to U.S. citizens, holders of work and student visas, and refugees and political asylum seekers, among others.

The announcement from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said foreigners who are in the U.S. temporarily and who want to apply to become lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, have to return home and apply there, except in "extraordinary circumstances." USCIS officers would decide whether applicants meet those.

"Nonimmigrants, like students, temporary workers, or people on tourist visas, come to the U.S. for a short time and for a specific purpose. Our system is designed for them to leave when their visit is over. Their visit should not function as the first step in the Green Card process," the agency said in a statement.

It is the latest step by the Trump administration making legal immigration more difficult for foreigners already in the U.S. and for those hoping to come here.

Hundreds of thousands apply for green cards from the U.S. each year

"The goal of this policy is very explicit. Senior officials in this administration have said over and over that they want fewer people to get permanent residency because permanent residency is a path to citizenship and they want to block that path for as many people as possible," said Doug Rand, a former senior advisor at USCIS during the Biden administration, who added that about 600,000 people already in the U.S. apply each year for a green card.

USCIS did not say when the change would come into effect, whether individuals would be required to remain in another country throughout the entire process, or whether the policy impacts foreigners whose green card applications are already underway.

In an emailed statement to the Associated Press the agency said people who provide an "economic benefit" or "national interest" could likely stay in the U.S. while others would have to go abroad to apply.

The changes come on top of steps the administration has already taken to restrict and limit entry for people from dozens of countries. In some cases, there are outright bans on travel from those countries, while people from others face pauses in visa processing. Experts and attorneys warned that forcing people from those countries to return home to apply for a green card would result in them being barred from coming back.

"If families are told that the non-citizen family member must return to his or her country of origin to process their immigrant visa, but immigrant visas are not being processed there, it's a Catch-22. These policies will effectively create an indefinite separation of families," wrote World Relief, a humanitarian and refugee resettlement organization.

Confusion over who the change applies to

USCIS described the change as a return to "the original intent of the law" and closing a "loophole."

But immigration lawyers and aid groups pushed back, saying it was longstanding practice for many groups to be able to adjust their status in the U.S. and that many people couldn't return home because it wasn't safe or they had no embassy to apply at. The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan, for example, has been closed since the U.S. pullout in August 2021.

"USCIS is trying to upend decades of processing of adjustment of status," said Shev Dalal-Dheini, senior director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "This all applies very broadly to anyone seeking a green card".

Among them could be individuals married to U.S. citizens, immigrants with humanitarian protection who are applying for a green card, and holders of work visas — including doctors and professionals — as well as student and religious visa holders, the attorney noted.

At some U.S. consulates abroad, wait times for a visa appointment could take up to more than a year, said Dalal-Dheini.

Immigration attorneys were picking through the policy memo and announcement Friday afternoon, trying to decipher who it would apply to.

Organizations that provide legal and other assistance to immigrants said they were hearing from clients concerned about what the new guidance would mean for them.

"It's really hard to tell how this is going to be applied," said Jessie De Haven, senior staff attorney with the California Immigration Project a non profit that provides legal services to low income immigrants. "I do think it might have a chilling effect on people applying."

Copyright 2026, NPR

Trevor Larnach matched his career-high with four hits, Taj Bradley allowed one run over five innings in his return from a chest muscle injury and the Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox 4-2 on Saturday for their ninth win in 13 games.

Benches and bullpens cleared briefly in the fourth inning after Boston’s Willson Contreras collided with catcher Victor Caratini when he was tagged out trying to score after running through a late stop sign from third base coach Chad Epperson. No punches were thrown.

Larnach had three singles and a double.

Boston had five hits and dropped to 2-20 when scoring two runs or fewer.

Making his first start since going on the IL May 9 with right pectoralis muscle inflammation, Bradley (5-1) gave up three hits with seven strikeouts and two walks. He threw the fastest pitch of his big league career, a 100.3 mph offering to Contreras in the fourth.

Taylor Rogers got Jarren Duran to strike out looking for the final out with the bases loaded for his second save.

After a comeback win in Friday's series opener, the Twins took a 2-0 lead in the first against opener Jovani Morán (0-2) on Austin Martin's RBI single and Josh Bell's sacrifice fly.

Ceddanne Rafaela’s fourth-inning RBI double on the plate Contreras was thrown out cut Boston’s deficit in half.

Caratini's sacrifice fly and Orlando Arcia's run-scoring single off the glove of pitcher Brayan Bello, who tried to backhand a grounder, boosted the lead to 4-1 in the fifth.

Up next

Twins RHP Bailey Ober (5-2, 3.63 ERA) is scheduled to face Red Sox RHP Sonny Gray (5-1, 2.93) in the series finale Sunday. The forecast calls for steady rain.

If you have kids in your life, they can probably tell you exactly how many days of school are left this year. If you’re looking for an adventure story the whole family might enjoy reading together when summer hits, Allie Cesmat of Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Ariz., recommends the middle grade fantasy novel “Scarlet Morning,” by ND Stevenson.

Stevenson is best known as the author of the web series-turned-graphic novel “Nimona,” which is also available as an animated feature on Netflix. “Scarlet Morning” is a prose novel, but it also includes letters, secret codes, and full-page illustrations that will appeal to reluctant readers.

“Scarlet Morning” is a hero’s journey in which two siblings living without their parents on a dream-like island are drawn into a pirate adventure. Cesmat says, she’s ready to shelve it next to the fantasy classics:

“In the middle of the night, their door is knocked down. This gruff pirate walks in and says, ‘I'm taking you, you're coming with me. We're going on an adventure.’ And what ensues is a pirate's journey across not a salty sea, but an actual salt sea. The seas are made of salt, and this land is made of salt.

“It’s an adventure in the way ‘The Hobbit’ is. It draws you in, and it takes you on this journey, not just as an adventure, but also internally. For being a middle-grade novel, I think that it can stand up with the classic fantasy books that you have on your shelves. Families can sit down and read this, and something will be taken for every age level. It is a story of family. It is a story of heart. It is finding out who you are, who you want to be, and also not letting any of the past hold you back.”

ND Stevenson has said there will be a sequel, which takes place in a new setting.

The president of Rochester's NAACP chapter is running for mayor.

Walé Elegbede said Thursday he will run on a platform of making Rochester more affordable, welcoming, safe and equitable for everyone living in the city.

“Rochester deserves leadership that listens to residents, solves problems, tells the truth, and brings people together,” he wrote on his campaign website.

Last year, in his role as NAACP president, Elegbede helped draw local and national attention to an incident caught on video in which a white woman called a Black child a racial slur at a city park. Shiloh Hendrix was charged with two counts of disorderly conduct, and her case heads to trial this summer.

Professionally, Elegbede directs strategy management services for Mayo Clinic’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology.

Rochester's mayoral race is wide open after incumbent Kim Norton announced earlier this year that she was retiring.

Elegbede is the seventh candidate to declare a run. Others include restaurant and catering business owner Joe Powers, and Jess Garcia, a clinical psychologist and former Rochester Public Schools school board member.

The United States and Iran are close to agreeing on a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war, two regional officials and a diplomat said Saturday, as the United States has weighed a new round of attacks on the Islamic Republic.

Iran signaled “narrowing differences” in negotiations with the U.S. after Pakistan’s army chief held more talks in Tehran, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told journalists in India that “there’s been some progress made” and “there may be news later today.”

The officials and diplomat expressed hope that a final decision on the Pakistan-prepared draft could come within 48 hours as both sides review it. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

They said Vice President JD Vance and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner played significant roles in helping bridge remaining gaps, and that Qatar played a key role by sending a senior official to Tehran to support Pakistan’s mediation efforts.

Still, both Iran and the U.S. emphasized their key positions and have warned of the risks of resuming attacks and disrupting their ceasefire. Rubio repeated the U.S. stance that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and must turn over its highly enriched uranium, and the Strait of Hormuz must be open.

Iran describes it as a ‘framework agreement' for more talks

Iran state TV quoted Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei as describing the draft as a “framework agreement” and adding: “We want this to include the main issues required for ending the imposed war and other issues of essential importance to us. Then, over a reasonable time span, between 30 to 60 days, details are discussed and ultimately a final agreement is reached.”

He said the Strait of Hormuz is among the topics discussed.

Positions have moved closer in recent days, Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted Baghaei as saying.

“Over the past week, the trend has been toward narrowing differences,” he said. “We will have to wait and see what happens over the next three or four days.”

Baghaei said nuclear issues are not part of the current negotiations, as Tehran first seeks to end the war before discussing its nuclear program that has long been at the heart of international tensions.

“Our focus at this stage is on ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon,” Baghaei said, adding that lifting sanctions on Tehran “has explicitly been included in the text and remains our fixed position.”

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV reported that leader Naim Kassim received a letter from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying Tehran will not abandon its allies. There is a fragile, U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon that began two days after the Iran war started.

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the lead negotiator in historic face-to-face talks with the U.S. last month, said Iran has rebuilt its military assets and if U.S. President Donald Trump resumes attacks, the result would be “more crushing and more bitter” than at the start of the war. He spoke after meeting with Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir, state TV reported.

Trump had said ‘serious negotiations’ were underway

Trump earlier said he was holding off on a military strike against Iran because “serious negotiations” were underway, and at the request of allies in the Middle East. Trump has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and then backed off.

The U.S. and Israel sparked the war with attacks on Feb. 28, cutting short nuclear talks with Iran. Tehran retaliated by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the region’s oil, natural gas and fertilizer, causing global economic pain.

The U.S. then blockaded Iranian ports. The U.S. Central Command on Saturday said U.S. forces had turned away more than 100 commercial vessels and disabled four since the blockade began April 13.

On his visit to Tehran, Pakistan’s army chief also met with Araghchi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials, the two officials said, adding that Islamabad continues efforts to arrange a second round of direct negotiations.

It was not clear whether Munir met with Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, who heads Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, has become a major player in formulating Iran’s tough stance in talks.

Byron Buxton and Austin Martin both hit two-run homers off reliever Justin Slaten in the seventh inning to help the Minnesota Twins rally from four runs down to beat the Boston Red Sox 8-6 on Friday night.

Ryan Kreidler added an RBI double for the Twins. Luke Keaschall and Buxton both had RBI singles.

Travis Adams (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings to pick up the win. Anthony Banda got four outs for his first save.

Minnesota’s four-run seventh ended a streak for Slaten (1-1) of 15 consecutive appearances dating to Sept. 16, 2025, without allowing a run. It was the third-longest active streak in the majors.

Wilyer Abreu had an RBI double. Willson Contreras, Andruw Monasterio, Marcelo Mayer and Jarren Duran all added RBIs for the Red Sox.

With Boston trailing 7-6 in the eighth with two outs, Mayer reached on an error by Minnesota second baseman Keaschall. Carlos Narváez followed by drawing a walk off Eric Orze, who was replaced by Banda — who got Mickey Gasper to fly out to end the threat.

Boston took a 4-0 lead in the first, teeing off on Twins starter Connor Prielipp, who was pulled after four innings, allowing six runs and seven hits.

Minnesota’s comeback came after Boston starter Payton Tolle, who went six innings, allowed three runs and four hits while striking out nine.

Abreu started the Red Sox off in the first with an RBI double. Contreras then got his 1,000th career hit with the 13th career triple of his career with a hard liner off the Green Monster that scored Abreu.

Monasterio made 3-0 with an RBI single. He advanced to third on Nick Sogard’s single, then scored on Mayer’s sacrifice fly to center.

But the Twins had four hits and took advantage of a fielding error by Tolle to get back three runs in the next inning.

Boston added two more in the fourth when Sogard scored off a throwing error by Prielipp, and Narváez crossed the plate on Duran’s RBI groundout to make it 6-3.

The Minneapolis City Council voted Thursday to impose a six-month moratorium on the establishment, re-establishment, or expansion of data centers in the city.

The moratorium includes an exception for data centers with less than 350,000 square feet of new or expanded space that are located in the downtown area.

Council member Elliott Payne said the city needs to regulate big tech companies that are building and operating data centers.

“A six-month pause on data centers while we work to develop more permanent regulations for our whole city is a practical move to ensure we can have needed guardrails in place that protect our communities as this industry explodes,” he said.

Council member Elizabeth Shaffer voted against the moratorium. She said while it’s better than the one-year pause that was originally proposed, “it sends the message once again that Minneapolis is closed for business.”

The interim ordinance does not require the mayor's signature. The proposed moratorium will come back in front of a council committee next month.

The Minneapolis City Council has rejected a plan to spend $6 million to acquire property for a new public safety training center.

After more than an hour of debate — and after a previous vote in March was postponed — the council voted 7-6 on Thursday to deny the purchase.

The proposed training center, proposed for a site in the Windom neighborhood of south Minneapolis, would have included training and wellness spaces for first responders, including the city’s police and fire departments.

Council member Jamal Osman said at Thursday’s meeting that he supports the idea of a new training center — but questioned spending millions on the property when the city doesn’t yet have the estimated $38 million to build the center.

“The only plan I have heard from the mayor’s leadership or administration was that — let’s just buy it and hope we will find the money in the future,” Osman said. “Well, that costs a lot of money for the city of Minneapolis. We’re going to spend $6 million, plus the upkeep of the property — and we don’t know how many years we’ll be sitting on that. It might be the next 20 years. That is not a smart decision.”

Mayor Jacob Frey spoke at the meeting and said rejecting the land purchase now will only mean higher costs for a training center in the future.

North Minneapolis council members LaTrisha Vetaw and Pearll Warren implored their fellow council members to support the purchase — noting that current police training facilities are amid residential neighborhoods on the North Side, while the new site is in a more industrial area.

Council member Linea Palmisano, who also supported the land purchase, said the training center is a way for the city to meet mandates to overhaul its police department, under terms of a consent decree with the state.

“This proposal is about building the infrastructure we need for that promised reform and structural change,” Palmisano said at Thursday’s meeting. “This is how we get there. It’s about first responders training together and not in separate silos. It’s about improving our response to critical events and emergencies.”

Council member Robin Wonsley disputed that the training center is a necessity.

“I wanted to flag, again, this weaponization of the settlement agreement to constantly use as a tool to rubber stamp every request by MPD,” Wonsley said. “What we can learn from other cities is we don't need to bankrupt ourselves by fulfilling the needs of consent decrees for our police department.”

Opponents said the city has greater needs than the training center, that should be a priority for available funding.

Tulsi Gabbard resigned as President Donald Trump's director of national intelligence on Friday, saying she needed to step away as her husband battles cancer. She is the fourth Cabinet official to depart during Trump’s second term.

In her resignation letter, which she posted on social media, Gabbard said she told Trump of her decision to leave office on June 30. She said her husband had recently been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer and “faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months.”

“At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle,” she wrote in the letter, which was earlier reported by Fox News.

Trump, in his own social media post announcing her resignation, said “Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her.” He said her principal deputy, Aaron Lukas, will serve as acting director of national intelligence.

During Trump’s first term, Lukas was as an intelligence aide to the acting director of national intelligence, Ric Grenel, in 2020. A former policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, he also served as deputy senior director for Europe and Russia at the National Security Council in the final year of Trump’s previous administration.

There had been rumblings that Gabbard would split with Trump after the president's decision to strike Iran, which caused some division within his administration. Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation in March, saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the war.

Gabbard, a veteran and former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, built her political name on her opposition to foreign wars. This put her in an awkward position when the U.S. joined Israel in launching attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.

During a congressional hearing in March, her measured comments were notable for their careful non-endorsement of Trump’s decision to strike Iran. She repeatedly dodged questions about whether the White House had been warned of potential fallout from the conflict, including Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Gabbard said in written remarks to the Senate Intelligence Committee that there had been no effort by Iran to rebuild its nuclear capability after U.S. attacks last year “obliterated” its nuclear program. That statement contradicted Trump, who has repeatedly asserted that the war was necessary to head off an imminent threat from the Islamic Republic.

This created several awkward exchanges with lawmakers who asked Gabbard for her opinion on the threat posed by Iran as the nation’s top intelligence official. She repeatedly said it was Trump’s decision to strike, not hers.

“It is not the intelligence community’s responsibility to determine what is and is not an imminent threat,” she said.

Gabbard’s departure follows Trump having ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in late March, in the midst of mounting criticism over her leadership of the department — including the handling of the administration’s immigration crackdown and disaster response.

The second Cabinet member to leave was Attorney General Pam Bondi, in response to growing frustration over the Justice Department’s handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein. And Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned in April, after being the target of various misconduct investigations.

A surprising choice for the job

A veteran but without any intelligence experience, Gabbard was a surprising choice to head the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies. She ran for president in 2020 on a progressive platform and her opposition to U.S. involvement in foreign military conflicts.

Citing her military experience, she argued that U.S. wars in the Middle East had destabilized the region, made the U.S. less safe and cost thousands of American lives. Gabbard later dropped out of the race and endorsed the ultimate winner, President Joe Biden.

Two years later she left the Democratic Party to become an independent, saying her old party was dominated by an “elitist cabal of warmongers” and “woke” ideologues. She subsequently campaigned for several high-profile Republicans and became a contributor to Fox News.

She later endorsed Trump, who also was a strong critic of past U.S. wars in the Middle East and campaigned on a pledge to avoid unnecessary wars and nation-building overseas.

Iran caused early tensions

But friction with the president started soon after he began his second term and tapped Gabbard to lead ODNI, which was set up after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to improve coordination between the nation’s intelligence agencies.

Shortly after taking on the job, Gabbard testified before lawmakers that there was no intelligence suggesting Iran was seeking to develop nuclear weapons. After Trump launched attacks on Iranian nuclear sites in June he said Gabbard was wrong and that he didn’t care what she said.

She appeared to be back in Trump’s good graces when she took a lead role in Trump’s effort to relitigate his 2020 election loss to Biden, whom Gabbard had endorsed. She appeared at an FBI search of election offices in Fulton County, Georgia, even though her office was created to focus on foreign espionage, not state elections.

Earlier this week, however, she testified to lawmakers during an annual threats hearing that last year’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites had “obliterated” their nuclear program and that there had been no subsequent effort to rebuild.

The statement seemed to complicate Trump’s repeated assertions that Iran posed an imminent threat and created several awkward exchanges with lawmakers who asked Gabbard for her opinion on Iran’s threat as the nation’s top intelligence official. She repeatedly said that it was Trump’s decision to strike, not hers.

“It is not the intelligence community’s responsibility to determine what is and is not an imminent threat,” she said at one of this week’s hearings.

Gabbard wrought big changes in one year

Gabbard vowed to eliminate what she said was the politicization of intelligence by government insiders. But she quickly used her office to support some of Trump’s most partisan of arguments — that he won the 2020 election.

She also worked to undermine the results of earlier investigations into Trump’s ties to Russia.

In her year on the job, Gabbard oversaw a sharp reduction in the intelligence workforce, as well as the creation of a new task force that she charged with considering big changes to the intelligence service.

Earlier this year an intelligence sector whistleblower filed a complaint that Gabbard was withholding intelligence for political reasons, a complaint that prompted calls from Democrats for Gabbard’s resignation.

Gabbard, 44, was born in the U.S. territory of American Samoa, raised in Hawaii and spent a year of her childhood in the Philippines. She was first elected as a 21-year-old to Hawaii’s House of Representatives but had to leave after one term when her National Guard unit deployed to Iraq.

As the first Hindu member of the House, Gabbard was sworn into office with her hand on the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu devotional work. She was also the first American Samoan elected to Congress.

During her four House terms she became known for speaking out against her party’s leadership. Her early support for Sen. Bernie Sanders ’ 2016 Democratic presidential primary run made her a popular figure in progressive politics nationally.

Reserve Maya Caldwell led a balanced attack with 16 points and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Toronto Tempo 100-72 on Thursday night.

Courtney Williams scored 15 points, rookie Olivia Miles had 14 and Natasha Howard and Kayla McBride each had 13 for the Lynx (3-2).

Kia Nurse led Toronto with 23 points off the bench and rookie Kiki Rice added 11. Brittney Sykes and Marina Mabrey, who combine for more than 45 points a game — both reached 30 in a win over Phoenix on Sunday — were held to nine. Each picked up a pair of fouls in the first quarter.

It was the worst loss for the expansion Tempo, who fell to 3-3 after winning their previous two. Toronto's other two losses were by three and four points. Minnesota's first four games were decided by a total of 16 points.

The Lynx shot 55 percent, had a 46-25 rebounding advantage and outscored the Tempo 42-24 in the paint. Minnesota went 10 of 24 behind the arc.

The Tempo shot 34 percent. They made 12 3-pointers but only shot 29 percent from distance.

The Lynx went on a 9-0 run and raced to a 27-14 lead after one quarter. Not much changed in the second quarter and the Lynx led 53-32 at halftime.

The Lynx stretched the lead to 76-50 after three quarters.

Up next

Tempo: Host fellow expansion team Portland on Saturday.

Lynx: At Chicago on Saturday.

The national average for a gallon of gasoline is $4.55, according to AAA; that's a four-year high, unwelcome news for drivers as the U.S. heads into one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.

AAA estimates a record 45 million Americans will travel this weekend, despite high prices for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

Gasoline prices have been elevated since the start of the war in Iran, and there's no sign of relief on the horizon. High prices are angering voters and straining household budgets.

In California, which has the highest gasoline prices in the nation, Gov. Gavin Newsom is openly feuding with the oil giant Chevron, discouraging Californians from filling up at its stations.

Chevron and the state have been in a tense relationship for years; Chevron moved its headquarters out of California in 2024 after complaining about state and local regulations, and is currently buying oil shipped through an offshore pipeline that California has attempted to keep shut down. In the latest salvos, Chevron has posted placards at California gas stations blaming state policies for the high prices, while Newsom's office is telling Californians they can get cheaper gas at unbranded stations.

But where does all this leave drivers? Despite high prices, most Americans are unwilling, or unable, to give up on driving. Americans have been logging more miles since the war with Iran started, according to the analytics company Arity, which tracks driving habits.

What can you do to cut costs? We asked the experts for ideas.

Drive smoothly. Pay less

The key to getting the most miles out of each gallon is driving efficiently. That means smooth acceleration, soft braking and slowing down.

Underinflated tires, heavy boxes in the back seat and an unused ski or luggage rack on the top of the vehicle can also make it less fuel efficient.

Some high-performance vehicles require premium gasoline. But if it's only recommended, you can skip it without damaging the car, according to Consumer Reports' deputy auto editor, Jonathan Linkov. "All cars, except the most esoteric supercars or older cars, can run fine on regular," said Linkov.

Are you considering going electric?

Data suggests that higher gasoline prices have many drivers at least thinking about giving up gas-powered cars altogether.

But the data on sales isn't so clear-cut. New-EV sales are still depressed following the abrupt end of a $7,500 federal consumer tax credit last fall. It's also tax refund season, which can push up car sales of all types, compared with the previous month. CarGurus reports that used-EV sales did seem to accelerate in the month of March, and Cox Automotive reports strong prices for used EVs at wholesale auction, noting that rising gas prices "may have positively influenced demand." On the other hand, data from the sites iSeeCars.com showed no appreciable shift in used-EV sales.

It's not surprising to see a rise in shoppers' interest before a rise in actual sales, especially for a purchase as significant as a vehicle. "What consumers are viewing on the site tends to be an earlier indicator than sales," says Kevin Roberts, the director of economic and market intelligence with CarGurus.

But analysts note that high gasoline prices do motivate shoppers to select for more fuel-efficient or entirely electric vehicles — if prices stay elevated for a long time.

An average driver can save $1,800 a year

The more you drive, the more you stand to save from switching to a battery-powered car, says Janelle London, the co-executive director of a nonprofit called Coltura, which advocates against gasoline. "Across the entire U.S., an average driver doing, say, 15,000 miles a year already is going to save $1,800 a year by switching to an electric car," London says. "But if you're talking about a big driver, somebody who does maybe 25,000 miles a year, they're going to be saving on average $3,000 a year by making the switch."

And as the cost of gas keeps rising, she says, "we're seeing the savings just skyrocket up."

Coltura has an online tool that car shoppers can use to estimate potential savings from going electric.

Those savings vary based not just on how much you drive but also on where you live, thanks to differences in the local prices of gasoline and electricity. Yale Climate Connections recently published a map comparing the price of charging with the price of gasoline, by looking at the cost of enough electricity to take you as far as 1 gallon goes in a similar gas car: In North Dakota, driving an EV is like paying less than a dollar a gallon, but in California it's more like $2.70 a gallon.

Or you can crunch your personal numbers more precisely by comparing the cost per mile using your own electricity rates, local gasoline prices and the efficiency of the gas and electric vehicles you're comparing. (The extremely lazy route? Multiply your home's cost per kilowatt-hour for electricity by 10. That's very roughly comparable to how many dollars per gallon you'd pay to fuel your car. The national average cost for home electricity is $0.17 right now, so, ballpark, that's like paying $1.70 for gasoline.)

Consider factors beyond gasoline

If you're thinking of switching to an EV to save money, there are other factors to weigh as well. Maintenance savings can also be substantial — electric vehicles need new tires and not much else. On the other hand, insurance can be pricey. You might also weigh nonfinancial factors, like how much you value the environmental benefits of an EV or the merits of a quiet ride.

Charging is also crucial. Can you charge at home, which is far more convenient and affordable than charging at stations? If so, will you need to install a dedicated, higher-speed charger, which comes with an installation cost, or can you get by with a standard outlet?

The more you drive and the larger your vehicle is, the more likely it is you'll need to add a charger. The Environmental Protection Agency has a calculator that can help with that decision.

Could you get by without driving at all?

Another option, of course, is to pursue alternatives to driving.

But data compiled by the app Transit shows that ridership was steady for most of March and actually dropped slightly in the week ending April 4.

That's no surprise, says Stephen Miller, the policy lead at Transit; the Easter holiday may have pulled ridership down, and gas prices have been elevated only for a few weeks. "Historically, people only make larger changes that show up as a significant shift from driving to public transit if the price of gas goes up — and stays up," he says. Year over year, transit ridership continues to increase overall, although it has yet to fully recover from the collapse in public transit use at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jerick White, who lives in Houston, bought his first e-bike in March. There were several reasons explaining why he switched from a car to two wheels, but saving on gasoline was one of them. Between the cost of the car, maintenance and gas, he says, "it just became too unbearable, unmanageable and expensive."

He hasn't calculated exactly how much money he's saving, but, he says, it's "a lot of money for sure." One important factor in his decision: White works from home now and lives close to a grocery store and other places where he needs to run errands. Biking around "is very, very reliable if you stay in a neighborhood and you work close by," he says.

If getting an EV makes the most sense for people with the longest commutes, trading out of a car entirely is for the other end of the spectrum: people who don't drive much or take a lot of short trips. Veo, the bike and scooter app, reports that its average trip length is 1.9 miles.

If it works for your lifestyle, White says, biking has benefits in addition to savings on gas. "I feel like a kid again when I'm riding it," he says. "It's very enjoyable." And: "Oh, my goodness, I can avoid the traffic."

Spend more on fuel by cutting more elsewhere

Finally, some folks are willing to spend more at the pump — but cut back elsewhere. High fuel prices were not enough to stop Julie and Vince Rossi from taking their first cross-country road trip in their new recreational vehicle. They sold their house to live in a 22,000-pound RV full time and went on their longest road trip yet, driving from Arizona to Virginia.

Diesel costs even more than gasoline — and its price has gone up faster since the war started — so to afford their now-doubled fuel budget, they're skipping the museums and amusement parks for free attractions. "If we want to continue on this lifestyle, we either look for the lowest prices or we need to cut spending somewhere else," Julie Rossi says.

A previous version of this story ran on April 7, 2026.

Copyright 2026, NPR

Burnsville Police Chief Tanya Schwartz is retiring after more than three decades with the department, closing out a career city leaders say helped shape the culture of policing in Burnsville through both triumph and tragedy.

At a Burnsville City Council meeting Tuesday night, city officials, police officers, firefighters, family members and residents packed City Hall to celebrate Schwartz’s career and honor her leadership. The city also awarded her the Key to the City – Burnsville’s highest honor.

City Manager Gregg Lindberg praised Schwartz’s steady leadership and commitment to the community.

“Tanya has been the right leader at the right time,” he said. “She’s led with steadiness during challenges, heart during the most difficult of times, and most importantly, humanity in all she’s done.”

Schwartz joined the department in 1995 as a community service officer and rose through the ranks as an officer, sergeant and captain before becoming Burnsville’s first female police chief in 2019.

Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz said she and Schwartz began their public service careers in Burnsville at nearly the same time.

“As Chief Schwartz began her career as community service officer in 1995 I was sworn in as mayor, and that's where our paths crossed, and it has been an amazing journey to travel with you over the years.”

Kautz said Schwartz built a department culture rooted in care, wellness and humanity.

“Chief Schwartz has been instrumental in shaping a department culture that balances enforcement of law with care, dignity, and respect for every individual. Her leadership advanced a model of policing and values humanity at every turn.”

Kautz also reflected on Schwartz’s leadership following the Feb. 18, 2024 killings of Burnsville police officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, along with firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth, who were shot and killed while responding to a domestic violence call.

“In the face of profound loss, Chief Schwartz guided the department with steadiness and unwavering care for her officers, staff, and the families affected. Her actions during that time exemplified the highest standard of public service.”

In emotional remarks, Schwartz reflected on her 31 years with the department and thanked the community for supporting first responders and their families.

“It’s been an incredible honor to serve Burnsville Police Department and this community at every rank, from community service officer to chief.”

She also spoke directly about the loss of Elmstrand, Ruge and Finseth.

“Losing them was heartbreaking for all of us. You took care of our fallen families, our department, me, the community, through unimaginable grief, and we have honored their selfless sacrifice, and their legacy will live on forever at the Burnsville Police Department.”

Schwartz thanked her family and colleagues for supporting her throughout her career and said she is proud of the department’s work expanding officer wellness and mental health initiatives.

“I’m really proud of all that we’ve accomplished together, all that we’ve done to amplify Burnsville Police Department’s culture of excellence.”

Deputy Chief Matt Smith, who will become Burnsville’s next police chief, said Schwartz’s leadership style centered on compassion and authenticity.

“She led with her heart, when she spoke to the community and to our personnel, she was genuine and cares so much, and you can hear that in everything that she says.”

Smith, who has worked in the department for 24 years, said Schwartz helped guide the department through some of its hardest moments.

“We’ve always said that we have a family culture. We ask applicants about how they’re going to contribute to our family culture, and I think the unfortunate events of February 18 have brought us even closer together.”

He said he hopes to continue the department’s emphasis on officer wellness and community care.

“I have been super proud of all the wellness initiatives that we’ve implemented over the last several years, and I’m really excited to bring that forward and continue doing the things that Chief Schwartz has really laid the groundwork for.”

Kautz said Schwartz’s legacy also includes mentoring women in law enforcement and helping pave the way for future female leaders in the department.

“She is not one to be in the front, and she just lets her people speak, and not only is she humble, she is a person of integrity and compassion.”

Schwartz retires at the end of May.

Artists investigate what it means to neighbor, “What the Constitution Means to Me” comes to Artistry, a Red Eye Theater experimental bonanza, new local “sad boy” music and hot glass art — find out more in this week’s MN Shortlist.

Two art shows about ‘neighboring’ in Minneapolis — Through June 20

Attention Merriam-Webster, Oxford and other English dictionaries! Here is my official plug for the word of the year: Neighbor, or some variation thereof. In Minnesota, that term has taken on deeper meaning in 2026, and it has become a source of inspiration for artists.

Case in point: two art exhibitions are currently up that explore what it means to neighbor. “Neighboring: On care, connection and the quiet strength of showing up,” a group show at the Douglas Flanders & Associates Gallery, and “Neighborisms,” a solo show by Julie Buffalohead at TOA Presents.

For the latter, Buffalohead has created new works on paper featuring her signature painted animal coterie that “embody the range of emotions felt – and the actions undertaken – by the people of Minnesota throughout the [Operation Metro Surge], calling out the wrongdoings of ICE agents while formulating community-driven resistance to occupation.” (Alex V. Cipolle)

‘What the Constitution Means to Me’ at Artistry Theater in Bloomington — through June 7

Playwright Heidi Schreck paid for college through winning constitutional oratory and debate competitions. That experience serves as the basis for her 2017 play “What the Constitution Means to Me.”

In the play, a fictional version of Schreck rediscovers one of her speeches about the Constitution that she delivered at American Legion halls in her teens. What follows is an examination of the Constitution — especially the Ninth and 14th Amendments—while even questioning if we should abolish the current Constitution to create a new one. (Jacob Aloi)

‘Second Glance Crop Art Exhibit’ at Kickoff to Summer at the fair — through May 24

If the Minnesota State Fair is the unofficial end of summer, the Kickoff to Summer at the Fair is the unofficial start of the season. What I think of as a “mini-fair” keeps growing, and this year, for the first time, organizers are bringing back a selection of crop art pieces to view.

Considering how long the lines are during the State Fair, the exhibit gives crop art enthusiasts a chance to spend more time up close admiring the artistry of the folk tradition, which has gained popularity since it was featured in exhibitions at the Smithsonian and the Minneapolis Institute of Art in 2025. (Lisa Ryan)

Red Eye Festival in Minneapolis — through June 13

If you need more locally inspired experimental art in your life, the Red Eye Theater has you covered for at least the next month with its “Works-in-Progress” festival (formerly known as New Works 4 Weeks Festival).

The first batch of performances this weekend — a mix of dance, storytelling, satire, sound and textiles — includes “Dear Mom My Gut is Your Gut” by Edna Hand, “A Waiting Room” by Jarek Pastor, “planet of disruption” by Gaya Sani and “trans soils, borderless bodies” by Río Saúl. Saúl says the multimedia performance explores land and gender through “memories of my grandfather, plants, and a small gay bar.”

Also look for the group performance “an experiment in wielding ripples of vibration | INTIFADA INCANTATION” June 11-13 led by star dancer-choreographer Leila Awadallah, a Palestinian American who describes her approach as centering “Palestine, a body-as-homeland practice.” (Alex V. Cipolle)

‘George Pfeifer ​60th Anniversary Retrospective’ at The Rourke Art Gallery + Museum — May 22-Aug. 9

For more than six decades, the Fargo-born, St. Paul-based artist George Pfeifer has been making landscape art that ranges from realistic paintings of Midwest nature to pop art depictions of fields and skies.

The Rourke Art Gallery + Museum is marking the 60th anniversary of Pfeifer’s first solo exhibition at the Moorhead artist institution with a sprawling retrospective –— 60 artworks will be on view — through Aug. 9.

“George's work is central to the development of the art scene here in the Red River Valley,” Rourke executive director Jonathan Rutter told MPR News.

Rutter says the gallery opened in 1960, and Pfeifer was involved since the beginning.

“He started out as a teenager taking art classes at the old gallery, and very soon it became clear that he was a capable and really adept artist, and one who had tapped into broader cosmopolitan art movements and made them something local to Minnesota.”

Pfeifer will give an artist talk 2 p.m. Sunday, May 24. (Alex V. Cipolle)

Jeremy Messersmith’s ‘Fox/Coyote’ at The Great Big Jamboree — May 23

Known for his clever lyrics and haunting “sad boy” music, Jeremy Messersmith is a darling of the Minnesota indie music scene. On his 2026 release, however, he taps into his most mischievous energy.

“Fox/Coyote” can be streamed on various platforms, but it also comes as a vinyl LP (Fox on side A, Coyote on side B) which features relatable songs like “Huckleberry,” about the people in your life who you know are toxic but you just can’t shake, to earnest songs like “The View,” which feels like a love song about repairing a relationship, even if it’s only temporary. The album took several years to create.

“The album that I started making is very different by the time I finished with it,” Messersmith said, acknowledging that the last few months have been difficult for Minneapolis in the wake of the immigration enforcement surge that left two U.S. citizens dead.

“You just have to have a bit of faith…that the songs will kind of find a home in people's hearts, or it'll do what it needs to do,” Messersmith told MPR News.

You can hear Messersmith play from the new album May 23 at The Great Big Jamboree in Bloomington. (Jacob Aloi)

‘Kilnforming in the Upper Midwest’ at Foci Minnesota Center for Glass Arts — May 22-July 22

Foci, a Minneapolis hub for glass arts, is opening a juried exhibition that “highlights the creative breadth and technical innovation of kiln-based glass practices across the region.” As the name implies, kilnforming is a type of glass-working that uses a kiln versus, say, glassblowing or lampworking.

The exhibition features some fascinating pieces by artists based in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin that demonstrate the medium’s range, from spindly crystalline towers to ethereal glowing faces. There will be an exhibition reception Saturday, May 30. (Alex V. Cipolle)

Powwow season begins in spring and enters its peak through the summer. Nearly every weekend across Minnesota, tribal nations hold a powwow, whether it be in honor of Memorial Day or celebrating anniversaries. Sometimes they are held as a way to gather in community.

Deanna StandingCloud is a citizen of Red Lake Nation. She was born and raised in south Minneapolis and works with a variety of Native American organizations and gatherings, including powwows as an emcee.

Cole Redhorse Taylor is a citizen of the Prairie Island Indian Community in southeastern Minnesota. He says he has been dancing at powwows since he was a teenager, beginning with a style of dance known as grass dancing. Now, Redhorse Taylor says he mainly focuses on men’s woodland style.

StandingCloud and Redhorse Taylor were interviewed by Reporter Chandra Colvin. The conversation was lightly edited for clarity.

What is a powwow?

StandingCloud: It's like an intertribal gathering. There are two different kinds of powwows. So there's traditional, and then there's a contest powwow.

Powwows have really evolved to be kind of like this enterprise, right? So, powwow season is really upon us right now.

Redhorse Taylor: Traditional [powwows are] kind of more of an operative sense. They’re powwows that welcome people, and for people to just come and dance, and for people to enjoy themselves. Contest powwows are definitely where powwow dancing becomes a sport, and I think that's what's really exciting.

There are many contemporary things about powwow dancing and about powwows, but they're still uniquely a Native American experience that many Native American tribes offer or that we contribute to. It's very much about community as well, and it's a beautiful thing to witness.

Are they open to the public?

StandingCloud: Yes. Especially the powwows that I emcee at, I really like to make sure that people who are not Native, or it's their first powwow, feel welcome. And that's just a foundational piece of our Indigenous hospitality, is really inviting other people who are non-Native into the circle. And that's just like making relatives.

So yes, the public is welcome to attend.

What can people expect to see?

StandingCloud: You'll see colorful regalia. You'll see, especially, the strikingness of the jingle dress dancers. You'll hear the bells and the shimmer of the jingle dress dancers, which is a healing dress. It's a healing dance. And the smells and the senses — you'll smell fry bread and maybe some sage. And what you'll hear is, you know, lots of laughter.

All the style dancers who are present for that celebration will line up. And, typically, at the front, it's like a parade. So at the front, we'll have the veterans holding some of the flags.

We remove our hats, and we open our celebration in a good way. Sometimes there'll be a prayer.

Are there any protocols that should be observed at a powwow?

Redhorse Taylor: When someone's wearing their regalia, you shouldn't go up to them and just start touching their regalia. It's not a costume; it's regalia or traditional clothing.

You really have to respect someone's regalia, someone's dance items, what they have on them. They're beautiful, and it's beautiful to look at up close, but you want to be respectful.

StandingCloud: Just follow the instructions of the emcee. Be respectful and if you happen to want to take a picture of an individual, just ask for their permission. Do not touch anyone's regalia without their permission.

You can be curious. I think a lot of our — especially our young people — want to share what they know with the community. You can be curious in a very respectful way. You can ask questions. The emcee will usually be very helpful in that regard.

Also feel free to dance. So, when it's intertribal, I really like to see when people who are visitors come out to dance.

And it's not really about how you look, it's just how you feel.

Memorial Day weekend powwows

Powwows happening Memorial Day weekend include:

Leech Lake Memorial Day Traditional Powwow, Cass Lake

• May 22, 23 and 24, Veterans Memorial Grounds

Prairie Island Indian Community Memorial Day Wacipi, Welch

• May 23 and 24, Prairie Island Powwow Grounds

Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Memorial Day Powwow, Onamia

• May 25, Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post

Chandra Colvin covers Native American communities in Minnesota for MPR News via Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.

CONCORD, N.C. — Kyle Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion who won more races than anyone across NASCAR's three national series, has died. He was 41.

The Busch Family, Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR issued a joint statement Thursday saying that Busch died after being hospitalized. No cause of death was given.

Busch's family said earlier Thursday that he was hospitalized with a "severe illness," three days before he was to compete at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Busch was the younger brother of Kurt Busch, a NASCAR Hall of Famer.

"Our entire NASCAR family is heartbroken by the loss of Kyle Busch," the statement said. "A future Hall of Famer, Kyle was a rare talent, one who comes along once in a generation. He was fierce, he was passionate, he was immensely skilled and he cared deeply about the sport and fans.

The statement went on to say that "throughout a career that spanned more than two decades, Kyle set records in national series wins, won championships at NASCAR's highest level and fostered the next generation of drivers as an owner in the Truck Series. His sharp wit and competitive spirit sparked a deep emotional connection with race fans of every age, creating the proud and loyal 'Rowdy Nation.'"

The news comes 11 days after Busch radioed into his crew near the end of a Cup Series race at Watkins Glen asking a doctor to give him a "shot" after he finished the race. According to the TV broadcast, Busch had been struggling with a sinus cold that was exacerbated by the intense G-forces and elevation changes at the New York road course.

Busch finished the race in eighth place.

Busch competed at Dover last weekend and won the Trucks Series race for Richard Childress Racing. He finished 17th at the NASCAR All-Star race.

"Absolute shock. Very hard to process," veteran NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski posted on social media.

NASCAR driver and former teammate Denny Hamlin posted on social media: "Absolutely cannot comprehend this news. We just need to think of his family during this time. We love you KB."

A polarizing figure known as "Rowdy" and "Wild Thing" for his post-race fights, regular feuds with other drivers and sometimes outlandish behavior, the multi-talented Busch stormed on the Cup Series scene in 2005 by winning Rookie of the Year.

He went on to win championships in 2015 and 2019 for Joe Gibbs Racing.

From Las Vegas, Busch experienced unrivaled success across NASCAR's three national series winning a combined 234 Cup, O'Reilly Auto Parts and Trucks Series races. He had 63 Cup victories along with 102 O'Reilly Auto Parts wins and 69 Trucks victories — both records.

Kyle Busch was said to be ready to race at NASCAR's top level at 16, but a cigarette settlement banned his debut and he had to wait until he was a 18. At the time Kurt Busch said "if you think I'm good, wait until you see my brother."

Busch is survived by his wife Samantha and children Brexton and Lennix.

Copyright 2026, NPR

Six years since a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd, city staff are moving ahead on development at George Floyd Square.

Last week, a team of city staff recommended Minnesota Agape Movement as a developer for the Peoples’ Way, a defunct Speedway gas station at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue which has long served as a gathering area for the George Floyd Square’s visitors and caretakers. The city bought the site in 2023, and has been searching for a group to co-develop it.

Agape was chosen from among several community groups that applied. The community organization started after Floyd’s murder, and is headquartered at George Floyd Square. The group, which includes several ex-gang members, conducts safety patrols and works with youth to divert them from violence and gangs.

The announcement sparked some backlash. City council member Jason Chavez pointed to a community survey that the city conducted last year, which asked residents their opinions on four groups that applied.

That survey found the most support for a different group — Rise and Remember, which preserves art, coordinates community outreach and plans events in the square. It’s led by the square’s longtime lead caretaker Jeanelle Austin and two family members of George Floyd, Paris Stevens and Angela Harrelson. It proposed a memorial garden for the site.

“I just have a lot of questions about fairness, transparency, accountability, what actually led to this decision if it wasn’t the community, because the community was very clear on their choice,” Chavez said.

City staff on the project said they took the survey results seriously, but also considered other factors in their decision.

Miles Mercer is the manager of business development in the city’s department of Community Planning and Economic Development. He said Agape stood out for its experience and community connections.

“There were these other factors like the relevant experience of the team that we had to weigh as well, so it was a mix of all those factors that had Agape rise to the top,” Mercer said.

The community survey found support for Agape’s idea, too — a six-story building featuring a museum, space for a small business, a restaurant and a gift shop. But the survey noted that reactions to Agape’s proposal were more polarized, with more people saying they strongly disagreed with the ideas.

A coalition of businesses at the intersection said in a statement that they welcomed the recommendation of Agape as the Peoples’ Way development partner.

Mercer said several community members expressed an interest in seeing Agape and the other groups collaborate on the development. He said Agape leaders have indicated they would be interested in that, too; if they get the development contract, Agape would lead the way on any collaborations.

Reginald Ferguson, CEO of Minnesota Agape Movement, said the group is looking forward to working on the development.

“We see this opportunity as both an honor and a responsibility to ensure the future of the space reflects healing, remembrance, justice, culture, economic opportunity, and continued investment in the people who carried this space through its most painful and powerful moments,” Ferguson said in a statement.

Agape has been caught up in controversy around the square before. The group contracted with the city in 2021 to remove barricades from the streets and reopen the square to traffic, against the wishes of activists.

The city council will need to approve the Peoples’ Way development contract before Agape can officially start its work. The recommendation to partner with Agape is slated to go before a council committee on June 2.

If it gets the contract, Agape will work with city staff for two to three years to finalize a design — which, Mercer said, may be different from the six-story building initially proposed.

“It will involve community engagement work, costing work, and feasibility work to really figure out what could they build there, and what funding can they raise, both philanthropic and maybe some public funding to realize a project,” Mercer said.

The Peoples’ Way development is one part of broader changes in the square. Street construction is slated to start on June 8, after years of debate over the best layout for the intersection — and whether to proceed with any construction at all. The construction project will take two years.

Businesses and residents in the square are getting ready to adjust to that work.

Austin, the director of Rise and Remember, said the group is busy ensuring all the art in the square is preserved.

“Right now our work is to make sure that all the items in our current inventory are actually inventoried, we consolidate space, and then make sure that there’s room for us then to make the move to take on new offerings,” Austin said. “I think a lot of this is extremely complicated because of the mixed feelings and mixed emotions from neighbors around the construction.”

Austin said most of the art will not be impacted by construction this year, based on the city’s plan to reconstruct the streets block-by-block over two years.

Businesses are also preparing for parking and foot traffic disruptions.

Victoria Lauing is the executive director at the Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center. She said the art studio is preparing to communicate those changes to their visitors and delivery drivers.

“For the most part, we are continuing to do our work here,” Lauing said. “It’s a busy place, we’ve got a lot of people that rely on this space, so we keep focused on delivering our services to the people who use them here.”

Some residents and business owners have also started receiving notices from the city about special property tax assessments — a fee charged to property owners adjoining city construction projects. It’s determined based on square footage, with higher rates for commercial properties than residential ones. It could run up to tens of thousands of dollars for some businesses.

“I think it feels like a bitter pill to swallow at this point,” Lauing said. “Folks have been through a lot here. The businesses have struggled to stay operating, and then going through construction is always hard.”

But before construction starts, the square will likely draw crowds of visitors this weekend, with several events commemorating Floyd planned as Monday marks six years since his murder.

The organization Win Back is hosting its annual day of remembrance on Friday, featuring a brunch followed by panel discussions at George Floyd Square.

Rise and Remember is hosting several events throughout the weekend, including a Night of Honor on Saturday at the Metropolitan Ballroom, and a series of talks from racial justice leaders in the square on Sunday.

Monday is the group’s annual Rise and Remember festival at George Floyd Square. Austin said between 80 and 100 vendors will be on site, with food, music and activities.

Austin said the day is a chance to grieve Floyd — but also to celebrate.

“Grief is simply processing loss. It doesn’t always mean being sad, and I think that sometimes our ideas of grief mean that it has to be solemn or tearful or quiet, but that’s just not true,” Austin said. “It’s necessary to be able to celebrate the way that the people responded as George Floyd was being taken from us, and the fight and the resistance.”

The sixth annual festival will end with a candlelight vigil on Monday night.

The Democratic National Committee has finally released an outside review of 2024 campaign losses that the party says was delivered unfinished and full of unverified claims about problems and solutions.

DNC Chairman Ken Martin, facing internal criticism for a decision to shelve the report after he received it late last year, apologized in a Substack post accompanying the report for withholding the document until now.

"When I received the report late last year, it wasn't ready for primetime," Martin wrote. "Not even close. And because no source material was provided, fixing it would have meant starting over, from the beginning – every conversation, every interview, every data set."

The 192-page document, written by Paul Rivera, a Democratic consultant unaffiliated with the Biden and Harris campaigns, is missing key sections like a conclusion, an executive summary and even "Notes for the reader."

"While we extensively fact-check DNC After Action Report in order to ensure accuracy, it is always possible that mistakes remain," the draft reads. "We encourage any readers who notice factual errors to reach out to use at XXXX@dnc.org. Mistakes will be corrected as quickly as possible, and any

changes will be noted in the text. All numbers and figures are accurate as of xx/xx/2025."

The report's tentative title, "BUILD TO WIN. BUILD TO LAST" was constructed on shaky foundational data, the DNC asserts in numerous annotations throughout the draft document.

A disclaimer notes that the party "was not provided with the underlying sourcing, interviews, or supporting data for many of the assertions contained herein and therefore cannot independently verify the claims presented."

The unfinished autopsy was delivered to Martin in late 2025, as the party was celebrating major victories in Virginia, New Jersey and across the country in the November municipal elections, part of a string of electoral overperformances that has continued since Trump returned to the White House last January.

Martin said at the time that focusing on 2024 would not help win future elections.

"In short, I didn't want to create a distraction," he wrote. "Ironically, in doing so, I ended up creating an even bigger distraction. And for that, I sincerely apologize."

He defended the work the national party has undertaken in his year and a half as chair to invest more into state parties and reiterated his belief that the Democratic Party brand needs fixing and its infrastructure needs to be updated to focus on year-round organizing.

Similar themes emerged in the autopsy, which said since former President Obama's first election in 2008, the "Democratic Party has vacillated between stagnation and retrogression."

Former President Joe Biden's name only appears a handful of times in the document, but one key takeaway the author suggests is that the White House "did not position or prepare" former Vice President Kamala Harris to help Biden govern.

Copyright 2026, NPR

Minnesota gained 15,900 non-farm jobs between March and April on a seasonally adjusted basis. That marks the state’s largest over-the-month increase since March of 2024.

The 0.5 percent seasonally adjusted job growth between March and April outpaced the national growth rate of 0.1 percent.

The state's unemployment rate held even at 4.5 percent, while the national rate held at 4.3 percent.

Officials at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) said that growth would usually be cause for celebration. However, they instead believe it's an “initial bounce back” from the economic impacts of federal immigration enforcement actions at the start of the year.

“So we are not popping champagne over what would normally be a pretty remarkable monthly jobs number,” said DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek.

The sector called Trade, transportation and utilities was among the top gainers. Leisure and hospitality also posted big gains. Both sectors had seen three consecutive months of declines at the start of the year and were particularly affected by federal immigration enforcement actions, according to DEED officials.

Information, education and health service super sectors, though, had small declines.

Labor force participation in the state also fell slightly to 67.4 percent over the month. That marks the fourth month in a row that the state labor force participation rate has dropped. The metric is important because it can be a signal of economic vitality.

Minnesota’s labor force participation rate remains higher than the national participation rate, which dropped by 0.1 percentage point to 61.8 percent last month.

It’ll take time to understand why the labor force is still declining despite recent job growth, DEED officials said. But they suggested it may reflect national trends of an aging workforce and declining immigration.

Varilek noted that the declining effects of immigration might be especially pronounced in Minnesota, given that immigration enforcement agencies have targeted the state.

“One would also expect that there probably are again some Metro Surge impacts if folks may have even left the state or remain just out of the labor market within the state,” Varilek said.

Lawns are great surfaces for throwing a football or laying out a picnic.

But turfgrass in the United States now covers an estimated 40 million acres — an area about the size of the state of Georgia — and these manicured lawns take an environmental toll.

Gas-powered yard equipment, like lawn mowers and trimmers, put out 30 million tons of air pollutants a year, the Environmental Protection Agency says.

To keep our lawns tidy and green, we also use weedkillers and fertilizers. When it rains, those chemicals escape our yards and make their way through storm drains to our lakes and rivers.

Shrinking lawns can reduce all these impacts. It can also create space for gardens that feed wildlife — great news at a time when North America has lost one-quarter of its birds and the U.S. has lost one-fifth of its butterflies.

University of Delaware entomologist Doug Tallamy has calculated that if Americans reduced their lawns by half and added native plant gardens to feed birds, butterflies and other wildlife, this would create more habitat than Yellowstone and a dozen other major national parks combined.

Interested in ditching your lawn? These tips can get you started.

1. Choose a spot where you'll kill some grass

Consider starting small, especially if you're new to gardening.

" It can be overwhelming to take on an expansive garden," says Stacia Stelk, executive director of Deep Roots KC, a group that teaches the public how and why to plant habitat gardens in the Kansas City region. " As you get more comfortable, there's always room to expand."

Replacing the whole lawn at once can lead to weed, mud and erosion problems, so it requires careful planning and more work.

A good place to remove some grass could be along a fence or sidewalk. If you have a tree in your yard, consider putting a flower bed around it. This is called a soft landing because it gives caterpillars a safe place to go after they finish feeding on your tree's leaves. There, they can make their chrysalises and cocoons among flowers and leaf litter, safe from lawnmowers, and emerge as adult butterflies and moths. Bees, fireflies and other insects will find homes there too.

2. Plan what you are going to plant

Using flowers, trees and shrubs that have existed in North America for millennia is a surefire way to turn your space into a wildlife magnet.

That's because many insects feed on specific native plants. A famous example is the monarch caterpillar's need for milkweed — it can't eat anything else.Native plants also boost insect populations, which feed birds, frogs, lizards and other animals.

To pick your specific plants, first note whether your new flower bed will be in shade or sun and what the ground is like. For example, is the soil very sandy? Is the area usually wet?

Next, find a native plant group specific to your region, because native plants for Arizona and New York are completely different. Many of these groups have online cheat sheets for picking plants. Midwesterners, for example, can check out GrowNative.org, which has sample flower bed plans and Top 10 lists of plants for different light and soil conditions.

Also know what style you're looking for. Are you looking for short groundcovers? Do you dream of a cottagecore garden with big drifts of pastel flowers? Do you want a hedge between you and your neighbors?

Finally, know your local rules: Some homeowners associations or city codes restrict tall flowers and grasses in the front yard, for example.

3. Kill your grass

There are plenty of ways to kill your grass. You can kill it by covering it with cardboard to deprive it of sunlight. You can lay down sheets of clear plastic to block light and rain while baking the grass in the sun's heat. You can rent a sod cutter or use a shovel to dig the turf out by hand. You can also use herbicide. Iowa State University has a nice guide to carrying out these options.

There's no right way to kill your grass. The best option for you will likely depend on your particular outdoor space, how much hands-on time you want to spend removing the grass and how long you're willing to wait for it to die. Smothering the grass with cardboard can take weeks or months, for example.

If you're using plastic or cardboard, there's no need to remove the grass once it's completely dead, unless you see seedheads or grass pieces that could resprout. The dead turf will decompose on its own and add organic matter to your garden.

4. Buy plants for your new garden (or look for free options)

The tricky thing about native plants is that typical garden centers often don't stock many of them. Many opt to focus on popular ornamentals such as peonies and boxwoods that originally came from other continents.

Native plant or wildlife advocacy groups often post indexes online of native plant nurseries or pop-up events where native plants will be sold.

But buying lots of plants can be expensive.

Jeffrey Popp, director of restoration at Anne Arundel Watershed Stewards Academy near Annapolis, Md., has a few tips to save money when buying plants.

First, look for places that sell plugs — small, young plants in six-packs or flats.

"You can buy native plant plugs relatively inexpensive," Popp says.

Despite being small, those plugs can grow fast. Also, some homeowners with native plant gardens will give away seedlings for free or swap plants, he says.

Try searching Facebook for local groups dedicated to native plants. This might mean a native plant society, for example, or a local chapter of Wild Ones, a group that encourages wildlife friendly gardening.

You can also start plants from seed, but this takes patience. Nurseries like Prairie Moon, a major native plant seller based in Minnesota, have detailed instructions for how to get each kind of seed to germinate.

5. Plant the plants and wait

Get them in the ground and put mulch around them. There's no need to add extra garden soil during planting if you've picked native plants suited to your soil conditions. Advice on how far to space the plants out varies depending on the plant. But basically, you'll want to space them so that once the plants mature, your flower bed is full.

" Plants want to touch each other," says Paula Diaz, a master gardener in Kansas City. "They don't want acres of mulch in between them."

This is better for you, too, because eventually you won't have to replenish mulch or pull weeds as often.

It'll take a few years to get to that point, though. Gardeners like to say that many perennials "sleep, creep, leap," meaning they won't seem to do much in their first year, will only grow a little in their second, and then will thrive in their third. (Although it's true that some species can grow faster.)

6. Watch out for weeds and dry conditions. And be sure to enjoy your new garden

As young plants grow, you'll especially have to keep an eye out for weeds and to make sure that empty spaces between plants are mulched.

You may also need to water them while they develop strong root systems. If you've chosen plants appropriate to your area, you shouldn't have to water them once they mature, except perhaps during serious dry spells.

In the winter, don't cut the plants all the way to the ground. Leave at least part of the stems because native bees nest in them. Also leave fallen leaves, because butterflies and other critters are overwintering in there.

Enjoy! Diaz has gardened with native plants for more than a decade and five of her neighbors have followed suit.

"There's always a bird that's singing or frogs that are croaking," she says. "Being able to go outside and just walk around and see life that happened because you planted what you planted — it helps your heart."

Celia Llopis-Jepsen is host of the environmental podcast Up From Dust and a reporter for Harvest Public Media.

The podcast episode was produced by Sylvie Douglis. This story was edited by Shahla Farzan, Malaka Gharib and Neela Banerjee. The visual editor is CJ Riculan.

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