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Solar panels are seen

Minnesota is poised to require carbon-free electricity. What does that mean?

The bill that would require utilities to speed up their transition to cleaner energy. But it includes exemptions and ways they could meet the standard without ditching fossil fuels altogether. 
  • ReportMinnesota’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped, but work still needed
  • Minnesota HousePasses bill requiring carbon-free electricity by 2040
Homeless people and advocates have set up a tent encampment

Minneapolis City Council too gridlocked to change homeless encampment approach

Long a liberal city, one might think agreement would be easier in Minneapolis than other cities. But efforts to change city code that affects homelessness or to pause encampment closures have failed due to political gridlock and confusion.
  • Part 1Minneapolis made little progress on homeless encampments in 2022. Why?
  • Part 2Minneapolis has increased police presence at encampment clearings
  • Part 4Is providing a portable toilet an endorsement of a homeless encampment?
  • Part 5Avivo Village shines as solution for unsheltered homelessness in Minneapolis
New PA announcer for the Timberwolves, makes announcements

New Wolves PA announcer finds there’s more than one way to the NBA

The Minneapolis native with a baritone voice beat out a competitive field last summer to become the youngest public address announcer in the team's history. 
A reporter goes ice fishing

Winter Play: Ice fishing — learning family tradition hook, line and sinker

Our staff across the state set out to try a new-to-them winter pastime. MPR News Worthington reporter Hannah Yang spent her first day ice fishing with her father-in-law and husband in Faribault, Minn.
  • Winter PlayCruising snow-covered trails on a fat tire bike near Brainerd
  • Winter PlayDog sledding in southern Minnesota
  • Winter PlayIce climbing on the North Shore
Cloud hang over the U.S. Capitol building.

Poll: Americans' wish list for new Congress shows frustration with political systems

The McCourtney Institute for Democracy’s most recent Mood of the Nation Poll asked Americans what law they would choose, in their own words, if they could enact any law at the start of the new Congress. The results show that Americans are eager for political and electoral reform, especially instituting term limits.
Three radio hosts pose in a cube

MPR News' Cube Critics on which movies to see and which to skip this awards season

Movie awards season is in full swing. MPR News’ Cube Critics will talk about the movies you need to see and the ones they think you can skip. 
Vice President Harris (center) marches across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 6, 2022,  in Selma, Ala., to commemorate the 57th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

It's Black History Month. Here are 3 things to know about the annual celebration

The annual celebration started out in 1926 as Negro History Week and expanded to Black History Month in the 1970s. This year's theme is "Black Resistance."
A close-up image of a Duluth fire truck

Dog helps family escape fire at Duluth home

Fire officials in Duluth say the barking of a yellow Lab named Dudley woke up a 12-year-old girl — who in turn alerted her family and helped everyone to escape to safety after a fire at their home Wednesday night.
A person smiles broadly

Advocates team up to recognize women and girls in sports

Leaders in advancing girl’s and women's sports in Minnesota received recognition for National Girls and Women in Sports Day at a ceremony inside the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul on Wednesday.
Warriors Timberwolves Basketball

Russell, Edwards help Timberwolves beat Warriors in OT

D’Angelo Russell scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, Anthony Edwards took over in overtime after Russell fouled out and the Minnesota Timberwolves outlasted the Golden State Warriors 119-114 on Wednesday night.
The Minnesota Capitol is blanketed with a fresh coating of snow

'A more equitable Minnesota': Walz signs CROWN Act into law

Gov. Tim Walz signed the CROWN Act into law Wednesday, banning discrimination based on a person's natural hair texture or style.
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, leads his panel's first meeting in the new Republican majority — a hearing Wednesday titled, "The Biden Border Crisis — Part I."

In first GOP-led hearing about the border, witnesses paint sharply different pictures

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee blamed Biden administration policies for the record number of migrant apprehensions. Democrats accused them of fear-mongering and spreading misinformation.
A woman walks past graffiti depicting a Ukrainian soldier firing a missile, in Kyiv on Jan. 25. The Russians are fighting an intense air war, but it involves mostly missiles, drones and anti-aircraft system. Traditional air strikes by piloted war planes have been relatively rare.

Russia and Ukraine battle daily in the sky. So where are the pilots?

Russia and Ukraine are waging a fierce war in the sky involving missiles, drones and air defense systems. Yet one thing makes this fight distinctive from previous air wars: pilots are extremely rare.
Deidra Bollinger of Lancaster County shaves Rozabel red and white dairy cow at the annual Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, Pa., Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023.

Congress gears up for another farm bill. Here's what's on the menu

Climate, food stamps, broadband and research dollars are all on the line as negotiations kick off for the 2023 farm bill.
A sign noting the acceptance of electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards, which SNAP beneficiaries use to pay for food, is displayed at a grocery store in 2019 in Oakland, Calif. SNAP emergency allotments are ending after this month and have already ended in some parts of the country.

SNAP recipients will lose their pandemic boost and may face other reductions by March

Congress ended the temporary benefit meant to help low-income households with pandemic-era hardships. A huge increase in Social Security benefits may mean some households see further SNAP reductions.
A Tesla car is displayed at a showroom and service center for the auto maker in Amsterdam on Oct. 23, 2019. Tesla recently cut prices across the board, a move with big potential ramifications for the automaker as well as for the industry.

Tesla slashed its prices across the board. We're now starting to see the consequences

Tesla's recent price cuts continue to reverberate, forcing Ford to follow suit while leaving Tesla owners feeling aggrieved. Here's how the move by the market leader has shaken the car industry.
The Olympic flag and Russian flag seen during the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014.

With the Paris Olympics 18 months away, the debate over Russian athletes is back

Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine last February, the International Olympic Committee recommended bans on Russian athletes. Now, the IOC has reversed course, to the protest of Ukrainian officials.
Parked vehicles are seen

Watch out, Minneapolis: The tow truck cometh

Minneapolis has handed out more than 2,000 tickets in the last three days and towed more than 200 vehicles off of the even sides of non-snow emergency streets, as they pick up enforcement of a winter parking ban instituted last week. 
A vigil lies outside of South Education Center

Teen pleads guilty to murder in shooting outside Richfield school

Fernando Valdez-Alvarez, 19, of Minneapolis, admitted in court to shooting and killing 15-year-old Jahmari Rice and wounding another 17-year-old outside the South Education Center in Richfield on Feb. 1, 2022, prosecutors said Wednesday.
loaf of bread

Tired of cold? This saint turns water to beer and says spring is near

Long celebrated by farmers welcoming spring, St. Brigid Day is a bank holiday in Ireland for the first time this year. Though the start of spring is farther off for us here in Minnesota, chef and cookbook author Beth Dooley says there’s no reason we can’t cook up some bread and stew to celebrate, too.
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