Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now

Stories from November 28, 2018

U of M settled student's Cuba rape lawsuit for $137K

The University of Minnesota agreed to pay $137,500 to an undergraduate student who said she was raped in Cuba in 2014 by an interpreter hired by the local affiliate of a study-abroad program.
by The Associated Press

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
New members bring new priorities to the Minnesota House

New members bring new priorities to the Minnesota House

Nearly a third of the members of the Minnesota House will be new when Democrats take over the majority in January.
by Tim Pugmire

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Fast-tracking logging on federal lands may not lessen wildfire risk

Fast-tracking logging on federal lands may not lessen wildfire risk

The current version of the Farm Bill includes House-backed provisions that would streamline logging projects on federal land. The administration argues logging could mitigate wildfire risk.
by Kirk Siegler

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Urgent warnings for Minnesota in U.S. climate report

Urgent warnings for Minnesota in U.S. climate report

Climate change is already wreaking havoc in Minnesota, from making people sicker to threatening the wild rice crop. Those are a few of the grim conclusions tucked inside the latest National Climate Assessment.
by Cody Nelson

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Big donation starts Minneapolis riverfront parks overhaul

Big donation starts Minneapolis riverfront parks overhaul

Plan for five new parks connecting downtown to north Minneapolis along the Mississippi River gets underway with nearly $18 million in private fundraising.
by Brian Bakst

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Pompeo, Mattis defend Saudis as senators weigh war cutoff

Pompeo, Mattis defend Saudis as senators weigh war cutoff

Top administration officials urged senators Wednesday to keep supporting U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, but it was unclear whether their message would dissuade lawmakers who want to punish the kingdom for its role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
by Associated Press

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

Developing meaningful rituals for secular people

We're all familiar with the rituals surrounding religious life: weddings, funerals, holidays and baptisms. But what about rituals for secular people?
by Brandt Williams and Elizabeth Shockman

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

Motherhood and the art of timing

Age may be just a number, but when it comes to giving birth it's a consequential one. A new report outlines how things like education, geography, and politics have a major impact on the age when women become mothers for the first time — and why that age matters so much to that mother's career trajectory and her earning potential.
by Catharine Richert

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

The economics of the new climate report

We're already paying for the impacts of climate change, the new National Climate Assessment says. And those costs will likely go way up in the future.
by Paul Huttner

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Trump: Manafort pardon 'not off the table'

Trump: Manafort pardon 'not off the table'

The president told the New York Post that although a pardon for his former campaign chair hasn't been "discussed," he won't close the door to short-circuiting punishment for Manafort.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Lime packing up its street scooters, hopes for spring return

Lime packing up its street scooters, hopes for spring return

The arrival of Lime and Bird scooters in the Twin Cities this year drove lots of conversation and consternation. Lime on Friday will take its scooters off the streets for the winter.
by MPR News Staff

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Don't fall victim to holiday package theft

Don't fall victim to holiday package theft

Police suggest these tips for protecting your online purchases.
by Tim Nelson

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

'Tis the season for the Beach Boys' Christmas Album

Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson and his band will be at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis tonight, performing all the songs from the Beach Boys' 1964 Christmas Album. Mike Love, the only other surviving original member of the group, is also doing a holiday tour this year.
by Cathy Wurzer

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Man wanted in Hennepin Co. jailbreak is captured

Man wanted in Hennepin Co. jailbreak is captured

Michael Frank Simon, 57, was booked into the jail on Sept. 25 for financial transaction card fraud. He escaped the jail Wednesday morning but was captured a few hours later in Little Canada.
by MPR News Staff

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

At least in one sporting goods store, hunting may be on the way out

The Sunday paper 'outdoors' section carries an article or column almost every week that laments the threat to the sport of hunting whether it's the threat to wildlife, the hunting environment, or the lack of young people interested in it. So, perhaps, Dick's Sporting Goods testing the idea of getting rid of its hunting gear shouldn't be all that surprising.
by Bob Collins

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Margaret Atwood is writing a sequel to 'The Handmaid's Tale'

Margaret Atwood is writing a sequel to 'The Handmaid's Tale'

Atwood said that she was inspired by readers' questions about the dystopian world of Gilead — and, she says, by "the world we've been living in." It's set to be released next September.
by The Associated Press

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Researcher: McDonald’s menus touchscreens are gross and dangerous

Researcher: McDonald’s menus touchscreens are gross and dangerous

As we've noted before, we are not big fans of the touch screens that have sprouted up at the renovated McDonald's. We like human contact and, besides, it takes much longer to order through the technology than to simply walk to the counter. But now some research in the UK has confirmed the wisdom of our disdain.
by Bob Collins

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Ivanka Trump says 'Lock her up!' doesn't apply in her case

Ivanka Trump says 'Lock her up!' doesn't apply in her case

The elder daughter of President Trump told ABC News that using the private email account when she was transitioning into an administration job cannot be compared to the flap over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's private email server.
by The Associated Press

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Obamacare sign-ups lag as Trump slashes funds for enrollment help

Obamacare sign-ups lag as Trump slashes funds for enrollment help

The Trump administration is spending $10 million this year on health care navigators -- down from $63 million in 2016. Nationwide, workers are scrambling to apprise people of insurance options.
by Phil Galewitz

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
BCA investigates fatal police shooting in Virginia, Minn.

BCA investigates fatal police shooting in Virginia, Minn.

'It sounded pretty loud,' one witness said. 'Like a big gun.' Officials say a knife was recovered at the scene. None of the officers involved in the incident was wearing a body camera.
by Dan Kraker and MPR News Staff

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
U.S. seeing lowest level of unauthorized immigrants in a decade, Pew study says

U.S. seeing lowest level of unauthorized immigrants in a decade, Pew study says

A large decline in illegal immigration from Mexico means fewer unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S., and those already here are likely to be long-term residents, according to a new study.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
For defense against active shooters, Mich. school hands out hockey pucks

For defense against active shooters, Mich. school hands out hockey pucks

The faculty union at Oakland University purchased 2,500 hockey pucks to be used as a potential weapon of last resort against a shooter on campus. They also double as a fundraising tool.
by Emily Sullivan

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

Lawsuit: Addicted to opioids, she sought help. She was arrested, then ended up dead

We know more about the death of a young mother, whose obituary acknowledged her addiction to opiods. A subsequent lawsuit reveals she sought help, but was instead arrested. Her family says she was denied medical care by police.
by Bob Collins

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
An old Minnesota jail is now a leader for inmate mental health

An old Minnesota jail is now a leader for inmate mental health

Clay County's jail was, not long ago, the oldest in Minnesota. Now, it's home to what officials are calling the state's most unique approach to mental health care of inmates.
by Dan Gunderson

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Low-income Minnesota families struggle to get dental care

Low-income Minnesota families struggle to get dental care

Even though dental work is covered under public programs, few dentists are willing to do it because state payments are so low.
by Brian Bakst

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Fair favorite Whacky Wheeler rolls to a stop

Fair favorite Whacky Wheeler rolls to a stop

Rob Summerbell has had a goal in life: trying to get you not to take life so seriously.
by Bob Collins

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Lawmaker proposes changes to practice of lawmaking when nobody’s looking

Lawmaker proposes changes to practice of lawmaking when nobody’s looking

For generations, lawmakers have pushed their most important work to the end of the legislative session, resulting in last-minute, late night discussion and votes on huge bills -- the stew of smaller bills known as omnibus bills -- that legislators don't really have the time to read before they vote.
by Bob Collins

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

Home is the most dangerous place for women

A United Nations report says although men are most likely to be the victims of homicide, women are far more likely to be killed by someone they know, and are most likely to be killed at home. One in five homicides is carried out by someone the victim knows, and the vast majority are women and girls.
by Bob Collins

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
'Evening in Paradise' remembers those who might otherwise be forgotten

'Evening in Paradise' remembers those who might otherwise be forgotten

This second posthumous anthology of stories by Lucia Berlin is full of deeply felt stories about lives on the fringe, alternately comic and tragic, bound together by Berlin's love for her characters.
by Michael Schaub

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Bethany McLean on 'Saudi America'

Bethany McLean on 'Saudi America'

Reporter Bethany McLean, author of, "Saudi America: The Truth About Fracking and How It's Changing the World."

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

What’s on MPR News – 11/28/18

Here are the stories, topics, and guests you'll hear today on MPR News.
by Bob Collins

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Texas detention camp for teen migrants keeps growing

Texas detention camp for teen migrants keeps growing

Less than six months after the Trump administration announced it, the facility has expanded into a detention camp holding thousands of teenagers — and it shows every sign of becoming more permanent.
by The Associated Press

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!