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Stories from March 21, 2019

Europe offers UK more time to leave the bloc

Europe offers UK more time to leave the bloc

Worn down by three years of indecision in London, European Union leaders on Thursday grudgingly offered the U.K. more time to ease itself out of the bloc, delaying by several weeks -- but not eliminating -- the threat of a chaotic British exit.
by Associated Press

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What do you do with a dead solar panel?

What do you do with a dead solar panel?

As solar power becomes more common, so does its waste, making solar recycling crucial.
by Paul Huttner

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Minnesota Senate votes for $10 million disaster response fund

Minnesota Senate votes for $10 million disaster response fund

The Minnesota Senate unanimously endorsed Thursday a $10 million infusion into a disaster response fund as spring flooding begins to hit the state.
by Brian Bakst

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Florida man pleads guilty to mailing bombs to Trump foes

Florida man pleads guilty to mailing bombs to Trump foes

Cesar Sayoc pleaded guilty to sending pipe bombs to CNN and prominent critics of President Trump in a wave of attacks that harmed no one but spread fear of political violence across the U.S. for days leading up to last fall's midterm elections.
by Associated Press

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U.S. abruptly endorses Israel's Golan sovereignty in big shift

U.S. abruptly endorses Israel's Golan sovereignty in big shift

President Trump abruptly declared Thursday the U.S. will recognize Israel's sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, a major shift in American policy that gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political boost a month before what is expected to be a close election.
by Associated Press

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Former Murdoch executive says he quit over Fox's anti-Muslim rhetoric

Former Murdoch executive says he quit over Fox's anti-Muslim rhetoric

A former top executive for Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. tells NPR he left his job because of relentlessly harsh depictions of Muslims and immigrants in Murdoch's media properties, especially Fox News.
by David Folkenflik

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11-year-old Minnesotan on winning 'Kids Baking Championship'

Paige Goehner from Blaine was just named the winner of "Kids Baking Championship" on the Food Network. She reflected on the competition and what it was like to keep that secret to herself for nine months.
by Jeyca Maldonado-Medina and Angela Davis

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A sleepy session is waking up

Gov. Tim Walz is pushing Republican senators to pass his initiatives, but they're not happy being pressured.
by Manda Lillie and Angela Davis

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Trump to order colleges to back free speech or lose funding

Trump to order colleges to back free speech or lose funding

President Trump will sign an executive order on Thursday requiring U.S. colleges to certify that they protect free speech on their campuses or risk losing federal research funding, White House officials said.
by Associated Press

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Judge restores Wisconsin governor's powers, strikes down GOP laws

Judge restores Wisconsin governor's powers, strikes down GOP laws

A Wisconsin county judge ruled Thursday that laws passed in December by Republicans during a lame-duck session to limit the power of incoming Democratic Gov. Tony Evers are unconstitutional.
by Shawn Johnson

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So you think your home might flood. Do this stuff now

So you think your home might flood. Do this stuff now

Here are some ways to make sure your home, family and pets are prepared, as much as possible, for the worst of flood season.
by Cody Nelson

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Kalscheur, Gophers knock off Louisville 86-76

Kalscheur, Gophers knock off Louisville 86-76

Minnesota found its elusive 3-point stroke just in time to give coach Richard Pitino the NCAA Tournament win he'd been seeking for years.
by Associated Press

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Facebook left millions of passwords readable by employees

Facebook left millions of passwords readable by employees

Facebook left millions of user passwords readable by its employees for years, the company said Thursday, an acknowledgment it offered after a security researcher posted about the issue online.
by Associated Press

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Great Lakes feeling the burn from climate change

Great Lakes feeling the burn from climate change

The Great Lakes region is warming faster than the rest of the U.S., a trend likely to bring more extreme storms while also degrading water quality, worsening erosion and posing tougher challenges for farming, an environmental advocacy group said Thursday.
by Associated Press and Dan Kraker

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Survey: Bankers losing confidence in 10-state farm economy

A monthly survey of rural bankers in parts of 10 Plains and Western states shows bankers are losing confidence in the future of the region's farm economy in the wake of falling farm income and rising floodwaters.
by Associated Press

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Death toll from cyclone surpasses 500 in southern Africa

Death toll from cyclone surpasses 500 in southern Africa

The confirmed death toll in Zimbabwe, neighboring Mozambique and Malawi surpassed 500 on Thursday, with hundreds more feared dead in towns and villages that were completely submerged.
by Associated Press

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Human genomics research has a diversity problem

Human genomics research has a diversity problem

Studies on the genetics of human diseases have focused largely on people of European descent. Researchers say this lack of diversity is bad science, and exacerbates health inequities.
by Jonathan Lambert

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Acting Defense Secretary Shanahan investigated over ties to Boeing

Acting Defense Secretary Shanahan investigated over ties to Boeing

Patrick Shanahan spent 30 years as a Boeing executive before joining the Defense Department as deputy secretary. The inspector general will examine whether Shanahan improperly promoted Boeing.
by Mark Katkov

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Legislation would provide Minn. firefighters help with health problems

The legislation would create an employee assistance program to help Minnesota firefighters facing mental health issues related to their occupation. In addition, any firefighter diagnosed with cancer or heart disease would be eligible for a $30,000 lump sum payment.
by Cathy Wurzer

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Can Inuit moms help me tame my 3-year-old's anger?

Can Inuit moms help me tame my 3-year-old's anger?

After learning how parents in the Canadian Arctic address a child's misbehavior, reporter Michaeleen Doucleff changed her tactics when her toddler would slap her face in anger.
by Michaeleen Doucleff

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Small town cheers on boys basketball team at state tournament

Henning is a town of around 800 residents in Otter Tail County, and the boys basketball team last made it to the state tournament in 1966. The Hornets play Thursday afternoon in the Class A quarterfinals against Christ's Household of Faith.
by Cathy Wurzer

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Provider tax debate heats up at the Capitol

Disagreements between Republicans in control of the Senate and Democrats in control of the rest of government over a 2 percent tax on medical providers could become one of the major sticking points in budget negotiations this session.
by Briana Bierschbach

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U corpse flower in full 'teenager gym socks' bloom

U corpse flower in full 'teenager gym socks' bloom

A rare specimen, known for the odor of rot it gives off when it blooms, burst into flower Wednesday.
by Tim Nelson

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MN jobless rate ticks up to 3.1 percent; jobs down from a year ago

MN jobless rate ticks up to 3.1 percent; jobs down from a year ago

Minnesota recorded a low February jobless rate, but it also saw a drop in employment from February 2018 — the first time annual total employment has declined since July 2010.
by MPR News Staff

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How "God Bless America" became a hit

80 years ago Kate Smith recorded what would become her signature song "God Bless America." The original version was written in 1918 by Irving Berlin. He re-worked the lyrics a bit and when Smith sang it on her nationally-syndicated radio show, it became an immediate hit.
by Cathy Wurzer

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Senate votes to reimburse licensing offices for MNLARS

The bill establishes a $13 million pot to reimburse deputy registrars for extra costs they sustained during the troubled rollout of MNLARS.
by Brian Bakst

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Nancy Barnes’ vision for NPR

Nancy Barnes, the former editor and senior vice president at the Star Tribune, has laid out her vision for the future of NPR News, the network's public editor reports. Last October, Barnes was tabbed to take the job once held by the disgraced Michael Oreskes, forced to resign as the result of a sexual harassment scandal in 2017.
by Bob Collins

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Minnesota's famed winter isn't what it used to be

Minnesota's famed winter isn't what it used to be

Minnesota is among the fastest warming states, and Minnesota's winters are warming faster than its other seasons. Data show that since 1970, Minnesota's winters have warmed at an average rate of 1.1 degrees per decade -- that's more than five times faster than the rate of winter warming in previous years.
by Jeff Baenen, Associated Press and Amy Forliti, Associated Press

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Pedestrian killed in St. Paul crash

Pedestrian killed in St. Paul crash

St. Paul police say a third pedestrian has been struck and killed in the city this year, nearly matching the toll for all of last year.
by Tim Nelson

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This is what it’s like to sort out a 131-car crash

Of all the crashes and accidents in the Midwest during February's blizzards, none was worse than the pileup on I-41 near Oshkosh, Wis., in late February.
by Bob Collins

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Floods, destruction from cyclone continue in Mozambique

Floods, destruction from cyclone continue in Mozambique

A week after Cyclone Idai hit coastal Mozambique and swept across the country to Zimbabwe, the death, damage and flooding continues in southern Africa, making it one of the most destructive natural disasters in the region's recent history.
by The Associated Press

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There’s no money in cemeteries

Bill McReavy has lost $300,000 in each of the last three years and he's trying to give Crystal Lake Cemetery to Minneapolis
by Bob Collins

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Hanging on to a Fargo river home despite annual threats of flooding; eyeing the melt in Marshall

Hanging on to a Fargo river home despite annual threats of flooding; eyeing the melt in Marshall

Hundreds of homes in flood-prone areas of Fargo-Moorhead are gone: bought, removed and replaced by permanent flood levees. But there are a few holdouts who feel strongly about staying near the river, even as the threat of another flood looms. PLUS: Eyeing the melt in Marshall, Minn.
by Dan Gunderson and The Marshall Independent

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'I had one class left': Argosy closure forces students to make tough decisions

'I had one class left': Argosy closure forces students to make tough decisions

Following the school's abrupt closing, more than a dozen colleges in Minnesota say they are working with Argosy students who need to find a way to continue their education. But some students were pursuing degrees in fields so specific, that there might not be any local transfer options for their programs.
by Peter Cox

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Walz seeks to pressure reluctant Senate Republicans

Walz seeks to pressure reluctant Senate Republicans

When Gov. Tim Walz hits the road, some of his destinations lately are carefully chosen to put pressure on Republicans who will determine the fate of his key proposals. It's a tactic that Republicans warn will backfire.
by Brian Bakst

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Not a hoops fan? You can still talk March Madness

Not a hoops fan? You can still talk March Madness

Don't follow men's college basketball? Feeling left out of the NCAA tournament fun? MPR News assistant producer Jeffrey Bissoy has you covered. Here's his non-fanatics guide to this year's Big Dance.
by Jeffrey Bissoy

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Real life creates a recipe for baker's poetry

Real life creates a recipe for baker's poetry

Master baker Danny Klecko's St. Agnes Bakery was the official bread supplier for the Super Bowl and they had a huge number of orders. Then ICE informed him that 23 of his staff, many of whom he had worked with for two decades, had failed an immigration audit, and would have to leave.
by Euan Kerr

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Warmth for our first full day of spring; river flooding update

Warmth for our first full day of spring; river flooding update

Minnesota highs will be mostly in the 40s today, with some spots in the metro area and the southeast reaching the lower 50s. Friday highs retreat a bit, with some 30s in the far north and in parts of west-central Minnesota.
by Ron Trenda

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A gift from a flood: free beer

A gift from a flood: free beer

The river gives and the river takes away. Sometimes it gives you free beer.
by Bob Collins

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What the coming flood might look like in St. Paul

What the coming flood might look like in St. Paul

The predictions sound dire for downtown St. Paul as the water from around the state pours into the Minnesota River and other tributaries before it dumps its stash into the Mississippi and makes its way to the cities.
by Bob Collins

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Daily Digest: Tension rises at Capitol

A round-up of some Minnesota political stories to get your Thursday started.
by Mike Mulcahy

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What’s on MPR News – 3/21/19

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

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'High Heel' muses on beauty, power -- and stilettos

'High Heel' muses on beauty, power -- and stilettos

When she worked at the U.N., Summer Brennan wore high heels almost every day -- even when they made her fall. Her new book is an exploration of modern womanhood through the history of heels.
by Mary Louise Kelly

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How much should the state do to keep health insurance costs down?

How much should the state do to keep health insurance costs down?

From reinsurance for health insurers to a state insurance buy-in option for consumers, Minnesota lawmakers keep tinkering with ideas to bring health costs down and keep more people insured.

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