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Stories from January 20, 2020

Holder urges Americans to be 'impatient' with racial injustice in Mpls. speech

Holder urges Americans to be 'impatient' with racial injustice in Mpls. speech

Lawmakers and community members honored the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. during an annual breakfast Monday in downtown Minneapolis. Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the first African American to serve in that role, gave a keynote speech where he said America has yet to fully live up to King's dream of equality for all.
by Marcheta Fornoff

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Amtrak to drop $25,000 ticket price for 2 wheelchair users after complaints

Amtrak to drop $25,000 ticket price for 2 wheelchair users after complaints

NPR reported on Friday that the ticket for a two-hour ride between Chicago and Bloomington-Normal, Ill., stations usually costs $16. Amtrak had based the higher price on adjustments to train cars.
by Joseph Shapiro

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Fact check: Distortions in Trump's legal defense

Fact check: Distortions in Trump's legal defense

President Trump through his lawyers assails Democrats for trying to upend the results of an election, which is precisely the point of impeachment in the Constitution. The case asserts Trump committed no crime, a benchmark for impeachment that the Constitution's authors avoided adopting in a well-documented debate.
by The Associated Press

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Klobuchar could see boost in momentum, fundraising after NY Times endorsement

Klobuchar could see boost in momentum, fundraising after NY Times endorsement

“It's going to give her more attention, particularly when you get past Iowa where her name won't be as recognizable,” says one political science professor. “And if people say, 'Oh, who is this? Let's take a closer look,' that'll give her perhaps a little bit of momentum, particularly if she does well in the Iowa caucuses."
by Mark Zdechlik

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Struggling Cottage Grove church aims to relaunch to attract new members

Grove United Methodist Church in Cottage Grove is closing in June, with plans to relaunch in November. The present members, most of them over 60 years old, will be invited to worship elsewhere, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported. But the lead pastor told MPR News they are not asking older members to leave the congregation.
by The Associated Press

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McConnell proposes swift impeachment trial for president

McConnell proposes swift impeachment trial for president

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday proposed a condensed, two-day calendar for each side to give opening arguments in President Trump's impeachment trial, ground rules that are raising objections from Democrats on the eve of the landmark proceedings.
by The Associated Press

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Prince wrongful death case dismissed; estate case continues

Prince wrongful death case dismissed; estate case continues

A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Prince's family members has been quietly dismissed in recent months, suggesting family members have reached settlements with defendants including the Minnesota doctor who saw Prince in the weeks before his death and the Illinois hospital that treated him for an opioid overdose seven days before he died.
by Amy Forliti, Associated Press

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Thousands of gun owners converge on Virginia Capitol on MLK Day

Thousands of gun owners converge on Virginia Capitol on MLK Day

"This is about losing one of the base freedoms that we have," a gun rights backer says in Richmond. The city is under a state of emergency, and some streets have been barricaded to prevent violence.
by Bill Chappell

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Eric Holder and John Lewis keynote addresses on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Eric Holder and John Lewis keynote addresses on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Two keynote addresses from the annual Martin Luther King Jr. holiday breakfast in Minneapolis: former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in 2020 and Rep. John Lewis in 2006.
by MPR News Staff

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Youthful curators present a younger world in 'Just Kids'

Youthful curators present a younger world in 'Just Kids'

Minneapolis Institute of Art exhibit of photographs of children and young adults was designed and documented by Twin Cities school students.
by Euan Kerr

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MPR News update

The latest from MPR News.

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Teen found unresponsive after fall from park cliff

The Chisago County Sheriff's Office said deputies navigated the "extreme terrain" to reach the19-year-old from Marine on St. Croix at Interstate State Park in Taylors Falls Sunday afternoon.
by The Associated Press

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Minnesota taking steps to boost lagging sales of cross-country ski pass

Minnesota taking steps to boost lagging sales of cross-country ski pass

A state fund to help maintain cross-country ski trails has been running low on money as ski pass sales have declined in recent years. Increasing the cost of the pass and informing skiers how the funds are used may be reversing the trend.
by Matt Mikus

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Nur-D to perform at annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration in St. Paul

Twin Cities artist Matt Allen, known on stage as Nur-D, moved to Rosemount from the Bronx as a child. He told The Current he was a nerd as a kid and didn’t think hip-hop was for him. But then he started rapping about two years ago, and he quickly hit it big.
by MPR News Staff

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Monday stays cold, but extended warmup on the way

Temperatures remain cold on Monday but will climb well above average by Wednesday. A wintry mix of precipitation impacts Minnesota later this week.
by Nicole Mitchell

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Prince Harry: 'Powerful media' is why he's stepping away

Prince Harry: 'Powerful media' is why he's stepping away

In a personal speech that referenced his late mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car accident in 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi, Harry said Sunday he had "no other option'' but to step away so that he and his wife, Meghan, could seek a more peaceful life.
by The Associated Press

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NY Times endorses Klobuchar, Warren in Democratic contest

NY Times endorses Klobuchar, Warren in Democratic contest

The paper said Sunday it had chosen the two most effective candidates from the moderate and progressive sides of the party — without stating a preference for either approach. It praised Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren as "a gifted story teller" and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar as "the very definition" of Midwestern charisma and grit.
by The Associated Press

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'You need to act now': Meet 4 girls working to save the warming world

'You need to act now': Meet 4 girls working to save the warming world

"When we organize, we model the world we want to see," says teenager Xiye Bastida. Activist girls like Bastida have been especially visible in the fight against climate change.
by Anya Kamenetz

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MPR News Update

January 20. Hosted by Cathy Wurzer.

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'The Majesties' is disturbing, yet shockingly enjoyable

'The Majesties' is disturbing, yet shockingly enjoyable

Tiffany Tsao's novel explores the dark secrets of the wealthy Chinese-Indonesian Sulinado family, who fall victim to one of their own when daughter Estella poisons the entire clan at a family dinner.
by Swapna Krishna

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Could cutting back on salt save downtown Minneapolis trees?

Could cutting back on salt save downtown Minneapolis trees?

Minneapolis has planted hundreds of trees in the past few years in an effort to green up downtown, but many aren't surviving past their first year. City staff have been trying to figure out why, and they think they might have found the culprit: salt.
by Kirsti Marohn

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4 education issues Minnesota lawmakers want to tackle in 2020

4 education issues Minnesota lawmakers want to tackle in 2020

Legislators who work on education issues are gearing up to address some of the most pressing problems they see facing Minnesota schools, including mental health, early childhood education, career and technical education and the opportunity gap.
by Elizabeth Shockman

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Annual count of people experiencing homelessness in Minnesota takes place Wednesday

It can be a challenge to determine a precise number of the number of people experiencing homelessness in Minnesota and around the country. One way that officials approach that challenge is the annual Point-in-Time count.
by Emily Bright

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Reading, writing, and agriculture: Minnesota teacher honored for efforts to educate students about farming

Reading, writing, and agriculture: Minnesota teacher honored for efforts to educate students about farming

“These are the people that are going to be leading our communities someday,” says kindergarten teacher Tiffany Kortbein. “I have that chance starting so young to teach these children, so that way they understand and they have the correct information. Food doesn't just come from the grocery store.”
by Emily Bright

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