Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now

Stories from October 6, 2021

Minneapolis police PTSD claims push overall workers' comp claims to highest in a decade

Minneapolis police PTSD claims push overall workers' comp claims to highest in a decade

Workers’ compensation spending in the city jumped to over $14 million in 2020, with Minneapolis police officers accounting for most of the claims, according to a staff presentation to a Minneapolis City Council committee on Wednesday.
by Jon 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!

Most COVID hospitalizations are now in greater Minnesota for the first time ever

Most COVID hospitalizations are now in greater Minnesota for the first time ever and St. Paul is about to put in place some of the toughest tobacco regulation in the country. This is an evening update from MPR News, hosted by Tim Nelson. Music by Gary Meister.

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!
Minneapolis welcomes $500K in private funds for police early intervention system

Minneapolis welcomes $500K in private funds for police early intervention system

Some Minneapolis City Council members took issue with how a $500,000 grant for a police early intervention system got in front of them. However, the gift from the Pohlad Family Foundation is on track for final approval by the council.
by Jon 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!
'What the Constitution Means to Me' comes to Guthrie

'What the Constitution Means to Me' comes to Guthrie

Actor Cassie Beck is at the Guthrie, portraying the playwright Heidi Shrek in her memoir play “What the Constitution Means To Me.” The Guthrie is staging the play as the first in-person production since Spring 2020.
by Tom Crann

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!
DFL lawmakers, unions push for end to pay stalemate

DFL lawmakers, unions push for end to pay stalemate

Democrats working on the “hero pay” commission say bonuses should go to a large pool of pandemic workers. Republicans want to limit the number of workers who are eligible so that each one gets a bigger bonus.
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!
McConnell offers Dems short-term debt fix amid standoff

McConnell offers Dems short-term debt fix amid standoff

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has given Democrats a new offer to extend the federal debt ceiling through an emergency short-term extension. The Senate has gone into recess so lawmakers can discuss the proposal, delaying a procedural vote on a House-passed bill to suspend the debt cap.
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!
This version of Sleeping Beauty is wide awake, and knows what to do with that spindle

This version of Sleeping Beauty is wide awake, and knows what to do with that spindle

Alix E. Harrow's “A Spindle Splintered” gives us a Sleeping Beauty for today, cursed not by an evil fairy but by an industrial accident, and yanked into another dimension where she must save a princess.
by Jessica P. Wick

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!

Poetry for and from the pandemic

The new anthology “A 21st Century Plague: Poetry from a Pandemic” collects the poems of writers from all over the country as they grapple with the ongoing quarantine and the losses from COVID-19. MPR News host Angela Davis speaks with four Minnesota poets included in the anthology about writing through the pain and stress.   
by Angela Davis and Susan Davis

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!
Minnesota Supreme Court denies Chauvin's request for public defender

Minnesota Supreme Court denies Chauvin's request for public defender

Derek Chauvin requested to have a public defender represent him as he appeals his murder conviction and sentence in the death of George Floyd. The court said he has not established that he's entitled to a public defender. The decision was made after reviewing information about Chauvin’s debts and assets. 
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!
Another shot at 80 degrees by Saturday

Another shot at 80 degrees by Saturday

Yet another surge of warm air is heading for southern Minnesota.
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!
Appetites: Tradition and community make bouja a Midwest staple

Appetites: Tradition and community make bouja a Midwest staple

The community bouja party at the Avon Hills Folk School outside Avon, Minn., happens every October on the second Saturday of the month. It gives visitors to the folk school the perfect opportunity to soak in the fall foliage while enjoying a perfect fall meal — a hot bowl of bouja soup.
by Tom Crann and Lindsay Guentzel

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!
COVID-19 in MN: Hospitalizations surge outside Twin Cities as cases climb

COVID-19 in MN: Hospitalizations surge outside Twin Cities as cases climb

Minnesota’s spreading COVID-19 outbreak has been pummeling greater Minnesota for weeks, and hospitals are feeling the impact. For the first time in the pandemic, there are more COVID patients hospitalized in greater Minnesota than in the metro area.
by David H. Montgomery 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!
Flush with COVID-19 aid, schools steer funding to sports

Flush with COVID-19 aid, schools steer funding to sports

A growing number of school districts in the U.S. are using federal pandemic funding on athletics projects. One school district in Iowa is spending $100,000 on a weight room renovation, while another in Wisconsin is spending $1.6 million on new synthetic turf fields.
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!
Meet MPR News reporter Kirsti Marohn 

Meet MPR News reporter Kirsti Marohn 

Host Angela Davis talks with MPR News reporter Kirsti Marohn about covering water, the environment and other issues from central Minnesota. 
by Angela Davis and Maja Beckstrom

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!
St. Paul to introduce some of the strictest tobacco rules in the nation

St. Paul to introduce some of the strictest tobacco rules in the nation

The City Council on Wednesday will introduce a new ordinance that would set a $10 minimum price on a pack of cigarettes and ban coupons and other discounts at retail outlets, among other things.
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!
Fat Bear Week has a champion: All hail 480 Otis

Fat Bear Week has a champion: All hail 480 Otis

Who is the fattest bear of all? For the fourth time, the answer is 480 Otis, a brown bear who didn't let his lack of two canine teeth stop him from packing on the pounds.
by Bill Chappell

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!

Morning fog lessens, replaced by rain chances into the weekend

Morning fog eases but clouds increase on Wednesday as high pressure across Minnesota starts to shift. By Thursday, a few rain showers return and at least some part of Minnesota will then get showers or storms every day through the weekend.
by Nicole Mitchell

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!

Less fog Wednesday, but more clouds

Winds from the southeast helped keep denser areas of fog from forming for much of Minnesota Wednesday morning, but that same flow does bring in a few more clouds.
by Nicole Mitchell

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!

Most state workers get a COVID shot; some who refuse pay

Minnesota’s month-old vaccine policy for state employees has led most workers to attest to having their shots. But among those who haven’t been vaccinated, the implementation of a testing alternative is drawing criticism. This is an MPR News morning update for Wednesday, October 6, 2021. Hosted by Cathy Wurzer. Our theme music is by Gary Meister.

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!
Nobel in chemistry honors pair for way to build molecules

Nobel in chemistry honors pair for way to build molecules

Benjamin List of Germany and Scotland-born David W.C. MacMillan developed “asymmetric organocatalysis” — work that has already had a significant impact on pharmaceutical research, said Goran Hansson, secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The tool has also made chemistry “greener,” the judges said.
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!
Video shows Minneapolis police's aggressive actions during unrest

Video shows Minneapolis police's aggressive actions during unrest

Newly released police body camera video shows an up-close look at how a group of Minneapolis police officers responded to the unrest following the murder of George Floyd. The footage was used as evidence in the case against a man who was tried and acquitted of shooting at police.
by Matt Sepic

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!
Most state workers get a COVID shot; tensions rise around those who haven't

Most state workers get a COVID shot; tensions rise around those who haven't

Minnesota’s month-old vaccine policy for state employees has led most workers to attest to having their shots. But among those who haven’t been vaccinated, the implementation of a testing alternative is drawing criticism.
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!