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Stories from July 28, 2022

Creating a safe space for Black bodies on bikes

Creating a safe space for Black bodies on bikes

MPR News photojournalist Ben Hovland spent an evening with Slow Roll MSP, a group aimed to help people reconnect to their communities and create a safe space for Black bodies on bikes.
by Ben Hovland

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'Like medicine from God': Wisconsin cherry orchard offers taste of home for immigrant families

'Like medicine from God': Wisconsin cherry orchard offers taste of home for immigrant families

On a single day each year, dozens of people from the Twin Cities and Western Wisconsin flock to Maple Leaf Orchard to get their fill of sour cherries. It's one of the only places you can find tart cherries in the region — and for that reason, it's been a draw for many immigrant families that use them in their cooking.
by Megan Burks

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Who is Viktor Bout, the prisoner the U.S. may trade for Brittany Griner?

Who is Viktor Bout, the prisoner the U.S. may trade for Brittany Griner?

Bout is a Russian who was the world's most notorious arms dealer in the 1990s and early 2000s. He's serving a 25-year prison sentence in Illinois, but could be freed as part of a U.S.-Russia swap.
by Greg Myre

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Attorney general won't appeal order striking down many state abortion restriction laws

Attorney general won't appeal order striking down many state abortion restriction laws, and St. Paul steps back on plan to raise taxes for preschool education. This is an evening update from MPR News, hosted by Tim Nelson. Music by Gary Meister.

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ND abortion clinic says Minnesota move won’t delay services

ND abortion clinic says Minnesota move won’t delay services

A judge’s ruling that will delay the closing of North Dakota’s lone abortion clinic should provide more than enough time to move the business to a neighboring city in Minnesota, the facility’s owner and operator said Thursday.
by The Associated Press

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Rev. Marlene Whiterabbit Helgemo remembered as beloved leader, mentor

Rev. Marlene Whiterabbit Helgemo remembered as beloved leader, mentor

The Rev. Marlene Whiterabbit Helgemo, a beloved faith leader who was the first Native American woman ordained in the Lutheran Church and led All Nations Church in south Minneapolis for several decades, died July 22 at age 75.
by Melissa Olson

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North Star Gay Rodeo returns this weekend

This weekend the North Star Gay Rodeo Association will put on its yearly rodeo in Hugo, Minn. The two-day event welcomes members of the LGBTQ community to come show off their best wrangling, riding, and roping skills. Jorge Sanchez is president of the North Star Gay Rodeo Association. They joined host Cathy Wurzer to talk more.
by Cathy Wurzer and Ellen Finn

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Edina police investigate noose left at community center

Police in Edina are asking the public for help locating a person they say may have information about a noose found hanging at a community center. It was just the latest in a series of recent racist, anti-LGBTQ and antisemitic incidents in the Twin Cities metro area.
by Tim Nelson

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Extreme heat is becoming more common. What are cities doing about it?

Extreme heat is becoming more common. What are cities doing about it?

Sweltering summer temperatures across the U.S. has cities looking for new ways to lessen the impact of extreme heat caused by climate change. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with three experts about what we can do to address the heat and the climate crisis.
by Angela Davis and Samantha Matsumoto

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St. Paul pre-K funding proposal will be studied instead of passed on to voters this fall

St. Paul pre-K funding proposal will be studied instead of passed on to voters this fall

The St. Paul city council Wednesday withdrew a proposal to put a question about an early childhood education tax levy on the November ballot. Instead, they’re creating an advisory committee to study the initiative.
by Elizabeth Shockman

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The immersive novel 'Tomorrow' is a winner for gamers and n00bs alike

The immersive novel 'Tomorrow' is a winner for gamers and n00bs alike

Gabrielle Zevin's beautifully written novel “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” tells the story of two childhood friends who become legendary names in the world of video game design.
by Maureen Corrigan

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Farmers impacted by severe drought in southern Minnesota

Farmers impacted by severe drought in southern Minnesota

Much of southern Minnesota is abnormally dry with the Twin Cities in a severe drought. The lack of rain is a big concern for farmers as is the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine which is creating volatility in agriculture markets. Kent Thiesse is Farm Management Analyst and Senior Vice President at MinnStar Bank. He joined host Cathy Wurzer to talk more about what Minnesota farmers are experiencing.
by Cathy Wurzer, Simone Cazares and Sam Stroozas

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Reporter Debrief: Tom Scheck on GS Labs

Reporter Debrief: Tom Scheck on GS Labs

Our colleagues on our investigative team, APM Reports, have a story out Thursday about a COVID-19 testing company that operates in Minnesota. The team found that Nebraska-based GS Labs was slow to report some tests to state regulators and that some customers waited weeks to get results from the company, if they ever got them at all. Tom Scheck joined host Cathy Wurzer to talk about this story.
by Cathy Wurzer, Tom Scheck, Melissa Townsend and Ellen Finn

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Pillbox Bat Company hits a home run with Major League Baseball deal

Pillbox Bat Company hits a home run with Major League Baseball deal

You could say one Minnesota baseball bat company hit a home run this week signing a licensing deal with the Major League Baseball Association. It’s Pillbox Bat Company based out of Winona.
by Cathy Wurzer and Simone Cazares

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Ep. 13 Black on the job in Minnesota

Ep. 13 Black on the job in Minnesota

Minnesota is home to Fortune 500 companies that hire top Black talent.  However, those employers often struggle to retain African American workers. Too often, Black professionals, especially those recruited from out of state, face isolation on the job and a feeling of disconnection from the larger Black community.
by Brandt Williams

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American Crystal Sugar union workers reject contract offer

American Crystal Sugar union workers reject contract offer

Union workers at five American Crystal Sugar Company factories in the Red River Valley have rejected a final contract offer. The Moorhead-based cooperative has agreed to extend the current contract and continue negotiations.
by Dan Gunderson

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Fewer Americans applied for jobless benefits last week

Fewer Americans applied for jobless benefits last week

Fewer Americans applied for jobless benefits last week, but the previous week’s number was revised upward significantly, with claims breaching the 250,000 level in back-to-back weeks for the first time in more than eight months.
by The Associated Press

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Tellez homers twice as Brewers top Twins 10-4 for sweep

Tellez homers twice as Brewers top Twins 10-4 for sweep

Rowdy Tellez hit a pair of three-run homers, Corbin Burnes won his fifth straight decision and Milwaukee Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins 10-4 to sweep a two-game series between Central Division leaders.
by The Associated Press

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Elderly couple killed in Hopkins home explosion

Family members at the scene of the explosion identified the husband and wife killed in the accident as 85 year-old Hubert Vassar and 83 year-old Sharon Vassar. Emergency crews responded to the explosion on the 200 block of 21st Avenue North in Hopkins around 10:15 a.m. Wednesday and were able unable to find any other gas leaks in the area, leading officials to believe it was an isolated incident. An investigation is underway. This is a morning update from MPR News, hosted by Cathy Wurzer. Music by Gary Meister.

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'It's about a bad system': Fraud and fabrication in scientific research

'It's about a bad system': Fraud and fabrication in scientific research

Allegations of scientific fraud have been lodged against the University of Minnesota research team behind a key Alzheimer's study. Those allegations center around a claim that one of the researchers, Sylvain Lesné, falsified images used in the study. To dig deeper into why scientific fraud and misconduct occur, MPR News host Tom Crann spoke with Ray De Vries, Professor Emeritus at the Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine at the University of Michigan.
by Tom Crann and Ngoc Bui

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Most Minnesota ethics complaints dismissed against Omar Fateh

Most Minnesota ethics complaints dismissed against Omar Fateh

State Senator Omar Fateh, a DFL legislator from Minneapolis, had faced ethics complaints related to campaign finance and his campaign’s handling of absentee ballots. Later in the hearing, Omar’s former campaign manager and legislative aide, Dawson Kimyon, took the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer questions about his work on Omar’s 2020 campaign.
by Joey Peters

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One dead, two wounded in overnight shooting in Minneapolis

One man died and two others were wounded after gunfire broke out early Thursday in Minneapolis' Warehouse District.
by Tim Nelson

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'Jeopardy!' says Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings will split the host job

'Jeopardy!' says Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings will split the host job

Bialik is a neuroscientist and former star of The Big Bang Theory. Jennings is a former Jeopardy! contestant who went on an unmatched 74-game winning streak and was a consulting producer on the show.
by Ayana Archie

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Cooler Thursday; few showers north, hot weekend

Cooler Thursday; few showers north, hot weekend

The southern half of Minnesota will see more sun than the northern half Thursday. Clouds and a few showers will fill in for parts of northeast Minnesota where highs will only be in the 60s. Much warmer and more humid air moves in over the weekend.
by Sven Sundgaard

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Private COVID lab created headaches for Minnesota consumers, health officials

Private COVID lab created headaches for Minnesota consumers, health officials

Omaha-based GS Labs struggled to deliver on COVID-19 testing and has been accused of overbilling and pushing patients to get unnecessary tests, a nearly yearlong investigation by journalists from APM Reports found. State and federal investigators are now examining its testing practices.
by Tom Scheck, Jennifer Lu, Will Callan and Anna Canny

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Nursing homes are suing friends and family to collect on patients' bills

Nursing homes are suing friends and family to collect on patients' bills

Debt lawsuits — a byproduct of America's medical debt crisis — can ensnare not only patients but also those who help sick and older people be admitted to nursing homes, a KHN-NPR investigation finds.
by Noam Levey

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Art Hounds: Art conversations across generations

Art Hounds: Art conversations across generations

There’s still time to catch Art to Change the World’s “Age of Age” exhibit, which asks artists a generation apart to create work together. A concert performance of Janet Preus’s original musical “Water from Snow” draws big Minneapolis names to Puposky, Minn. In Duluth, Ojibwe storytime invites kids of all ages twice a week through August.
by Emily Bright

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Regional food recovery effort keeps excess fresh food out of landfills, fills gaps in food insecurity

Regional food recovery effort keeps excess fresh food out of landfills, fills gaps in food insecurity

Even after food stores pass excess fresh food they cannot sell to food shelves, some of that produce may still go to waste. If food shelf clients don’t pick it up, it might go to the landfill. In Mankato, the South Central Minnesota Food Recovery Project has come up with another way to use that food, while also helping the planet.
by Hannah Yang

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