Stories from September 10, 2024

Trump and Harris are set to debate for the first time in Philadelphia
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are gearing up to take the stage for Tuesday night’s debate in Philadelphia, where they’ll fight to sway 2024 election voters on the biggest stage in U.S. politics.
Reviewing the Harris-Trump presidential debate
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with political analysts about the first — and possibly only — general election debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Authorities have identified the Minneapolis police officer who shot and injured a man Saturday. The man was allegedly firing a weapon in an apartment building. And insights from a new report released by United Ways of Minnesota and United for ALICE show that 63 percent of households under the age of 25 have high rates of financial hardship.
Rural Voice: How to build more civic-minded communities
MPR News host Kerri Miller took her Rural Voice series to Red Wing on Thursday to talk with community members and political scientist Brian Klaas about how to build a new spirit of civic engagement in rural Minnesota.
National cigarettes, banned pop songs and memory oceans: Minneapolis Iranian artists show work about diaspora
The exhibition “So Far, So Close” features works by Iranian-born artists Ziba Rajabi, Shirin Ghoraishi and Katayoun Amjadi, exploring themes of displacement, memory and identity.
Regenerative agriculture is sold as a climate solution. Can it do all it says?
Governments and industries are pouring billions of dollars into so-called “regenerative agriculture.” But while scientists say some of these farming practices do reduce planet heating pollution, for others the science is less clear.
An Israeli strike on a Gaza humanitarian zone kills at least 19
The Israeli military said it was targeting a Hamas command and control center in al-Muwasi, west of Khan Younis, and killed three Hamas commanders in the strike. Hamas did not confirm the deaths.
Thick wildfire smoke aloft over Minnesota
A massive western wildfire smoke plume has reached Minnesota.
Harris’ average lead in Minnesota’s presidential race is now 6 points
Two new polls of Minnesota voters, released Sept. 9 and 10, add to two others conducted since Gov. Tim Walz was selected as Harris’ running mate. All show the Democratic ticket currently leading the Trump-Vance Republican ticket in the race for Minnesota’s 10 electoral votes.
‘It’s a different sense of time and space’: New art exhibit aims to help process grief
A new interactive art exhibition opening Thursday in Minneapolis dares us to begin to process what’s happening in our world. It’s called “Legacy Dream Space” and it includes video projection, theater, digital art and music.
Ready to Depolarize? Try ‘Walk a Mile in My News’
Are you interested in better understanding where someone with different political views is coming from? Have someone in mind? Ask them to “Walk a Mile in My News!”
Honoring a tuberculosis trailblazer: Dr. Kathleen Jordan’s legacy in focus at Granite Falls exhibit
Dr. Kathleen Jordan gave 1.5 million TB tests to students during the last half of the 20th century. An exhibit in Granite Falls will honor her work.
As Trump and Harris prepare to square off Tuesday evening, UMN debate coach predicts tactics
According to a poll released Tuesday, about 70 percent of Americans are planning to tune in and 30 percent of registered voters are planning to use what happens Tuesday night to decide their vote.
Woman sues Scheels over teen son’s gun death in Eden Prairie store
A Minnesota woman is suing the Scheels sporting goods retail chain, accusing it of negligence after her 19-year-old son died by suicide in Scheels’ Eden Prairie store.
Rachel Kushner’s new espionage thriller may be her coolest book yet
In “Creation Lake,” a hard-drinking American spy infiltrates a radical farming collective in a remote region of France. Kushner challenges readers to keep up with her and not to flinch.
Aquatic invader starry stonewort discovered in Whitefish Chain of Lakes
The DNR says starry stonewort was found in Rush Lake, near the city of Crosslake in Crow Wing County. It’s the first time the invasive algae has been confirmed in the Whitefish chain.
Harris presses a more forceful case against Trump than Biden did on abortion, economy and democracy
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have showcased starkly different visions for the country on abortion, immigration and American democracy as they met for the first time Tuesday for perhaps their only debate before November’s presidential election.
Morning Announcements for Sept. 10
Here are the morning announcements for Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024.
Summerlike weather continues 
Tuesday will be another very warm day. Southern Minnesota will see just a couple isolated showers and a few more clouds. Temps will be even warmer Wednesday and Thursday. 
Former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris meet in a debate Tuesday night. Top Minnesota officials say they will be watching closely. And members of the Minneapolis City Council voted Monday to extend the city's contract for a controversial gunshot detection technology.  The city has contracted with what's commonly referred to as ShotSpotter since 2007.
Months after Twin Cities highway closed, repairs to reopen it are set to begin
It’s been more than three months since a state highway in the Twin Cities unexpectedly closed after saturated soil on a hillside gave way, undermining the pavement. But the end of the closure may be in sight.
NPR poll shows why the stakes are so high for Harris and Trump in the debate
A lot of people say they'll tune in Tuesday night to the first presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, according to an NPR/PBS News/Marist poll.
Angels beat the struggling Twins 6-2
Reid Detmers worked six solid innings and Brandon Drury and Niko Kavadas homered to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 6-2 victory over the struggling Minnesota Twins on Monday night.
The Polaris Dawn spacewalk is SpaceX’s ‘risky adventure’
New spacesuits, untested astronauts, and a lot that can go wrong make this five-day mission unusually complex, but with a potentially great reward.
The man who put the ‘snap’ in Honeycrisp is stepping aside
Jim Luby, who has led the fruit breeding program at the University of Minnesota since 1982, is retiring. His is one of the researchers credited with developing such apples as the Zestar!, the SweeTango and, the giant among them, the Honeycrisp. He’s also developed many other fruits too. It’s involved a lot of hard work, experimentation and tasting thousands of apples.
‘This is rehearsal for life’: Mixed Blood Theatre takes on thorny topics
Discussions of political topics, even among like-minded people, can be difficult. And finding a neutral place to have them can be even harder. As part of our Talking Sense series, reporter Jacob Aloi goes to a Minneapolis theater company creating a space for these conversations, through food and performance.
Bodycam footage shows Miami-Dade Police forcibly handling Dolphins star Tyreek Hill
Less than a minute after the first words were exchanged between officers and Hill, an officer roughly pulled Hill from the car and forced him to the ground. Hill was cited for careless driving.