Stories from February 19, 2025

The Minneapolis public school district met this week to discuss strategies to close its $75 million budget shortfall, and Delta Air Lines says all but one of the passengers injured when a flight from Minneapolis crashed while landing in Toronto on Monday has been released from the hospital.
Wisconsin’s Northland College to close at the end of the academic year
In early 2024, it was unclear whether Northland would continue but the college announced it would drastically reduce its majors and cut staff. Despite these efforts, the board chair said the school no longer has the resources to continue.
Clear skies overnight with subzero temperatures continuing
We’re nearly out of the deep freeze! Another cold subzero night ahead, with lows dipping into the single digits and teens below zero. As skies clear overnight, Thursday will bring sunshine and a warmer day, with highs climbing back into the double digits above zero!
Minnesota bill seeks to disable AI tech used to create nude or sexual images of people
The plan would require artificial intelligence companies to deactivate a feature that allows users to make people appear naked or engaged in sexual acts in photos or videos without their consent.
Lawmaker who led state to require ethnic studies in schools decries effort to undo it
State Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura, DFL-Minneapolis, authored the bill that set ethnic studies standards a few years ago. She joined Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer on Wednesday in response to Republican Rep. Ron Kresha’s legislation.
‘Outrageous’ and ‘chilling’: Local orgs react to new DEI restrictions from the National Endowments for the Arts
The Playwrights’ Center of Minneapolis has rejected a $35,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts due to new federal restrictions barring grant recipients from promoting diversity, equity, inclusion and gender ideology, joining a growing number of arts organizations nationwide in condemning the policy.
Twin Cities Green Book sites were touchstones for Black travelers in the segregation era
During the era of Jim Crow laws and racial segregation, 87 locations in Minnesota were listed in the Green Book, which helped Black travelers find businesses that would serve them. But less than a quarter of these sites in Minnesota remain standing today.
Minnesota’s U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is promoting bipartisan legislation that would provide federal funding for domestic violence awareness training for cosmetologists and beauty professionals.
Minnesota business leader among thousands of federal workers axed in Trump cuts
Thousands of probationary employees who have not been in their jobs long enough to qualify for certain protections have been terminated by federal agencies around the country, including in Minnesota.
Zelenskyy hits back against Trump's comments blaming Ukraine for the war with Russia
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he wants the U.S. to stop using disinformation when talking about Russia's war on Ukraine, after President Trump accused Ukraine of starting the war.
Learn a few laundry secrets from the baseball pros — the clubhouse staffers who wash MLB uniforms
From the pinstripes of New York to the Dodger blues of Los Angeles, there is a strong connection among the clubhouse staffers who wash the uniforms of the major leagues. Just like the players who wear the jerseys.
What you need to know about bird flu
More people, livestock and wildlife in the U.S. are testing positive for bird flu. MPR News host Angela Davis and her guest discuss what you need to know about how the avian influenza virus is changing, who is at risk, and how to prevent its spread.
Garcia scores season-high 32 points and Minnesota completes L.A. rally beating UCLA 64-61
Dawson Garcia scored a 27 of his season-high 32 points after halftime and Minnesota staged another dramatic rally this time beating UCLA 64-61. Lu’Cye Patterson’s layup with eight seconds left gave Minnesota the lead for good at 62-61. Garcia made two foul shots with .9 seconds to go to seal it. UCLA’s desperation heave wasn’t close.
Maddie Rooney makes 21 saves, Frost blank PWHL-leading Victoire 4-0
Maddie Rooney made 21 saves for her first shutout this season to lead the Minnesota Frost past the league-leading Montreal Victoire 4-0 on Tuesday night. Denisa Krizova scored twice — including an empty-netter — and Liz Schepers and Kendall Coyne Schofield also scored for Minnesota.
Questions emerge about what may have caused Delta plane to burst into flames and flip over
Aviation experts say investigators will consider the weather conditions, as well as the possibility of human error or an aircraft malfunction as they try to determine why a Delta Air Lines jet burst into flames and flipped upside down as it tried to land in Toronto. 
A prosecutor in the Feeding Our Future trial on Tuesday raised allegations of witness tampering. And Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier is now out of prison and back home in North Dakota.
DOJ asks for pause in Minneapolis police federal consent decree
A few days into his new administration, President Donald Trump’s DOJ leadership issued a memo directing attorneys to provide notice of any court-enforceable agreements to reform police agencies that had been finalized within the last 90 days. The memo said the new administration “may wish to reconsider” such agreements.
Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier welcomed home after release from prison
After nearly 50 years of incarceration, Native American political activist Leonard Peltier has been released from prison. Former President Joe Biden commuted his sentence in January before leaving office. In 1977 Peltier was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of two FBI agents. 
A federal judge has denied states‘ bid to halt DOGE and Musk‘s work
A federal judge has denied a bid to temporarily halt DOGE from its controversial work at certain federal agencies. Meanwhile, the White House says Elon Musk is not technically DOGE’s leader.
83 years after mass incarceration, Japanese Americans warn it could happen again
Executive Order 9066 led to the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. Vinicius Taguchi of the Japanese American Citizens League sees parallels between this troubling history and the present.
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