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Stories from January 30, 2026

Senate passes government funding deal despite GOP backlash

Senate passes government funding deal despite GOP backlash

The Senate has voted to fund most of the government through the end of September after President Donald Trump made a deal with Democrats to carve out Homeland Security funding and allow Congress to debate new restrictions on federal immigration raids across the country.
by The Associated Press

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Thousands march in Minneapolis as part of nationwide ICE protests

Thousands march in Minneapolis as part of nationwide ICE protests

Thousands took to the streets of Minneapolis for the second week in a row to protest the federal immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota.
by Peter Cox

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Protests over ICE in downtown Minneapolis, at Whipple building

For a second straight Friday, protesters filled the streets of downtown Minneapolis this afternoon to speak out against the ongoing surge of federal immigration agents to Minnesota. And hundreds of protesters gathered at the Whipple federal building near the Twin Cities airport this morning. They say they don't trust new leaders overseeing the ongoing surge of federal immigration agents.
by Emily Reese

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Some Pelican Rapids residents press mayor to do more about ICE. He says it's not his job

Some Pelican Rapids residents press mayor to do more about ICE. He says it's not his job

Four people in the small, ethnically diverse town were taken into custody recently. Some residents want Mayor Brent Frazier more active on ICE concerns. Indigenous people and people of color “want to hear that you have our back,” a resident told him Thursday.
by Mathew Holding Eagle III

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Some Pelican Rapids residents want their mayor to do more about ICE. He says it's not his job

Some Pelican Rapids residents want their mayor to do more about ICE. He says it's not his job

Some residents of the west-central city of Pelican Rapids are calling on their mayor to do more to support and protect immigrants and BIPOC people in their community, as they feel threatened by the federal immigration crackdown in the state. But the mayor says that’s not his job.
by Mathew Holding Eagle III

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Yes, romance & fantasy novels are political.

Yes, romance & fantasy novels are political.

Romantasies combine supernatural characters and plotlines with the rush of a whirlwind romance novel, and, in this episode, NPR explores how the politics of some of these books have an effect on politics in the real world.
by Brittany Luse, Mika Ellison , Neena Pathak and Corey Antonio Rose

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Former NBC producer tells her own story about Matt Lauer in ‘Unspeakable Things’

Former NBC producer tells her own story about Matt Lauer in ‘Unspeakable Things’

Brooke Nevils was working for NBC at the Sochi Olympics when, she says, she was sexually assaulted by Today Show host Matt Lauer — a claim he denies. Nevils’ new memoir is “Unspeakable Things.”
by Tonya Mosley

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Feds charge journalists Don Lemon, Georgia Fort over Minnesota church protest

Feds charge journalists Don Lemon, Georgia Fort over Minnesota church protest

Lemon, the former CNN anchor and Fort, an independent Twin Cities journalist, were charged with conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshipers in connection with his coverage of an anti-immigration enforcement protest at Cities Church on Jan. 18.
by Brandt Williams, Jon Collins and Matt Sepic

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Bruce Springsteen performs as special guest at First Avenue solidarity show

Bruce Springsteen performs as special guest at First Avenue solidarity show

A last-minute benefit show at First Avenue is raising money to support the families of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti, two Minnesotans fatally shot this month by federal immigration enforcement agents.
by MPR News Staff

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Catherine O'Hara, Emmy-winning comedian of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'SCTV' fame, dies at 71

Catherine O'Hara, Emmy-winning comedian of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'SCTV' fame, dies at 71

Catherine O'Hara, the Emmy-winning actor known for comedic roles across the decades — from Kevin's beleaguered mom in “Home Alone” to the iconic Moira Rose in “Schitt's Creek” — died Friday at 71.
by The Associated Press

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Vikings fire GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, seek 'new leadership'

Vikings fire GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, seek 'new leadership'

Rob Brzezinski, executive vice president of football operations, will lead the team through the 2026 NFL Draft, team owners Mark and Zygi Wilf said in a statement. The Vikings last year signed Adofo-Mensah to a multi-year contract extension.
by MPR News Staff

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Feds open civil rights probe into Alex Pretti killing

The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis resident killed Saturday by Border Patrol officers, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday.

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DOJ has opened a federal civil rights probe into the death of Alex Pretti, deputy AG says

DOJ has opened a federal civil rights probe into the death of Alex Pretti, deputy AG says

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche says the Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the death of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis resident killed by Border Patrol officers. The Department of Homeland Security also said Friday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation will lead the federal probe.
by The Associated Press

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Minnesota journalists condemn arrests, say they stand ‘united in defense of press freedom’

The Minnesota Star Tribune, Minnesota Public Radio, the Minnesota Reformer, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder and Center for Broadcast Journalism Friday released a statement on the recent arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort.

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Protesters call for nationwide strike against Trump’s immigration policies

Protesters call for nationwide strike against Trump’s immigration policies

Protesters across the U.S. are calling for “no work, no school, no shopping” as part of a nationwide strike on Friday to oppose the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
by The Associated Press and Andrew Krueger

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The Current’s interview with Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath: ‘Minneapolis is meeting the moment’

The Current’s interview with Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath: ‘Minneapolis is meeting the moment’

Chicago punk band Rise Against is in Minneapolis on Friday to take part in A Concert of Solidarity and Resistance to Defend Minnesota. Announced earlier this week, the show is a benefit for the families of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two Minnesotans killed by federal agents since ICE’s operations expanded in the Twin Cities.

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Morning Announcements for Jan. 30

Morning Announcements for Jan. 30

These are the Morning Announcements for Friday, Jan. 30. Tell us what you’re celebrating!
by MPR News Staff

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Native nations make it easier to get tribal IDs as community fears ICE, fight to prove their right to belong in U.S.

Native nations make it easier to get tribal IDs as community fears ICE, fight to prove their right to belong in U.S.

Many of the people whose ancestors lived in the U.S. thousands of years before Europeans arrived are carrying tribal identification for protection against the Trump administration’s anti-immigration agenda. 
by The Associated Press

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DHS ramps up surveillance in immigration raids, sweeping in citizens

DHS ramps up surveillance in immigration raids, sweeping in citizens

The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis is providing insights into the surveillance technologies the government is using in its mass deportation campaign. Department of Homeland Security officials insist their immigration enforcement operations are “highly targeted,” but some American citizens have been caught up in the raids.
by The Associated Press

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DHS ramps up surveillance in immigration raids, sweeping in citizens

DHS ramps up surveillance in immigration raids, sweeping in citizens

The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis is providing insights into the surveillance technologies the government is using in its mass deportation campaign. Department of Homeland Security officials insist their immigration enforcement operations are “highly targeted.”
by The Associated Press

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2 more Minnesota children are taken into ICE custody

2 more Minnesota children are taken into ICE custody

Two more Minnesota children — a second grader and a fifth grader — were taken into custody with their mother on Thursday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. 

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Fearing ICE, Native Americans rush to prove their right to belong in the U.S.

Fearing ICE, Native Americans rush to prove their right to belong in the U.S.

Many of the people whose ancestors lived in the U.S. thousands of years before Europeans are carrying tribal identification for protection against the Trump administration’s anti-immigration agenda. 
by The Associated Press

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2 more Minnesota children taken into ICE custody

Two more Minnesota children from 5-year-old Liam Ramos’ elementary school have been taken into ICE custody. School officials said the children, in second and fifth grade, were taken Thursday afternoon.
by Emily Bright

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Morning Announcements for Jan. 29

Morning Announcements for Jan. 29

These are the Morning Announcements for Thursday, Jan. 29. Tell us what you’re celebrating!
by MPR News Staff

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Warmer air moves in this weekend along with a more active pattern

Warmer air moves in this weekend along with a more active pattern

Friday brings one last cold day and one last subzero night. Temperatures warm up this weekend and that’ll bring some snow Sunday and possibly Tuesday, too. 
by Sven Sundgaard

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MN Shortlist, Jan. 30–Feb. 5: New dance, live music and cozy getaways

MN Shortlist, Jan. 30–Feb. 5: New dance, live music and cozy getaways

Late January and early February in Minnesota have a way of sharpening the senses. This week’s picks sit right at that edge, where artists question what gets valued, musicians sit with emotional wreckage, theaters make room for inherited histories and winter itself becomes something to savor rather than survive.
by Anika Besst, Alex V. Cipolle and Max Sparber

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A Minneapolis opera brings back a pioneering Black composer

A Minneapolis opera brings back a pioneering Black composer

A new Minnesota Opera production is using the life and music of Florence Price, a pioneering Black symphonic composer whose work disappeared from mainstream stages, to examine how major artists are remembered, neglected and brought back into the cultural conversation.
by Jacob Aloi

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‘I don’t have words’: 2 more kids from Liam Conejo Ramos’ Columbia Heights school taken into ICE custody

‘I don’t have words’: 2 more kids from Liam Conejo Ramos’ Columbia Heights school taken into ICE custody

The children were taken into ICE custody after their mother was detained at a court appointment. School leaders say the mother asked them to bring the kids to the detention center because there were no family members in Minnesota to care for them.
by Elizabeth Shockman and Kerem Yücel

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75 years young, Michael Koppy becomes oldest runner to finish the Arrowhead Ultra 135

75 years young, Michael Koppy becomes oldest runner to finish the Arrowhead Ultra 135

Michael Koppy finished the 135-mile bike, ski and foot race on a desolate trail across northern Minnesota in just under 60 hours, becoming the oldest competitor ever to finish the race on foot. 
by Dan Kraker

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