Stories from February 9, 2026

Minnesota's legislative session starts next week, and Minneapolis representatives say they're looking to introduce legislation to push back against the federal immigration operation. And students at Minneapolis Public Schools will have the option to take classes from home for another two months, amid the ongoing federal immigration operation.
Kidney transplant recipient in ICE custody is finally getting meds, wife and attorney say
Javier Abreu-Vasquez, a kidney transplant recipient, was arrested by ICE in Rochester last week without his anti-rejection medication and he may have gone for days without receiving it. His wife and his attorney say he is getting meds now, but irregularly, and his care team at Mayo Clinic worry about the potential harm to his health.
Minneapolis City Council president says immigration enforcement still active in Minneapolis
Five days after federal officials announced hundreds of immigration agents would be leaving Minneapolis, City Council President Elliott Payne says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is still visibly active in the city.
Freeze-thaw this week; bigger thaw next week
It’s a milder-than-normal Pacific flow for Minnesota this week.
Lindsey Vonn's father tells AP her Olympic crash marks 'the end of her career' if he has any say
Lindsey Vonn’s father said Monday that the American superstar will no longer race if he has any influence over her decision and that she will not return to the Winter Olympics after breaking her leg in the downhill over the weekend.
Minnesotans are being arrested for impeding ICE. What does that mean?
White House immigration official Tom Homan said more than 150 Minnesotans have been arrested for allegedly impeding, obstructing, or assaulting ICE officers. Of those, 85 have been charged. But lawyers say the charges are being reduced from felonies to misdemeanors or dismissed because the government doesn’t have a case.
Minneapolis council member Chavez: We are not going to rest until ICE operation ends
While DHS said that it removed about 700 agents from the 3,000 that were in the state last week, Minneapolis City Council member Jason Chavez says he hasn’t seen much change on the ground.
Refugees in Minnesota detained and flown to Texas are released with no way home
According to the executive director of the International Institute of Minnesota, dozens of legal refugees in the state are being flown to Texas and then released weeks later with no way of getting home.
U.S. reaches first Olympic curling mixed doubles final, will face Swedish siblings for gold
Minnesota curlers Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse are going for gold. The duo from Duluth guaranteed the U.S. its first Olympic medal in mixed doubles curling, reaching the final by rallying for a 9-8 semifinal victory over Italy on Monday.
A 22-year-old woman found fatally stabbed in St. Cloud on Saturday was the daughter of a candidate for Minnesota governor. The Republican Party of Minnesota said Jeff Johnson has suspended his campaign. Police said the victim’s husband is suspected of causing her death.
Morning Announcements for Feb. 9
These are the Morning Announcements for Monday, Feb. 9. Tell us what you’re celebrating!
Minnesota's construction industry is feeling the impact of ICE
The construction industry is taking a hit from immigration enforcement activity in Minnesota. MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the impact of workers staying home, short-staffed subcontractors and how its affecting the building trades.
Minnesota reaches settlement with federal government over education funding
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says his office has reached a settlement with the Trump administration to ensure the state receives hundreds of millions of dollars in federal education funding. That’s after the federal government last year threatened to withhold the funding.
An 18-month-old girl detained for weeks by U.S. immigration authorities was returned to custody and denied medication after being hospitalized with a life-threatening respiratory illness, according to a lawsuit filed in Texas federal court.
Bad Bunny Super Bowl halftime show gives hope to Latino Minnesotans at a difficult time
Latino Minnesotans hosted dance parties and played Bad Bunny music before the Puerto Rican artists’ highly anticipated and politically controversial Superbowl halftime show on Sunday. Some say they appreciate Bad Bunny for using his platform to criticize recent ICE actions, and he gives them hope in a trying time.
No, that wasn’t Liam Conejo Ramos in Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show
A publicist for Bad Bunny confirmed to NPR that the little boy in a blue bunny hat detained by ICE in Minneapolis last month did not participate in the Super Bowl halftime show.
Lindsey Vonn's fall explained: A reverse banked section, an unfortunate bump and an inflated air bag
Lindsey Vonn knows the Olympic downhill course better than anyone. She’s won a record 12 World Cup races on the Olympia delle Tofane track and has a total of 20 podium results there stretching back to her very first on the entire circuit in 2004.
The children of Dilley
ProPublica went inside the immigrant detention center for families in Dilley, Texas. Children held there told us about the anguish of being ripped from their lives in the United States and the fear of what comes next.
The wife of a Minnesota man held by ICE in Texas tells MPR News he still hasn’t been given the medications he needs to prevent his body from rejecting his transplanted kidney. Meanwhile, Mille Lacs County is one of more than half a dozen Minnesota counties that have signed agreements to assist ICE.
15 to 30 degrees above normal Monday
Monday will be quite mild with highs in the 30s, 40s and even 50s in southwest Minnesota. While we cool off some the rest of the week, it remains above normal. 
Bad Bunny halftime show lifts and gives hope to Latino Minnesotans at a difficult time
Latino Minnesotans hosted dance parties and played Bad Bunny music before the Puerto Rican artists’ highly anticipated and politically controversial Superbowl halftime show on Sunday. Some say they appreciate Bad Bunny for using his platform to criticize recent ICE actions, and he gives them hope in a trying time.
Many Midwest farmers have mixed feelings about upcoming USDA payments
Farmers across the country will receive a check at the end of the month to partly compensate for losses experienced last year. Soybean growers in Minnesota and North Dakota say the payments won’t be enough to make them whole.
Once considered 'junk,' native rough fish soon could see new catch limits, protections
For more than a century, native rough fish like redhorse, bowfin and buffalo were lumped in with invasive species like common carp — and not considered worthy of protection or management. But there’s growing respect for the species and concern about a potential population decline. 
Seahawks ride their 'Dark Side' defense to a Super Bowl title, pounding the Patriots 29-13
The Seattle Seahawks have won the franchise's second Super Bowl, and defense was the driving force behind this championship. Devon Witherspoon, Derick Hall, Byron Murphy and the rest of Mike Macdonald’s ferocious unit pummeled Drake Maye in Seattle's 29-13 win on Sunday at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.