Stories from February 11, 2026

A hearing on Capitol Hill is yielding few answers about why the U.S. Department of Justice has excluded Minnesota investigators from probes into the Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti fatal shootings in Minneapolis.
 Legal Aid lawyers warn against school seclusion rooms for Minnesota’s youngest learners 
Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid attorneys on Wednesday released a report showing spartan conditions in school seclusion rooms across Minnesota as they urged lawmakers to continue the state’s ban on using those rooms for kids in kindergarten through third grade.
'We're unwanted:' The voices of Minnesotans in hiding
In a new series, we feature several people in the state who have been in hiding due to fear of arrest, detention, or deportation. We asked them to send us voice memos for three days, describing what they did that day, what they didn’t get to do, and how it’s impacting their lives.
Lawyers gain access to Whipple Federal Building after lawsuit, find lack of access to counsel
Lawyers from the nonprofit organization Advocates for Human Rights visited the facility early Monday after a federal judge ordered the Department of Homeland Security to let them inside. 
A rare look into Dilley family detention center in Texas
A ProPublica report gives an inside look into the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas, where it’s believed several Minnesota children — including Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old from Columbia Heights — and their families were sent after being detained by federal agents.
James Van Der Beek, the 'Dawson's Creek' star who later mocked his own hunky persona, has died at 48
James Van Der Beek, best known as Dawson on “Dawson’s Creek,” has died at 48, according to a statement on his Instagram. The post on Wednesday says he died earlier that day.
Indigenous group speaks out against immigration enforcement with prayer camp
A Dakota prayer camp has gone up across the highway from Whipple Federal Building to protest U.S. immigration enforcement. Organizers draw connections between current practices and historical injustices.
February thaw continues into the weekend
A string of warmer February days ahead may possibly bring record setting temperatures on Saturday.
U.S. cross-country star Jessie Diggins plowing through Olympics with bruised ribs
Diggins was hurt in a fall in her opening race — the 20-kilometer skiathlon — on Sunday and the toll also limited her ability to put in a strong finish in the sprint classic on Tuesday in Tesero.
Morning Announcements for Feb. 10-11
These are the Morning Announcements for Tuesday, Feb. 10 and Wednesday, Feb. 11. Tell us what you’re celebrating!
Pursuit by federal agents leads to multi-car crash in St. Paul
A multi-car crash Wednesday in St. Paul at the intersection of Western Avenue North and Selby Avenue appeared to involve federal agents.
Poll: Americans support ICE overhaul, Trump’s ratings on immigration tumble
A sizable majority of Americans want significant changes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement — but while they largely disapprove of ICE and say its tactics have gone too far, the country is divided over just how much to reform the agency and how to handle immigration policy broadly, according to a new survey.
Health care workers describe ‘fear,’ ‘intimidation’ due to ICE in hospitals
An employee at M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital, who asked to remain anonymous, said that patients are being admitted to the emergency room with broken arms and concussions after interactions with federal agents.
Poll: Americans support ICE overhaul amid federal funding fight
The question is how far to go, as a new NBC News Decision Desk Poll finds 43 percent want ICE reformed, 29 percent want it abolished, and 29 percent want it to continue in its current form.
America’s Gen Z curlers bring new ways to a traditional sport
At the U.S. Curling Olympic Trials, a team of Gen Z curlers usurped the long-reigning champions in a big upset. Team Casper is bringing swagger, limber knees and some new sensibilities to a tradition-filled sport.
Trump's EPA plans to end a key climate pollution regulation
The Environmental Protection Agency is eliminating a Clean Air Act finding from 2009 that is the basis for much of the federal government's actions to rein in climate change.
FAA lifts temporary closure of airspace over El Paso, Texas
The Federal Aviation Administration has reopened the airspace around El Paso International Airport in Texas, just hours after it announced a 10-day closure that would have grounded all flights to and from the airport. 
Two former assistant U.S. attorneys who prosecuted fraud cases in Minnesota are now defending two independent Black journalists charged in connection with a demonstration at a St. Paul church. Meanwhile, Bloomington police say a human trafficking sting operation has resulted in the arrest of 30 men.
Very mild stretch of weather ahead
We’ll see sun Wednesday thanks to high pressure. Temperatures will continue to warm the rest of this week heading into a very mild weekend. 
Review: At the Guthrie, 'Macbeth' becomes a timely study in power and consequences
Joe Dowling’s fast, dark, and stylistically charged “Macbeth” at the Guthrie turns Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy into a fierce meditation on ambition, violence and accountability, tracing how power corrodes its holders from the inside out.
Trump orders some U.S. coal plants to keep operating. Will Minnesotans foot part of the bill?
Electricity customers in 15 Midwest states, including Minnesota, might bear the costs of continuing to operate a Michigan coal plant. A week before it was scheduled to shut down, the U.S. Department of Energy ordered it to keep running, citing a possible electricity shortage.
ICE enforcement and songs of protest
From street choirs and drummers to new tracks by Laamar and Bruce Springsteen, a new wave of protest music is rising in response to ICE operations. MPR News host Catharine Richert talks with The Current's Gannon Hanevold about how musicians are soundtracking resistance in Minnesota.
Don Lemon hires former Minnesota federal prosecutor in church protest case
Journalist Don Lemon has hired Joe Thompson, previously lead prosecutor in the Feeding Our Future case. Lemon is charged in connection with a demonstration at a St. Paul church he covered in January.