Minnesota Now Sept. 6, 2022

[MUSIC PLAYING] CATHY WURZER: It's Minnesota Now. I'm Cathy Wurzer The largest building project in Minnesota history has hit huge snags. It's way over budget and years behind schedule. What's going on? Local comedian Jon Savitt is teaching high school students how to make people laugh, some needed levity in the classroom and elsewhere.

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Many Ukrainians are starting lives abroad as the devastating Russian invasion of Ukraine continues. We'll talk with three high school students about their first days in the Twin Cities metro. The start of September means the end of the backyard veggie garden. Or does it? Gardener Meg Cowden has a few ideas for you. The Minnesota Music Minute and The Song of The Day, all of that and more coming up

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First, the news.

WINDSOR JOHNSTON: Live from the MPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. A new report from the United Nations says the workforce running a Ukrainian nuclear power plant is understaffed and carrying out their duties in a stressful unsustainable environment. MPR's Frank Langfitt reports inspectors say the difficult work conditions could undermine nuclear safety.

FRANK LANGFITT: The inspectors paint an alarming picture of life inside the nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian soldiers. It has been under sporadic shelling since early August. For instance, the plant has just 80 staff for its fire brigade instead of the normal 150. And working at the plant could be dangerous.

An artillery strike injured an employee last month while he was working near a spent nuclear fuel storage facility. The inspectors continue to raise alarm over repeated damage to power lines which are crucial to running pumps that cool the nuclear reactor core to prevent a meltdown. But they also said the plant has more than 2,200 tons of diesel fuel to run emergency generators. Frank Langfitt, MPR News. Reverie.

WINDSOR JOHNSTON: Britain's new prime minister is addressing the nation just hours after being officially appointed by Queen Elizabeth. Speaking in front of 10 Downing Street, Liz Truss reiterated her pledge to rebuild Britain's struggling economy and work to ease the ongoing energy crisis.

LIZ TRUSS: Now is the time to tackle the issues that are holding Britain back. We need to build roads, homes, and broadband faster. We need more investment and great jobs in every town and city across our country. We need to reduce the burden on families and help people get on in life.

WINDSOR JOHNSTON: President Biden congratulated Truss adding that Washington and London would continue to cooperate on global issues, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Truss succeeds former prime Minister Boris Johnson who announced his resignation in July.

Hackers targeted a Los Angeles School District with a ransomware attack over the weekend. MPR's Jenna McLaughlin reports an investigation is underway.

JENNA MCLAUGHLIN: The Los Angeles Unified School District says it detected suspicious activity in its network over Labor Day weekend. They concluded it was a ransomware attack. According to research by cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, cyber attacks targeting the education sector often increase around the start of the school year to try and disrupt classes and force the district to pay to unlock its files.

Attacks also increased during holiday weekends when IT employees aren't working. In this case, schools in LA will open as scheduled because administrators don't expect the attack to impact instruction, transportation, food, emergency services, or other educational necessities. Jenna McLaughlin, MPR News.

WINDSOR JOHNSTON: On Wall Street, the Dow was down 78 points. This is MPR News.

REPORTER: Support for MPR comes from MPR stations. Other contributors include Capital One with the Capital One Quicksilver card. Details at capitalone.com. What's in your wallet? Credit approval required Capital One Bank USANA and the listeners who support this MPR station.

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CATHY WURZER: Around Minnesota right now. Skies are mostly sunny with highs today in the upper 70s to the upper 80s. It'll be cooler along the North Shore. At noon in Saint-Cloud, it's sunny and 73, it's 75 in Worthington. And outside the Rustic Inn restaurant on the North Shore, it's sunny and 60. I'm Cathy Wurzer with the Minnesota news headlines.

Governor Walz said this morning that a person shot last night near the Minnesota State Fair has been released from the hospital with minor injuries. Walz said police have a suspect in the shooting that took place near Como and Snelling Avenues. Last night shooting followed one on the fairgrounds Saturday night that sent fairgoers running for cover. In the wake of those two incidents, the DFL governor called on the judicial branch to issue harsh penalties for those involved in shootings and urged lawmakers to approve additional funding for public safety.

GOVERNOR WALZ: There's too many guns on the streets. And 15-year-old with guns shooting someone or a 20-year-old being shot last night. We have got to make it as difficult as possible for folks to be getting these guns.

CATHY WURZER: The governor said the shooters and the victims involved in both state fair situations likely knew one another. And he said that the victim in last night's shooting as well as the shooting at the fair Saturday refused to cooperate with police.

The University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus kicks off the school year today with one of its biggest incoming classes in history. Peter Cox has that story.

PETER COX: According to the University, this year's incoming class is around 6,700 students. That's down from last year's record breaking 7,500, but still the second largest incoming class in the last 55 years at the school. The U also says this is the most diverse incoming class it has ever had with BIPOC students making up around 34% of the class.

Applications from Indigenous Black and Hispanic students were up 20% to 25% from last year. Almost 70% of this year's incoming class are from Minnesota. The US says applications were up 6% over last year. I'm Peter Cox.

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CATHY WURZER: There was a report from the legislative auditor released Friday and it's likely you missed it since it was the start of a holiday weekend. It was a long awaited report on the Southwest Light Rail green line extension, that train line is supposed to connect downtown Minneapolis with Eden Prairie, Hopkins, Minnetonka, and St. Louis Park. The project, the most expensive in state history, is nine years behind schedule and $1.5 billion over budget.

That's not all. There are questions about where the money will come from to finish the project. Judy Randall is Minnesota's Legislative Auditor. She's here to talk about the findings of the report. We'll talk with Auditor Randall first and then we'll be joined by DFL state representative Frank Hornstein of Minneapolis who along with other lawmakers push to make the audit happen. Auditor Randall, thanks for us.

JUDY RANDALL: Thanks for having me. Nice to talk with you.

CATHY WURZER: Likewise. Thank you. Well, your office is the gold standard in Minnesota in terms of objective nonpartisan reports. What are the key issues you identified?

JUDY RANDALL: Well, Cathy as you identified at the top of the segment, the key issues are, the project is nine years delayed, it is nearly or more than double in budget from $1.25 billion that was estimated in 2011. To now it's estimated at $2.75 billion. And $500 million of that budget is not clear where it's coming from. So I think there's some significant concerns around where that $500 million is going to come from.

CATHY WURZER: Have you determined the reasons behind the delays and the other issues?

JUDY RANDALL: There are several reasons for the delays and the cost increases. But what we identified is freight rail. The existence of freight rail through the same corridor as where the light rail is going is really one of the key issues that drove both the cost increases and the delays. And the way we're thinking about it is it's like dominoes. When you play dominoes you set them up and you click one down and then the rest fall. And freight rail is that first domino that fell.

There are a couple of issues related to freight rail. One is when the project was first being designed and planned, it was just assumed that freight rail would get moved out of the corridor. And so the details behind that were not included in the project. They were not included in the design, in the cost, et cetera. It was just assumed it would get taken care as part of a different project.

Well, when the FTA started looking at the project, they said, no, you actually have to figure out how that's going to happen and you have to account for that in the project. And it's one of those things where the devil's in the details. So as more and more studies started happening, it became evident that actually freight rail was not going to get moved out of the corridor. It was going to stay in the same corridor.

And so now different design and engineering had to happen to accommodate for that. So that led to the decision to build a tunnel through the Kenilworth corridor. And then as I'm sure you and your listeners know there were problems with the construction of that tunnel, so it led to having to do a different type of tunnel. So it was just one of the ways that the intersection with freight rail and light rail had an impact.

CATHY WURZER: And the agency with the accountability on this issue, this whole project is the Met Council?

JUDY RANDALL: That is correct. Prior to 2012, there were different lead organizations, especially Hennepin County. But at 2012, the FTA named Met Council the project sponsor. So since that time, Met Council is the key state agency or state entity with responsibility for all aspects of this project.

CATHY WURZER: What has the Met Council said about the audit?

JUDY RANDALL: They agree that it is accurate. They agree that they have not yet identified a source for that $500 million. And really I think that's one of the key issues that the state and the legislature is going to have to grapple with in the coming year.

CATHY WURZER: Each auditor's report comes out with various recommendations for the state legislature. What are your recommendations in this problem? And then will there be other reports forthcoming?

JUDY RANDALL: Yeah. Thanks Cathy. It's a great question. Typically our reports do have findings and recommendations. This report is a little different. As you probably know, this past session the legislature asked us to do a special review and a program evaluation or both to answer about 20 different areas of concern or questions they had. And they outlined those 20 areas in law.

This special review is our first report. We are thinking of it as the background chapter, if you will. And so it's the pieces of information that we could pull off the quickest to provide the public and the legislature some answers right away. So we don't have findings and recommendations the way we normally do. This is providing that foundational information so that we all have the same knowledge base as we go forward making decisions.

So again, we don't have the typical findings and recommendations. But I do think the biggest area for the public and the legislature to think about based on this report is the funding source for that $500 million.

CATHY WURZER: All right. And we're going to ask our lawmaker about that next. Judy Randall, thank you for your time.

JUDY RANDALL: Thanks Cathy. Nice to talk with you.

CATHY WURZER: Likewise. Joining us next is Minnesota State Representative, Frank Hornstein of Minneapolis. He is a democrat. He's the House Transportation Committee Chairman and one of those who pushed for the legislative auditor to look at the Southwest light rail line. Representative, welcome to the program.

FRANK HORNSTEIN: Thank you so much Cathy. Good afternoon?

CATHY WURZER: Good afternoon. Sir, what do you make of the legislative auditor's findings at this point?

FRANK HORNSTEIN: Well, we really appreciate the report. We in the legislature appreciate this report very much and looking towards January or February or early part of next year for the final report that Auditor Randall mentioned. And they did a good job as was mentioned as providing this important background information.

And there were several items contained in what was released Friday that are of real concern. One has to do with how the bidding was done on the project and secondly as Auditor Randall mentioned the decision to co-locate light rail and freight reel together is hugely problematic. And I think that the report shows how that decision making process happened. And it seemed to be, in my reading, much more of a political decision rather than one based on technical concerns.

And then finally as you mentioned, the issue of where this money will come from. So those are three issues that I think are very important in the report that was released on Friday.

CATHY WURZER: Well, let's talk about that $500 million. That's a gap and the Met Council doesn't seem to have a source for that money. Who's going to pay to finish this project?

FRANK HORNSTEIN: Well, it's my understanding again primarily based on the press reports on Friday that the funders, the Met Council, Hennepin County federal partners are working on a plan. I don't know any details of the plan or when it will be released. But there does need to be a plan. This is a huge funding gap. And this is again as a result of the things that Auditor Randall mentioned. Primarily the problems with the tunnel and then there's a freight rail wall closer to Downtown.

And then there's also significant cost overruns with a station in Eden Prairie. So those are the three taken together that account for this overrun.

CATHY WURZER: This isn't a new project. It's been around for years. Where was the legislative oversight on it?

FRANK HORNSTEIN: Well, the legislative oversight again, the Met Council is a creature of the legislature. And all along, myself and Senator Dibble, who represent the area where this line is going through, very concerned and raised red flags particularly about the co-location piece. And had proposed a number of alternatives and options. Those were rejected by the Met Council

And so here we are. And I think that with this audit you are going to see quite a bit more scrutiny. And we look very forward to the recommendations of the legislative auditors. Auditor Randall said typically these reports to the legislature contain several ideas for new legislation. And I anticipate we're going to see those when this report is released in early 2023.

CATHY WURZER: Because you say the Met Council is a creature of the legislature, the legislature can giveth and taketh away as it were. Do you think members of the Met Council should be elected by the people instead of appointed by the governor?

FRANK HORNSTEIN: Yes. Absolutely. And that is legislation, I can guarantee you, that Senator Dibble and I and others will be bringing in the 2023 legislative session. This is a very large entity, a very large level of government. I believe in regional government, we should have it. It was originally created to make a regional governance more efficient and effective.

There was a Republican legislature, in fact in 1967 Charley Weaver, Sr. That proposed the Met Council. And so it is a needed form of government. But to have it unelected has, I think, in many ways led to problems on this line and other projects. They have huge taxation responsibility or taxation powers. And so we basically have a system where we have taxation without representation.

And so direct election, I think, provides a layer of transparency and accountability that we currently don't have with the Metropolitan Council.

CATHY WURZER: Getting back to the project itself, of course, there's still that $500 million gap. I'm wondering, given changes in mass transit since the pandemic, given the cost overruns, mismanagement, is it worth abandoning the project?

FRANK HORNSTEIN: Well, that is, again, a question that we ask the legislative auditor to do a cost benefit analysis. And clearly there are costs to this project but the benefits as well. And so we really need a lot more in-depth, scrutiny and analysis before that decision can be made. There is a lot of money that's already been expended on this project. And so we're just going to have to look at that question a lot more closely.

CATHY WURZER: All right. Representative, thank you for your time.

FRANK HORNSTEIN: Thank you so much and appreciate your interest in the story.

CATHY WURZER: I'm sure we'll follow it. Thank you. That's Minnesota DFL State Representative Frank Hornstein of Minneapolis. He's the House Transportation Committee chair.

SAMUEL MILLER: I lost my mind in Colorado going too high. And I met my shadow and it's followed behind. Ever since I left.

CATHY WURZER: This of course, is our Minnesota Music Minute. This is Duluth-based musician, Robin Hood was Right, also known as Samuel Miller, with a single he released this year called Rust.

SAMUEL MILLER: --part. And your mother who warned you. Now I can restart the beading in my chest. So where do we go from here. Mel reads--

CATHY WURZER: Such a nice song. 12:18 here on Minnesota Now from MPR News. I'm Cathy Wurzer. Twin Cities based comedian Jon Savitt has been told his whole life that he'd have to move to places like New York or LA to pursue a career in comedy. But despite that advice, Jon moved back to Minnesota as the pandemic started.

Because of lockdowns it was impossible to do live stand-up. So here he is performing alone in a room for the spiders in his apartment.

JON SAVITT: Thanks for coming out. Eight legs, huh, that's a lot of shoes. Must be expensive. But I guess you can afford it when you're living somewhere for free. Brian, what's that? Any daddy longlegs here tonight. Yeah, one, see a couple. Why do you look like that? I hate it sir but no cell phones, please. I think that cobwebs are dentist offices, I hate walking into them

CATHY WURZER: Yes. Jon Savitt's work has been featured on Funny or Die college humor and Time. And now he's trying his hand at teaching high school students the art of making people laugh. MPR producer Aaron Woldeslassie had a conversation with Jon about his new teaching initiative called The Minneapolis Writers Room.

AARON WOLDESLASSIE: Jon, I'm curious. You've been writing comedy for years. What made you want to teach writing, especially to high schoolers?

JON SAVITT: Yeah, it's a good question. I mean, and it comes from a little bit of a unique background. It really started with summer camp for me. And that was really critical in not only developing my writing skills but also those interpersonal skills where you get to be taught and teach others.

And so what I started to discover was while I loved writing, what I love equally or even greater is that community that you get and being able to fail together and have breakthroughs together and teach each other and learn together. And so that was really a driving point and wanting to make sure I'm giving back and helping people the same way other people have helped me early on in my career.

AARON WOLDESLASSIE: People tend to think comedy is just for the class clowns or wise guys. What personalities does it take to be a comedy writer?

JON SAVITT: Yeah. I think that's a really good question. And I think that's spot on that a lot of people think you just have to be able to make people laugh or tell a joke on demand. But really, when you talk about going from thinking about anything creative, whether comedy or something else as something beyond a hobby and as a career, you really have to start thinking of it from a different perspective.

And for me, that's like the business and strategic side of things. And so I come from nearly eight or nine years working at an ad agency in Washington DC. And I started thinking, well, if this isn't for me, I can certainly apply a lot of what I've learned here, pitch in and making pitch decks and talking with clients and being able to write really concise copy and scripts.

And I can apply that to something more creative like comedy. And that's really where I had that light bulb moment of like, oh, now I have those tools, those building blocks, those puzzle pieces that I can put the creative and business side together and hopefully turn it into something that-- maybe I won't become a millionaire, but it's something that I enjoy and makes me happy and that I can make a career out of.

So I think that's definitely true that you need to have those skills and that love for comedy. But there's also so much more that goes into a career in writing.

AARON WOLDESLASSIE: So you're telling me that the ability to make people laugh can help you communicate with other people in other ways. Is that what I'm getting?

JON SAVITT: Yeah. Absolutely. I think I've always viewed humor as more of a tool than anything. I've never felt like I'm the funniest person in the room or the one that's going to rattle off the spontaneous improvised joke. But where I've found my footing over the years and staying true to myself is using humor as a way to bring people into the conversation.

A quick story. I developed a show about my experience with anti-Semitism throughout the years, which I ran into. And the way I wanted to deliver that message was using humor. Taking something that's a little more complex, maybe a little darker, something that doesn't necessarily get people out of their house and be like, let's go to a comedy show about anti-Semitism.

But I wanted to use humor as that lens to really almost soften it and bring people into the conversation. So they're getting educated through experience but it doesn't feel like learning. Yeah, so totally I think humor is such a critical way to communicate with other people.

AARON WOLDESLASSIE: Comedy can come in multiple forms be it like sketch or stand-up or improv. What does your classes curriculum look like?

JON SAVITT: Yeah. That's a great question. Part of this workshop or this program is to introduce people to the different avenues in comedy. Myself personally I used to grow up and think I could only be a stand-up. I could only do stand-up comedy. And then I had other people tell me, oh, you're a comedian, you must do stand.

And while I did for a bunch of years and I still do, I started to realize that's not really where I'm the strongest. And so it felt like I was always swimming up the current, up the river. And so I wanted to explore other paths and I found out you can do exactly, you can do sketch, you can lean into the political commentary, you can do cartoons or drawing, you can do musical comedy which I've done before.

And so there are so many of these different areas and I think it's not my place to tell someone, this is where you should go, this is where you should explore. But rather introducing people to the wide variety of paths you could take. And hopefully participants in this program will latch onto something and say, oh, I didn't even know that I could do a show like this or that I could go perform an hour long musical comedy set.

That's a win-win and I hope that through the breadth of these different fields within comedy that people can really find something that they're passionate about.

AARON WOLDESLASSIE: Traditionally, performers in the Midwest, when they get to a certain level, they will move out to Chicago, New York or LA. But you stuck it out in Minnesota to pursue your career in comedy. I'm curious, why did you decide to work in the Twin Cities comedy scene exclusively?

JON SAVITT: Yeah. It's a good question. And honestly I'm a hypocrite, I must admit because I was in Washington DC for a few years in my early 20s. And that was while I was exploring. And yes, when I had those different voices in my head saying, you have to go to x place, you have to go to y, you have to do this, you have to do that.

And then really during the pandemic, what I started to realize was that entertainment and comedy and writing specifically has been democratized a bit where people are much more open to remote work. And while the physical proximity of being in a big hub like LA or New York obviously has its benefits, and I won't claim ignorance that I doubt that, I understand that.

But what I'm personally starting to see are people in those markets are much more open to wherever the talent is. And so I thought if you can be in a great place like Minnesota and the Twin Cities and you can live that Midwest lifestyle, which I love. I went to school in the Midwest, I grew up in Minnesota in St. Louis Park. So the dream was always like, if I can do what I love in the place that I love, why not?

Minneapolis is by no means an unknown comedy market. I mean, it's still one of the best, in my opinion in the country. And I think we've seen that. But I think we're starting to see a more openness to people from other places participating in the entertainment industry in a little more meaningful way.

And so I just hope to really along with others, of course, just keep pushing this momentum and keep inspiring the comedy writers and comedians of Minnesota to keep leaving their mark.

AARON WOLDESLASSIE: What topics will you be teaching in your class?

JON SAVITT: I mean, it's everything from how to build a pitch deck or how to build a proposal, how to get your idea off the ground once you have it in a very tactical way. Then we'll teach them the other softer skills as they call it, like how to collaborate in a writer's room setting, how to provide feedback, how to deal with rejection.

So there's going to be a really good mix of just getting a feel for what it's like being in an environment like this, which very well may be people's first time in an environment like this. But then also more tangible tactical things like building portfolio pieces when you're applying to jobs or internships or building your YouTube channel.

Whatever it may be, you have those actual pieces that you can show to people, even if it's not published per se in a big name magazine or whatnot. It's still is part of your portfolio and something you made. And so I think it's really important to not just give my thoughts and feelings about things but actually provide people with concrete portfolio pieces that they can carry to get them started and off the ground when it comes to pursuing a career here.

AARON WOLDESLASSIE: Thank you so much for your time, John.

JON SAVITT: Oh, awesome. I appreciate it so much. Have a good rest of your day.

CATHY WURZER: That was MPR producer Aaron Woldeslassie, who is also a comedian, speaking with Minneapolis comedian Jon Savitt.

INTERVIEWER 1: Support comes from Cornell College where a private liberal arts education is immersive, flexible, and taught one course at a time. Inviting Minnesota students to road trip to Cornell College and learn about the freeway scholarship.

INTERVIEWER 2: Support comes from the American Swedish Institute's cocktails at The Castle this Friday, September 9th. You can kick off the fall season with their museum party featuring performances by Annie Mac and Little Fevers, live demos, hands on activities, and more. asimn.org.

CATHY WURZER: It's a lovely day. Temperatures around the region on the 60s and 70s for the most part, looks like the hot spot. Twin Cities 73 degrees, 72 in Red Wing, 72 in Austin and Albert Lea, at 66 in Eveleth. Coming up on 12:29. Let's get a news update from John Wanamaker. Hey, John.

JOHN WANAMAKER: Cathy, the UN atomic watchdog agency is urging Russia and Ukraine to establish a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the Zaporizhzhia power plant amid mounting fears that the fighting could trigger a catastrophe in a country that is still haunted by the Chernobyl disaster.

The report was issued Tuesday following a visit to the plant by experts from the UN International Atomic Energy Agency last week. In her first speech as new leader of the country, British Prime Minister Liz Truss says she will tackle the issues that are holding Britain back. Speaking Tuesday outside 10 Downing Street hours after being formally appointed by Queen Elizabeth, Truss said she would focus on tackling Britain's energy crisis, struggling of economy, and overburdened health service.

Britain is facing its worst cost of living crisis in decades with inflation above 10% and energy bills soaring for both businesses and households. Canadian police are hunting for the remaining suspect in the stabbing deaths of 10 people in an Indigenous community in a nearby town in the province of Saskatchewan.

And after finding the body of his brother, amid a massive manhunt for the pair of 31-year-old Damian Sanderson was found dead Monday near the stabbing sites. And authorities believe his brother and fellow suspect 30-year-old Myles Sanderson is injured on the run and likely in the provincial capital of Regina.

Students who've involved in Texas are going back to school for the first time since a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in a classroom attack that shocked the country. Children began arriving at Uvalde Elementary before dawn walking through newly installed 8 foot metal fencing that surrounds the campus and past the state trooper standing guard outside an entrance.

The district announced in late June that the scene of the assault Robb Elementary would be permanently closed. On Wall Street, all major indexes down between 1/2% and about 1%. This is MPR News.

CATHY WURZER: Thank you John. Most Minnesota students went back to school today, their moms and dads making them pose for an official back to school snapshot. Among the students, a group of young Ukrainians who recently arrived to Minnesota for a chance to pursue their education in peace. MPR reporter Nina Moini spoke with the three students and the woman who's looking after them while they're here in Minnesota. And Nina's on the line. Hey, welcome back.

NINA MOINI: It's great to be here Cathy. Thank you.

CATHY WURZER: What drew you to this story?

NINA MOINI: Well, I've been looking for ways to continue covering this growing new Ukrainian community here in Minnesota, understanding of course, that this war is ongoing. And this woman Ana Presa Cari, the guardian here contacted us. She's got a blog that the kids are keeping and she wanted to share that blog and we really wanted to explore this story more and just the different ways that people can and are helping.

Obviously Ana is making a huge commitment here as you'll learn in this story, that's not for everyone, depending on what's going on in your life. But the hope was that it could really maybe inspire more awareness around the different ways that people are still able to continue on helping. We know that that's a question many people have asked themselves as this has been going on right.

CATHY WURZER: Right. I remember we spoke to a woman early in the conflict who previously worked in the Peace Corps in Ukraine. And she was working to help young adults fleeing Ukraine set up lives as refugees. So I'm wondering, do they consider themselves refugees?

NINA MOINI: I think in many ways, Cathy. Maybe not legal status but in the way that they were displaced had to leave their homes because of war. Although they always did want to come to the United States, it was a dream of theirs. One of the students, Irina, the youngest, her school was destroyed. So these are common experiences to refugees. Another one of the students, her home was destroyed. So they moved to a different area of the country that maybe the conflict was less hot at that

Point. So they've had these experiences and they left their homes and they're adjusting to somewhere new. But you know what Cathy? They do hope that they'll be able to at least have the option to go back, which we know, of course, is something many refugees can't do.

CATHY WURZER: I think we should listen to your story.

NINA MOINI: OK.

CATHY WURZER: All right. Here we go.

NINA MOINI: Sitting side by side on a couch, three teens wearing traditional embroidered Ukrainian clothing hold hands tightly. A bit nervous to be interviewed.

ANNA PRISACARI: Exciting emotions. There's been so many emotions.

NINA MOINI: They just met a couple of weeks ago, thanks to Ana Prisacari's desire to help those experiencing war hold on to their education.

ANNA PRISACARI: I want to make sure they feel safe here because every day was unknown day for them.

NINA MOINI: Some of Prisacari's own family is from Ukraine. She moved to the United States at 15 years old, eventually earning her PhD and working for Amazon.

ANNA PRISACARI: So I really know what the value of education is. I came not speaking any English.

NINA MOINI: Prisacari brought the teens to Minnesota using the federal program Uniting for Ukraine, which required her to support them when they arrived. Their families agreed to let Prisacari become legal guardian for the year for 15-year-olds Zlata Bileha and Dima Nyzhnyk and 14-year-old Iryna Kononenko. The two oldest are 9th and 10th graders attending the International School of Minnesota in Eden Prairie on scholarships, and the youngest, Iryna, will go to Minnetonka Middle School west for eight grade when school starts next week. She's excited.

IRYNA KONONENKO: I speak with my friend and speak with American people.

NINA MOINI: The older kids say they've already felt a warm welcome at school, where Dima says they're learning in English. He calls it a dream come true.

DIMA NYZHNYK: I understand that it's very important and big opportunity.

NINA MOINI: For all three students, including Zlata, it's also an opportunity to focus on schoolwork when that's become almost impossible in Ukraine.

ZLATA BILEHA: Just you listen to how rockets and bombs were just flying under your head. And it's really scary. When I just flew to America, I have nightmares.

NINA MOINI: Dima remembers schools being destroyed, families fleeing their homes, and the noise.

DIMA NYZHNYK: We have air alarms every day, the whole day. It was very hard.

NINA MOINI: The students stay in regular contact with their families in Ukraine. And Prisacari says she's working to get mental health resources for them as they settle into life in Minnesota. They've already made some happy very Minnesotan memories, like catching a Twins game and visiting a friend's cabin. She adds they might even check out the state fair.

ANNA PRISACARI: You've tried a lot of different foods here.

IRYNA KONONENKO: Yeah, like bacon. We don't have bacon.

[LAUGHTER]

NINA MOINI: It's unclear how many Ukrainian refugees from the war are in the state. The Minnesota Department of Human Services says the federal government doesn't alert states when Ukrainians arrive. However, the state estimates at least 500 Ukrainians have arrived here since March and sought state resources.

Officials with DHS say there are more than 1,000 entry applications filed with the same program which brought the three Ukrainian teens to Minnesota. Prisacari says whether the students return to Ukraine after the school year depends largely on the situation there at that point.

ANNA PRISACARI: School disruptions, most, if not all, parents already know what it means with COVID. But war, it's a very different angle.

NINA MOINI: But home is never far from mind. The students are doing their own part to give back while they're in Minnesota, planning a fundraiser to send water filters back home. And before the interview ends, Iryna says it was important for them to wear their Ukrainian clothing for the interview.

IRYNA KONONENKO: [SPEAKING UKRAINIAN]. It is wear for holiday.

ZLATA BILEHA: Like, holidays.

NINA MOINI: Zlata adds--

ZLATA BILEHA: It's very important for us. And the pictures that we send for our family, we just supported that we stand with Ukraine. We're always with them.

NINA MOINI: Nina Moini, MPR News.

CATHY WURZER: Mm, good story there, Nina. Where are their parents?

NINA MOINI: So their parents are back home, Cathy, in Ukraine. They're able to be in contact with them. And Anna, their guardian there, spent a while making connections to try to find students whose families would be willing to send their children over here.

And she says a lot of people actually said no just because there is so much uncertainty right now that they didn't want to send their kids away. Even amid a war, people and families still wanted to be together. So these three students are being extremely brave in dealing with so much.

Their parents had to take them to the airport in Poland, where Anna had to go pick them up and bring them back since they're minors. So she's their legal guardian. But they are in touch regularly through technology.

And again, they're just very excited to be here. Although, as you heard, they are dealing with some struggles in addition to what maybe the kids around them are already dealing with after two years of COVID.

CATHY WURZER: Well, yeah. And they talked about the violence, the air raid sirens going off. I mean, my goodness. What about the trauma they've been through?

NINA MOINI: They have been through a lot, and they're in the thick of all of these feelings and emotions right now. But it's been really uplifting for them to be here. They're so excited to work on their English.

And Anna says it's actually been pretty challenging to try to locate resources for students who are experiencing war here in Minnesota, to find resources like that. But they have a really great, supportive community. And I think they're going to be able to do that and make a lot of happy memories here.

CATHY WURZER: There is a robust Ukrainian community, of course, especially in Minneapolis. Are they connecting with those individuals?

NINA MOINI: They are. Anna's going to have a welcome party for them later on this month. And the two older students at the international school, that's actually a boarding school. So they're going to be spending lots of time there, and hopefully making a lot of American friends too. They're very excited about that.

CATHY WURZER: So I would love to check in with them in a few months to see how they feel about school in the US. Are you going to do that?

NINA MOINI: Definitely, definitely. I think they're really open to that. And they do have a blog that they're keeping that, again, we link to on our story on the website that people can go and check that out. And you know what was really neat, Cathy, was that they were so excited to use their English.

[LAUGHTER]

And what they're struggling with as they're here, you could see that they speak really good English, but they're struggling with the Minnesotan accents. [LAUGHS]

CATHY WURZER: Oh, yeah.

NINA MOINI: So I think that it's going to take a little bit of time. But I think that they're at that age where, hopefully, they'll soak up a bunch. And it'll be exciting to see how that progresses throughout the school year.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, my goodness, yeah. And did they start school today like so many other people?

NINA MOINI: Yeah. I talked to them last week. The two oldest had started school. But Iryna does start school today, so happy first day of school to her and to everybody else. Such an exciting time.

CATHY WURZER: And we have about 40 seconds left. For folks who want to know more about the program that brought the students to Minnesota, tell us about that.

NINA MOINI: So Uniting for Ukraine. So this is a program that the Biden administration set up in the spring as the invasion was really escalating in Ukraine. It allows 100,000 Ukrainians to come to the US with this specific immigration status, Cathy. And the deal here is that someone has to say, I will support you financially when you come here.

So that's a very privileged thing to be able to do. And DHS told me that there have been around 1,300 of those applications from Minnesotans. But again, of course, it's unclear if that's really going to pan out for everybody.

It's hard to know how many people are here. But the community is growing and the need for help in a lot of different ways is still there.

CATHY WURZER: All right. Again, good report, Nina. Thanks so much.

NINA MOINI: Thanks for having me.

CATHY WURZER: That's MPR reporter Nina Moini. To read more on the story or see photos of everybody involved, go to our website MPRNews.org.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Well, now, friends, I believe it is time for some music. Yeah, just shake the stuff off, all the dust and all the worry and all the care, from this morning. Marie Rock is a favorite of ours.

She's the morning show host at KOJB, The Eagle, broadcasting from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe reservation. And she is a big fan of classic rock. Every week, Marie picks a theme, each day plays a favorite song on that theme, and she calls it songs to sing in the car.

MARIE ROCK: Hey, Cathy. Hello from all the way up here up north. School started this week, so of course, this one goes to all the folks that are in the car.

Maybe you're on your way to work. Maybe you're taking your kids to school. It is time to sing in the car because we are all rock stars when we get behind the wheel.

Our theme this week is the kids are all right. And our sing-in-the-car-tune today comes from Bryan Adams in the Kids Wanna Rock.

[MUSIC - BRYAN ADAMS, "KIDS WANNA ROCK"]

BRYAN ADAMS: (SINGING) Everywhere I go, the kids want to rock.

MARIE ROCK: Bryan Adams in the Kids Wanna Rock, your sing-in-the-car-tune. The kids are all right for this week. Hey, I'll see you back here next time.

CATHY WURZER: All right, Marie, thanks. Marie Rock is the morning show host at KOJB, The Eagle.

ANNOUNCER: Programming supported by the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota's United in Epilepsy Twin Cities Regional Walk, September 17 at Allianz Field, supporting those who navigate the challenges of a life with seizures. Registration information at EFMN.org/walk. Programming supported by All Energy Solar.

You can change your energy source by installing solar with an EV charging station to help kick fossil fuels to the curb at home and on the road. AllEnergySolar.com

CATHY WURZER: Hey, let's talk about farm tourism. It's a quickly growing industry. Think vegetables stands and the apple orchards, pumpkin patches, and corn mazes you will visit this fall. Well, now, some farmers are offering tourists more intimate experience, one where they can sleep and even work on the farm. Dan Kraker--

DAN KRAKER: About a half hour south of Duluth outside the little town of Wrenshall on the Locally Laid egg farm, it's 5:45 AM. Most people on vacation would still be snoozing, but not Clay Yeager and his nine-year-old son, Isaac. For them, it's time to let out the chickens.

[CHICKEN CLUCKING]

CLAY YEAGER: Come on in!

ISAAC YEAGER: Just come on out.

DAN KRAKER: For about 50 bucks a night, the Yeager's can sleep in a small outbuilding in the chicken yard. It's 2/3 bunkhouse, 1/3 chicken coop, separated only by a couple panes of glass.

CLAY YEAGER: These are our roommates for the night.

DAN KRAKER: They can actually see the chickens while they're sleeping, and vise versa. It's kind of a peep show.

ISAAC YEAGER: It's weird having chickens stare at you. But if you get used to it, it's not much different.

DAN KRAKER: Lucy and Jason Amundsen started their pasture-raised egg business 10 years ago. They raised 400 chickens themselves. And they contract with seven other larger farmers who produce eggs for their brand.

They call this new venture an Airbnbock. The idea came from an article Lucy Amundsen read about a local business in Scotland where you can volunteer as part of your short-term vacation rental.

LUCY AMUNDSEN: It is a apartment above a bookstore. And you run the bookstore. And I turned to Jason and I said, we could do this.

DAN KRAKER: Along with the bunkhouse, the Amundsens also built what they call the perch, a tiny house on stilts in a patch of woods. They estimate they'll earn about $13,000 this year renting both out. Lucy Amundsen says that would add nearly 20% to the farm's annual profit.

LUCY AMUNDSEN: That's real money for a farmer. And there is a sad commentary there that raising food with integrity isn't quite enough anymore.

DAN KRAKER: And Jason Amundsen says costs are up these days, everything from wages to egg cartons.

JASON AMUNDSEN: It's just endless expenses. So this is a nice way to cover that overhead.

DAN KRAKER: There's also another benefit to having vacationers on hand. They can help with farm chores. At 8:30 AM, guests can help gather eggs from the coops. Jason Amundsen gives instructions.

JASON AMUNDSEN: Put your palm down underneath the bird, and then lift the bird up. Yup, that's the way to go about it. And if they peck at you, just don't peck back.

[CHICKEN CLUCKING]

DAN KRAKER: Clay Yeager and his son feed the hens and fill containers with water for them to drink. They even help scrape out chicken poop from a coop.

[SCRAPING]

Yeager says he's always wanted to take his son to a farm.

CLAY YEAGER: It's a good experience for him to see where our food actually comes from.

DAN KRAKER: As the number of Americans who work on farms has dwindled, the number of people seeking out ways to experience agriculture has surged. Dawn Thilmany is a professor at Colorado State University who researches agritourism. She grew up on a farm in Iowa. Personally, Thilmany couldn't wait to escape to the big city.

DAWN THILMANY: But to anyone who didn't get that or didn't have a grandfather or a grandmother still on the farm, who didn't get to do that, they just want a touch of Americana. And to a lot of people, that's a big dose of Americana.

DAN KRAKER: The USDA estimates that agritourism, everything from corn mazes, to farm-grown dinners, to dude ranches, has grown to nearly a billion-dollar industry. Minnesota doesn't track the industry's economic impact, but the Department of Agriculture's Paul Huggins says farm tourism has grown along with the growth of the local foods movement. He says people crave experiences, not just products.

PAUL HUGGINS: You can go to a grocery store, and you can get local apples. You can get locally grown pumpkins. But you can't get the experience of the beauty of an apple orchard that overlooks a river or overlooks The Bluffs.

DAN KRAKER: For Jason and Lucy Amundsen, seeing their guests enjoy themselves has also reminded them why they farm.

LUCY AMUNDSEN: Oftentimes, we'll be falling asleep, and we just hear laughter on the fields. And I did not expect that much joy from this.

DAN KRAKER: She says the short-term rentals have helped their business, but it's also been surprisingly fun. Dan Kraker, MPR News, Wrenshall.

[CHICKEN CLUCKING]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

CATHY WURZER: Oh, that Kraker story is a good one. By the way, if you want to see some photos-- and they're great photos-- go to MPRNews.org. It's 12:49. Whether you love it or hate it, meteorological fall is happening.

That means it's far too late to get started with a garden, right? Well, Meg Cowden thinks it's never too late to start your own garden. She's got tips for gardening all year long.

For more on what she's been sowing and planting and harvesting, Meg is back. She's the author of the book Plant Grow Harvest Repeat. How are you, Meg?

MEG COWDEN: Hi, Cathy. I am tired but great. [LAUGHS]

CATHY WURZER: Oh, long holiday weekend?

MEG COWDEN: Oh, I'm just more talking about the gardening season. At this point in my life, it is--

CATHY WURZER: [LAUGHS] We're done.

MEG COWDEN: I am looking towards October with my knitting needles and maybe some quieter days. Yeah, I am just in the throes of a very, very busy time of the garden right now still, which is great.

CATHY WURZER: I have a friend who planted pole beans for the first time. And she said she finally just lost her mind. They were slow-growing to begin with.

And she just ripped them all out this weekend because they were just too much. And she just said, I'm done. I'm done. What does your garden look like?

MEG COWDEN: Yeah, I totally embrace what she did. If it doesn't work for you, pull it out. She could plant some radishes or cilantro in that space.

A lot of stuff is still standing. I've been succession planting all season long. I was just out there sowing more seeds this morning after I got the kids out to school.

We have got tons of tomatoes still. My third succession of sweetcorn is going to be coming into season soon. Our dry corn, so our cornmeal corn and flour corn, is still maturing on the plants.

You let those dry as long as possible. I have tons of dry beans out there, and they are slowly starting to mature. Lots of carrots.

The potatoes are all still out there. Cucumbers are still producing. I mean, how much time do we have? There's lots going on.

CATHY WURZER: You got a lot.

MEG COWDEN: But also, watermelon and cantaloupe are the other big highlight right now, as well as ripe bell peppers and green. I'm talking red and orange. Delicious.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, really? Oh, pretty. Oh, my goodness. Because now we're in early September, is it too late to maybe sow lettuces?

MEG COWDEN: No. Well, I don't think so. I grow a lot of head lettuce. I did sow several rows of lettuce today.

And it's a variety that's known to be harvested as a baby green. And it's supposed to be 30 days to maturity. And I'm looking at 30 days, Cathy, and that's only early October.

And chances are we won't have a frost yet. And lettuce is frost tolerant. So right now in September, what we're trying to do is we're trying to grow plants that you're really eating the leafy greens by and large.

So it's herbs and spinach and lettuces, things like that that not only don't get very big, so they mature quickly, but these also all can handle a frost. And as the days start to shorten more and more, these quick-maturing plants are the only things that we can start right now. But the fact that we can start right now is probably surprising to a lot of your listeners.

CATHY WURZER: Yes. It's surprising to me, to be frank with you, because I've read that now September is the new May when it comes especially to planting flowers. Really?

MEG COWDEN: Oh. Well, that's news to me too. You'll have to tell me more about that. [LAUGHS]

CATHY WURZER: It was New York Times' article. So I'm assuming if that's the case-- maybe I shouldn't assume anything. If people are growing flowers in September, I wonder if then it makes sense to maybe go for other veggies too.

MEG COWDEN: Yeah, I wonder if that was a Margaret Roach column. There are several flowers in my garden that are a bit frost-tolerant. Some years, I'll have my calendula and my sweet alyssum and my snapdragons still flowering into November in the garden.

CATHY WURZER: Wow. Oh, my goodness. I wasn't expecting you to say that.

MEG COWDEN: Yeah, well, I mean, it all depends on how-- they can handle down to 26, 28. They're not going to look great, but they're also not going to be dead. So the question is, how much mess can you tolerate this time of year? If you're OK with a little towel, a little bit of a mess in the garden-- there's going to be some lingering bumblebees if the days are warm, so leaving that stuff out is great for the pollinators.

CATHY WURZER: Say, are you a canner? I'm betting you are.

MEG COWDEN: I am. That's why I'm so tired, Cathy. [LAUGHS] Canning--

CATHY WURZER: I admire you. I just have never tried it. It seems really hard.

MEG COWDEN: I think it's intimidating for a lot of people. And I think there is definitely a food safety concern. I'm not a master preserver, but I follow recipes that have been tested.

And we've put up about 36 quarts of our tomato sauce so far. My goal was 70, so I'm not sure I'm going to make it. And then I canned about 24 pints of salsa verde.

And that might be enough for a year for us. That was my goal. That was one of my goals. I know, I haven't successfully grown tomatillos since we lived in Oregon, so it's been 20 years, but I did it.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, that's why you're tired. Oh, my goodness.

MEG COWDEN: Oh, yeah.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, my goodness. Wow.

MEG COWDEN: Yeah, I've got 50 pounds of tomatoes sitting on a shelf that need to be roasted and canned this week, which will make about 11 or 12 more quarts.

CATHY WURZER: I'm hoping you have some help, woman. I really do.

MEG COWDEN: Well, my husband and I make a great team. So he and I do a lot of that together. I wouldn't have a garden this large if someone else didn't love doing this with me. I mean, this wouldn't happen.

CATHY WURZER: Beyond, of course, your garden-- you're getting a little tired here, I know-- but what excites you about fall?

MEG COWDEN: So a couple of things excite me. And I think the biggest thing is knowing that right now, so from August into September, the garden tells me what I have to do. And come the fall, a lot of what's in the garden doesn't control my life as much anymore because it's all shelf-stable foods, and they're frost-tolerant, so my carrots and my beets.

And my cabbages and my broccoli and my Brussels sprouts, those can all just sit in the garden. And I also love that a lot of the foods in fall look very boring from a glance. A lot of them are root crops, so even though they're colorful, that's not revealed until you harvest them.

So there is a subtlety and a softness in autumn that reflects how we, as Minnesotans and people who live in colder climates, are starting to go inward a little bit. The garden goes inward in a way. And it's really lovely to have that as a reminder, like, OK, we don't have to be so--

I feel like I'm doing this motion like you can see me, but I very much live with the seasons. So summer is very expansive for me. And I very much start to contract more personally in the fall, and really look forward to the more inward and reflective time that fall leads us into, which is winter as well.

CATHY WURZER: Of course, with the shortening of the days too. Yeah, I feel the same way. Isn't it fun how gardening is tied to the seasons and really to life lessons?

MEG COWDEN: Yeah. Yeah, it's so beautiful. And the beautiful thing about the fall too is, wow, things still want to grow. Even though it's colder and the days are getting shorter, things are still trying their best.

I mean, there will be seeds that will germinate in the fall because they have the right conditions. They're not going to make it, but they're still giving it their best shot, just like we should be, right?

CATHY WURZER: Right. By the way, you starting anything for any herbs inside-- are you starting anything for inside for the winter for herbs or do you already have that going on?

MEG COWDEN: No. I will cut some rosemary back. That's about the extent of my herbs for the winter. I'll cut it back and root it and cut it up.

But no. If we want to do anything inside, we have a small hydroponic system that one of my kids built several years ago. So we have the potential to grow cilantro and lettuce hydroponically in the winter. I mean, we are human, so it doesn't always happen.

CATHY WURZER: [LAUGHS] Right. It's good to relax as well. Meg, thanks for the update. I appreciate it. Happy fall.

MEG COWDEN: Likewise, Cathy. Thanks so much.

CATHY WURZER: Thank you. That's Minnesota gardener Meg Cowden. She's the author of the book Plant Grow Harvest Repeat. It's a fantastic book, by the way. Check it out when you have an opportunity.

I don't know how your garden has grown this summer. It's been quite a summer, hasn't it? I hope the fall will be pleasant.

Today, it looks like it's quite nice out there. It's going to get hot later in the week, though, FYI. We'll run through the rest of the forecast.

John Wanamaker is standing by with a look at the forecast and, of course, news headlines. Thanks for listening to Minnesota Now here on MPR News. This is MPR News 91.1 KNOW, Minneapolis-Saint Paul.

And support for Minnesota Now comes from TruStone Financial, a full-service credit union, working to improve the financial well-being of its neighbors since 1939, serving individuals and businesses at 23 locations and online at TruStone.org. Equal housing opportunity insured by NCUA. As I mentioned, it's really not a bad day.

Mostly sunny skies, 76 degrees, quite pleasant, not much of a wind. You may see some haze. Now, out here in Downtown Saint Paul, looking out the window, it's hazy.

That's upper-level smoke from wildfires in Montana. We'll probably have to contend with that for the next day or so. So today's highs should reach about 82 degrees.

Again, not much of a wind. Partly cloudy skies overnight, a low of 65. Warmer tomorrow, 85, sunny, hot, humid. Thursday, a high 90. Gets cooler Friday with some rain, 75.