Behind the scenes with the MPR News politics team

[MUSIC PLAYING] NINA MOINI: This is Minnesota Now. We are so excited to be live at the State Fair-- yay-- he're on the corner of Judson and Nelson. I'm Nina Moini. Thank you so much for being here. We have a beautiful live audience with us. Thank you all so much for being here.

And we're really excited to have here on the stage some wonderful people and public servants. We've got our politics team with us. And listen, we all know it. It's been quite a year for politics in Minnesota. In the last year, of course, we had historic presidential ticket with Governor Tim Walz on it, a chaotic start, as you all know, to the legislative session, with a boycott, and of course, tragedy this summer, with the shootings of two lawmakers.

And our intrepid politics team has been through it all. And they're here now to give us a peek behind the curtain of what it's like to cover politics in the state of Minnesota. We have Dana Ferguson, Clay Masters, and Peter Cox. Here they are, guys. If you ever wondered, what do they look like, well, they're here. Thank you both so much, or all of you, all three of you. I want to start with you, Dana, because I like you the most. No, I'm just kidding. Tell us a little bit about what got you interested in covering politics.

DANA FERGUSON: Yeah, thank you for the question, Nina. I covered a few other beats before I got a chance to cover politics over in Wisconsin. I know, sorry, it's Wisconsin.

NINA MOINI: Yep. [LAUGHS]

DANA FERGUSON: I came back. It's OK.

NINA MOINI: [LAUGHS]

DANA FERGUSON: But I really enjoy covering the state legislature and politics because it has such a significant impact in all of our lives every day. It affects how much we pay in taxes, the rules and laws that we have to follow, how state spending gets funneled into different parts of our lives. So I just thought it was important and exciting, and it's fun to hold people in power to account. So I've just really enjoyed it during the time I've been reporting on politics.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, thank you for your work. And Clay Masters, you came to us from Iowa, where you were already covering politics.

CLAY MASTERS: Yeah, that's just south of Minnesota.

[LAUGHTER]

NINA MOINI: Where, who?

CLAY MASTERS: I got interested in covering politics in Nebraska, which is where I'm from. After I graduated from college, I was more interested in just the broadcasting and radio industry. I got an internship in my public radio station in my hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska, got a job there, and was up for doing whatever. It was a much smaller newsroom. And you need people to cover politics in a small newsroom. And so that was just kind of my entrance.

Fun fact about Nebraska, it's the only state legislature that's a unicameral. So I covered the unicameral, and then I went and covered politics and was the Morning Edition host in Iowa at Iowa Public Radio for nearly 12 years, so spent a lot of time at the Iowa State Fair. And now that I'm here, I can say this. The Minnesota State Fair, much better than the Iowa State Fair.

NINA MOINI: There it is. Got to give him applause for that.

CLAY MASTERS: Well done, Minnesota.

NINA MOINI: And we've got our wonderful Peter Cox, who's been with MPR more than a decade. And you've covered a bunch of stuff for us, Peter.

PETER COX: Yeah, I've been a general assignment reporter. I've covered higher education, aging, and sports. And this year, they needed some help on the politics team. So I didn't really choose to cover politics, but I was assigned to it. But it's been great.

Working with Dana and Clay has been really fun, but also very helpful because I don't my way around the Capitol as well as they do. But it's been a great team. And it's been really interesting.

NINA MOINI: Yeah. Dana, tell us a little bit about just like a day in the life of a politics reporter. So you show up at the Capitol most days, right?

DANA FERGUSON: That's right, especially during the legislative session, so our few months of the year that we're up at the Capitol all the time. You get there early in the morning. You check through all the agendas for committees and floor sessions. You go talk to all the legislators, lobbyists, folks who are kind of in the know. And you try to figure out what are the most important things that are going to happen today and how do we make sure that we can tell our listeners and readers what's going on and why it's important for them and their lives, so just talking to a lot of folks. Every now and then, we go learn things, and then we debrief with folks like you or other hosts and just try to get that information out to people.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, running around, comfy shoes, I take it. [LAUGHS]

DANA FERGUSON: It's a good idea to wear comfy shoes. Sometimes I don't do that.

NINA MOINI: Yep, exactly. And of course, we're at the State Fair, which kind of is a place where you'll run into these candidates and politicians that you may just hear on the radio or see on TV. And this is a very significant place, is it not, Clay, for our politicians?

CLAY MASTERS: Yeah, that's right. I mean, the State Fair-- and I default to Iowa because I had to be there for so long covering the Iowa Caucuses, but it really was a way to magnify and see that this is an opportunity for politicians to try to act like one of you, one of us. It's a chance to meet people where they are, to experience the culture of the state, the state of Minnesota, and to try to sell themselves as doing their job or wanting to run for that office.

And I'm looking at the dairy building, where, last year, Governor Tim Walz was the vice presidential candidate. And I spent hours here having to wait for him to buy a pork chop just for this photo op that was completely ridiculous. But it kind of just-- it turns into kind of this-- just this show. And the theatrics of politics are always very much on display at the Minnesota State Fair.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, and to your point about so much has changed in the last year, so much is happening. And of course, we all know, on a very serious note, that Minnesotans are still really reeling from the shootings of two lawmakers and their spouses. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed.

Dana, as you're preparing to cover this legislative session coming up now, this year, a lot of folks are talking about a decorum and civility and how to do better by each other and by constituents. What are your thoughts on that as you're beginning to cover this new chapter.

DANA FERGUSON: Yeah, a lot of folks have made sort of commitments very shortly after the killings in June saying, I recognize that the political rhetoric has gotten too hot. We need to turn it down. There are a number of lawmakers that have signed on to a pledge saying, I'm not going to be a part of any sort of rhetoric that would lead someone to commit any sort of politically motivated violence.

So I'm interested to see, because politics has gotten so nasty at some times, maybe not as much here in Minnesota as other parts of the country, is this something that can be sustained? Will there be a meaningful change when we go back to the legislature in February? Are folks are really going to commit to what they're saying that they're going to do and keep it going for a long time?

For a lot of folks who knew the late speaker, I think this really did leave an impact on them. And they will be more serious about the way that they speak to one another. But already, we're seeing some sort of griping between the two political parties about, hey, I see that you said this. That's bad. Don't do that. But not quite the same level of self-policing, Democrats on Democrats or Republicans on Republicans. And that's probably what would make more of a difference.

NINA MOINI: We'll see what happens. And to your point, it can be a little theatrical and silly at the fair, but it's also where these candidates and politicians can see so many people, thousands, hundreds of thousands of people coming through, all different walks of life. And it's kind of a place where, really, all Minnesotans can show up as their best and be together.

And we wanted to have you all on. It's not a big presidential year, election year or anything like that. But Clay, campaigning is always happening, right? So what are you all kind of watching for as we head into 2026, the midterm?

CLAY MASTERS: I mean, right now, it's a lot of political posturing for 2026. And if I could just kind of circle back to the conversation we were having--

NINA MOINI: Sure.

CLAY MASTERS: --about the legislative session, what was so remarkable about covering the 2025 legislative session was the House of Representatives was split between the Republicans and the Democrats. And Melissa Hortman and the Republican leader, Lisa Demuth, they actually had to work together. And it was really of note just to watch these two women, who had very different political differences, work together to have to find some kind of common ground to end the legislative session. And then to have it in the way that it did, with the assassination of Melissa Hortman, it just was such a chilling thing to observe and to cover, especially with the contrast of the way that we see things happen in Congress and the way that things had happened on that side.

So back to the State Fair, you're going to see politicians walking around here. It is not an election year, but they're going to act like it. And so, I mean, I guess just greet them with a smile or a frown.

NINA MOINI: And I'll kick the last question over to you, Peter, as the newest member of the team. What's one thing that you've really enjoyed about covering politics? What's kind of surprised you?

PETER COX: I think when I-- I'd been to the Capitol before for stories in the past. But working out of the Capitol this session, I think that the public nature of the building and what's happening there surprised me. Every day, there's school kids touring through. There are lobbyists pushing for different laws. There's people who are really passionate about their own issues.

And they're all talking to the lawmakers in the hallways about what's happening. And it's really a public place. I don't know if that's going to change in the near future. But there's something that I really like about just how publicly accessible everything is and how much people seem to be a part of it.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, and as they're weighing different security concerns and any changes, they're really wanting to make sure that it remains accessible and the people's house. We're so lucky to have all of you covering our state politics for us. Appreciate you all. Let's give our politics team round of applause. They're working really hard for all of you. We appreciate you, Dana Ferguson, Clay Masters, and Peter Cox.