Greater Minnesota

Housing or parkland? Duluth debates future of long-closed golf course amid housing crunch
The Duluth City Council will vote Monday night on whether to transfer the long-closed Lester Park Golf Course to its economic development arm to pave the way for a possible housing development. Critics say the public process leading up to the vote has been flawed.
Mower County water wells show elevated levels of arsenic and manganese
State health officials report that private well water testing has detected high levels of arsenic and manganese in the wells of some homes in southeast Minnesota’s Mower County. The levels are not high enough to endanger people’s health, but they are a concern.
Minnesota veterans museum to commemorate Pearl Harbor attack with online event
Next year, organizers hope to hold an in-person remembrance at the new museum near Little Falls, which is scheduled to open next summer. One of the artifacts the museum will showcase is a 50-caliber gun from the USS Ward, which fired the first American shots of World War II at Pearl Harbor.
Minnesotans rally, mobilize in solidarity with Somali-Americans after Trump’s xenophobic rant
The Muslim Coalition of ISAIAH will host a community gathering and potluck in northwest Rochester on Sunday, Dec. 7 from 3 to 4 p.m. at 125 LIVE River Rooms on Elton Hill Drive, celebrating and honoring Somali culture and contributions.
How a Carleton College alum went from Northfield to ‘Saturday Night Live’
Claire McFadden, a Carleton College graduate, talked with MPR News about how she got started in comedy, her decision to pursue it as a career, and how her time in Minnesota prepared her for this highly coveted opportunity.
‘We are here’: In St. Cloud, Somali community pushes back against Trump’s ‘garbage’ comments
More than 100 people gathered in St. Cloud on Wednesday for an event aimed at showing unity and solidarity. Somali residents and other community members said they felt compelled to speak out against what they call the president’s unfair and divisive rhetoric.
Batteries need manganese but talk of mining the mineral roils northern Minnesota’s lake country
There’s a renewed effort in northern Minnesota’s Brainerd Lakes area to develop an underground mine for manganese, which is coveted to make batteries. Many local residents are uneasy.
Beltrami County Board approves cuts to libraries and other community services
The Beltrami County Board of Commissioners finalized next year's county budget earlier this week. As a result, funding for the county museum, public transit and both Blackduck and Bemidji libraries will be cut by about forty percent.
Bezos foundation gives $2.5 million grant to help fight homelessness in Duluth
Chum, which operates the largest emergency homeless shelter north of the Twin Cities, has been awarded a $2.5 million grant — the largest in its history — to address family homelessness in Duluth.