Greater Minnesota

Across Minnesota, many businesses closed Friday to protest ICE action
Minnesota labor unions, community activists and faith leaders are organizing the economic blackout, dubbed “ICE Out of Minnesota: Day of Truth and Freedom.”
St. Olaf College students work as EMTs, helping fill ambulance worker shortage
St. Olaf College is offering a rural health training program for its undergrad students to work as EMTs and as CNAs at nursing homes in southeast Minnesota. Students who participate complete training and then are hired by the city to work in the ambulance or nursing home.
U.S. House votes to repeal ban on mining near Boundary Waters
The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to overturn a 20-year ban on mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The vote could pave the way for Twin Metals Minnesota to re-apply for state and federal permits to open a proposed underground copper nickel mine outside Ely. The resolution now heads to the U.S. Senate.
As ICE tactics draw Minneapolis protests, people in greater Minnesota offer nuanced views
Two weeks after a federal ice agent shot and killed Renee Macklin Good in Minneapolis, we take the pulse of how folks in outstate Minnesota are feeling about the immigration enforcement actions and the protests against them. For many, they see the issues not as black and white or red and blue, but as shades of gray and nuanced.
Trump administration scales back threats to cut off funding to Minnesota ag programs
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins had previously announced that nearly $130 million in federal funds for Minnesota would be paused, citing alleged fraud in the state. Now, the USDA is allowing some of that funding to go through.
Minnesota sober house for veterans with PTSD is turning lives around
Bravo Zulu House, which is specifically for veterans with post-traumatic stress and substance use disorders in the country, opened last spring in rural Winnebago in southern Minnesota. Hunter Priest is a combat veteran who now lives in Bravo Zulu.
Brimson Strong: How a plucky chicken named Reba inspired hope after a devastating fire
In the spring of 2025, the Camp House Fire burned more than 12,000 acres of northern Minnesota forest, destroying about 200 homes, cabins and other buildings in and around the small town of Brimson. But amid the destruction, Reba the chicken survived, and her story is helping rebuild the community.
From sadness to relief, reaction to Walz announcement reverberates across Minnesota
Reaction to the governor’s decision to end his campaign for a third term ranged from sadness and disappointment among his supporters, to support for the move in the wake of the state’s growing fraud problem.