Greater Minnesota

In New York Mills, the Great American Think-Off finalists debate to understand, not to win
For more than 30 years, the northwest Minnesota town of New York Mills has hosted the Great American Think-Off, a debate of big ideas between ordinary people. Contestants say it’s a model for civic discourse in polarized times.
Rochester police refer 4 teens for possible charges over racial slur on bridge
The slur was spotted and immediately removed by a Minnesota state trooper from the bridge over East Circle Drive in April. Photos of the slur circulated online, though, prompting community meetings and rallies in response.
Lawsuit claims negligence, medical malpractice in Stearns County jail inmate’s 2022 death
Nickolas Norberg, 37, died in October 2022, about five hours after he was taken to the Stearns County Jail. The final hours of Norberg’s life, the lawsuit claims, were spent “slowly spiraling towards an agonizing yet avoidable death.”
One year since HyLife closure, Windom still waits for answers about its future
It’s been one year since the former HyLife plant in southwest Minnesota shut down. More than a thousand people lost their jobs when the pork processor closed. Twelve months on, Windom shows signs of recovery, but there’s still a lot in limbo.
For more than 20 years Micronesians have made Milan their home
The Micronesian community in Minnesota has boosted Milan’s once declining population and brought a new energy to town. Their presence has boosted the economy and infused youth into an aging populace. 
State agency approves loan for tribal cannabis facility over board's recommendation
The Minnesota Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation has approved a $2.5 million loan to a subsidiary of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa to build a cannabis growing facility in Brookston, despite its advisory board’s vote against it.
Laugh it out: Can humor ease tension in polarizing times?
This summer, the Minnesota Humanities Center is sponsoring a series of improv shows around the state with the hope of helping communities work together on the issues that divide them.
Minnesota lawmakers assert protections for public waters
Legislators passed language clarifying that a waterway that meets the legal definition is a public water, even if it’s not on a decades-old state inventory. Its passage followed a lengthy legal dispute over Limbo Creek, the last free-flowing stream in heavily-farmed Renville County.