NewsCut

In final days, Minnesota’s government again shows why it doesn’t work
We have reached the stage of the Minnesota Legislature's annual session when it is forced to cram its work into the last few days, creating the illusion that it is working. It's not.
Here are the stories, topics, and guests you'll hear today on MPR News.
‘Modesty ponchos’ rile up the senior prom
As sure as the sun will rise in the morning, there will be debates over appropriate prom attire in the spring in the nation's high schools. Until this week, it's been a pretty quiet prom season on the prom dress front.
When Tyler Johnson was told by a police officer in North Branch in November 2015 that he could be charged with a more serious felony if he did not agree to urine or blood testing because of a suspicion that he was driving under the influence, he was getting bad information.
The penalty for arresting two black men in a Starbucks:  $1 each
Given the hate they're still getting online, Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson could be forgiven if they'd sued everyone involved in their ouster from a Philadelphia Starbucks.
Wisconsin man solves mystery of his dad’s WWII photo
Jerry Huffman leaves Friday for the Czech Republic, where he'll meet the woman who posed with his dad on the day the war's fighting ended.
St. Cloud's lesson to Rust Belt cities? Don't be a city in the Rust Belt.
Revenge of Minnesota’s lake ice monsters
A little warmer temperature, some gusty winds and voila! We get one of the most entertaining weather events of the year: the march of the lake ice.
There haven't been many cases of school music programs surviving cutbacks, despite the pleas from parents and educators that there's learning value in the arts. But the music program in Laporte, Minn., will play on.
The price of gasoline is heading back to economic reality and we're about to see the effect of Americans' appetite for not learning lessons about trucks and SUVs. They're really expensive to drive when the price of gasoline lives in economic reality.