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Longtime Minnesota blues band faces uncertainty after front man suffers stroke
The Lamont Cranston Band has been playing at venues across the state and country since 1969. Front man Pat “Lamont” Hayes had a stroke in December, putting the band’s future in limbo.
Rival Vikings, Packers fans to meet in tug-of-war contest on Stillwater Lift Bridge
Dubbed the “Border Battle,” the event will start at 9 a.m., about six hours before the two NFL teams face off at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The location will be literally on the border: the Stillwater Lift Bridge, which spans the St. Croix River between Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Driver faces charges after crash involving school bus near Hibbing
According to the criminal complaint, Svea Snickers’ vehicle failed to stop at a stop sign and collided with the bus. The complaint alleges Snickers had been using Snapchat on her phone shortly before the crash.
Newspaper archives reveal 'morbidity and tenderness' of historic Minneapolis morgue auctions
“The lesson is that there’s just no telling [where] our human curiosity and a kind of fascination with morbidity is going to lead us. But that goes hand in glove with empathy,” longtime CBC host William Richardson said.
Tribal Advocacy Council on Energy aims to ease power woes in Indian Country
Tribal elected officials say the cost of energy on tribal lands is higher than it should be. So they formed a new advocacy body to make policy recommendations to state and federal agencies on energy issues. 
Job market jitters real for some mid-career Minnesotans and recent grads
Even with the state’s relatively low 3.5 percent unemployment rate, some younger Minnesotans coming out of college and those in mid-career are seeing a job market now that worries them. Recent announcements of mass layoffs add to the anxiety.
The 41 best books MPR News staff read in 2024
From a submarine survival adventure during World War II to an exploration of the dark side of a Catholic convent on the Irish countryside, our staff has wide-ranging taste for their favorite book they read in 2024.
Prayers, songs greet Dakota Riders in Mankato 162 years after hangings
In a revival of a tradition which seemed to have ended two years ago, participants in not one but two Dakota Rides arrived in Mankato Thursday. The event commemorates 38 Dakota men hanged on the day after Christmas in 1862 following the U.S.-Dakota War, and two other Dakota men hanged later.