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Minnesota Today®

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Minnesota Today
MPR News

Minnesota Today from MPR News brings you the most important stories from around the state. All on your schedule. Get updated on the latest news in about five minutes, every weekday morning and evening.

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Boundary Waters permits canceled through Sunday; Tribal nations prepare for evacuation

Permits for entry into the Boundary Waters are canceled through Sunday as fires in the area continue to grow. The U.S. Forest Service told outfitters permit holders will automatically get refunds. If conditions continue to worsen, Tribal nations in northern Minnesota are preparing for evacuation.
by Elena See

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500 firefighters battling 17 fires in northern Minnesota. And they're expected to burn for weeks

Two YMCA summer camps are closing and sending campers home because of wildfires raging in and around the Boundary Waters area. Meanwhile, state officials will keep new Medicaid provider enrollment paused in a dozen high-risk service programs for at least another six months.
by Phineas Pope

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Wildfires could continue for weeks -- if not months -- bringing poor air quality to Minnesota

State and federal officials say the wildfires in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area will likely continue to burn for weeks if not months. And smoke from the fires will continue to create poor air quality for the state.
by Emily Reese

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Some BWCA wildfires may not be fully extinguished until it snows, officials warn

Officials with the Superior National Forest say they’re aiming to keep the full closure of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area as short as possible, but they say some of the wildfires burning in the wilderness are now so large that they may not be fully extinguished until there’s snow.
by Phineas Pope

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Minnesota wildfires continue to burn

Crews continue to battle wildfires in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The end of the Gunflint was moved from “Ready” to “Set” evacuation status today. The next step — if the fire continues to spread — would be a “Go” evacuation order.
by Emily Reese

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BWCA has closed amid wildfires and harsh conditions. Parts of northeast Minnesota under air quality alert

Rangers are traveling in pairs through the Boundary Waters by canoe to inform campers that they need to evacuate the wilderness. Officials say floatplanes are available to evacuate people if there is an imminent threat in a given area — but those same aircraft are also being used in firefighting efforts. And the smoke from that area has also prompted an air quality alert.
by Phineas Pope

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Feds hand over evidence in ICE shootings; BWCA closes completely

Federal authorities have handed over evidence to state investigators in the January killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and the shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis. And months of planning for a Boundary Waters canoe trip came to an abrupt end for one Minnesota family after wildfires forced the U.S. Forest Service to close the area and cancel all entry permits this week.
by Todd Melby

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Heat wave hits Upper Midwest

As heat waves are hitting the Upper Midwest, Xcel Energy says its crews and operation teams are prepared. Xcel says they have more crews on standby and the company also pushed people to sign up for alerts and report outages.
by Phineas Pope

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