Morning Edition

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Morning Edition, with Cathy Wurzer in St. Paul and NPR hosts in Washington and Los Angeles, brings you all the news from overnight and the information you need to start your day. Listen from 4 to 9 a.m. every weekday.

Morning Announcements | Weather chats with Mark Seeley | Parting Thoughts

A Rochester Post Bulletin investigation, led by reporter Nora Eckert, revealed the mistreatment of Minnesota inmates during the pandemic. These failures lead to the deaths of 12 inmates.
Art Hounds recommend summer sweets
Jodi Reeb’s new exhibit turns beeswax into paintings, a debut album by Champagne Drops celebrates female friendship and mother-daughter relationships and the Hovland Arts Festival celebrates 15 years.
Long, strange trip: Legislature passes new budget
Hours before a deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown, the Minnesota Legislature passed the final elements of a $52 billion two-year state budget. It capped a year of remote meetings and special sessions related to the COVID-19 pandemic that pushed the limits of divided state government. 
‘You love me? Get the vaccine’: In this MN town, one-on-one conversations play a key role in COVID-19 shots
The state won’t meet its goal of vaccinating 70 percent of Minnesotans 16 and older by July 1. And to understand all the challenges — and tiny victories — that come with inoculating the public, look no further than one city in the southeastern part of the state where officials are leaning on longstanding partnerships and trusted community leaders to get more people vaccinated. 
More deaths reported in intense Northwest heat wave
About a dozen deaths in Washington and Oregon may be tied to an intense heat wave that brought scorching temperatures to the Northwest and has caused one power utility to impose rolling blackouts amid heavy demand.
Legislature hits budget home stretch with no spare time
Lawmakers left themselves with little breathing room to complete a new state budget before a potential shutdown. But the final obstacles are clearing.
Inside one Minnesota school district’s battle over an equity training program 
Many Minnesota school districts are launching equity programs in an attempt to correct the state’s well-documented and longstanding racial inequalities. But in numerous places, groups of parents and sometimes students are combating those programs. Here’s what happened in Pequot Lakes, a rural, mostly white district in central Minnesota. 
The recent discovery of 215 unmarked graves at an Indian residential school in Canada prompted the United States to announce its own investigation into the dark past of federal boarding school policies. Over the next 10 months, the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative will look into the history of the schools in hopes of shedding light on any past traumas. That includes identifying burial sites.
Legislature debates public safety, policing
Minnesota lawmakers began debating a large and controversial public safety bill Tuesday, with just over a day left before the deadline to have a new two-year budget in place. Democrats in both the House and Senate have been unhappy about the bill’s lack of police accountability measures.
Have you toyed with ditching your job over the past year? Used the upheaval of the pandemic to make needed changes in your life and career? If so, you’re not alone.