Special Coverage

At least 50 Minnesota group home clients have died since late 2022 under circumstances serious enough to trigger state maltreatment investigations. But many penalties amounted to fines of $5,000 or less, and most homes kept their licenses. When Ryan Riggs died in the backyard of his group home, the state’s initial fine was just $1,000.
Deaths, neglect, calls for help: Group home boom overwhelms Brooklyn Park
Taxpayer-funded group homes help thousands of Minnesotans with physical or mental disabilities live as independently as possible. But the industry’s rapid growth in the Twin Cities northwest suburbs has led to problems that leave vulnerable people in danger and local governments struggling with the consequences. Nowhere is that clearer than in Brooklyn Park, the state’s group home capital.
Drone sightings drove surveillance fears as ICE surged in Minnesota
Some Minneapolis residents who took to the streets to document U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids believe federal authorities used drones to record and intimidate them. Despite laws governing drone use, finding a definitive answer is unlikely.
‘This isn’t living, right?’: Minnesota immigrants share their stories while in hiding from ICE
MPR News connected with five immigrants across Minnesota who have been scared to leave their homes over the last six weeks, due to fears of encountering ICE. Each person recorded voice memos or spoke to a reporter for three days, sharing their experiences of living locked inside.  
After his parents’ killing, Colin Hortman is working through grief, searching for ways to honor them
As the Minnesota Legislature prepares to honor Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, their son Colin shares in an MPR News interview how he’s coping with grief and hoping their deaths remain a clarion call for toned-down political rhetoric. 
‘Time to speak up’: In Columbia Heights, school leaders stepped in to protect families as ICE surged
As federal immigration agents descended on Columbia Heights families, the school superintendent expected to stay silent. Then federal agents came for 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, and silence was no longer an option.
St. Peter police chief intervened and got federal agents to release resident, sources say
Sources tell MPR News that the police chief of St. Peter intervened to prevent federal agents from taking a local resident who was observing ICE enforcement actions into detention. It is believed to the first time local police in Minnesota intervened in a federal law enforcement action since the ICE and border patrol surge began here two months ago.
‘ICE conveyor belt’ illegally detaining, moving Minnesota children to Texas faster than courts can respond
ICE is pulling Minnesota immigrant families with legal status out of their driveways, homes and school commutes and sending them to Texas within hours — in at least two cases against a judge’s order. Lawyers say the practice allows ICE to evade the law.
Privacy advocates: ICE using private data to intimidate observers and activists
MPR News has looked into reports that federal agents have accessed private data to track and intimidate anti-ICE activists since the immigration crackdown surged in Minnesota in December. Privacy advocates say it’s a clear violation of state law.
The 43 best books MPR News staff read in 2025
Each year, the MPR newsroom shares staff picks of the best books we read in 2025. From a familiar Minnesota romance author to Dust Bowl-era historical fiction with a dash of magical realism, here’s the books we couldn’t put down.