Special Coverage

2024 in focus: Favorite photos of the year from MPR News’ lens
From politics to playoff dreams, unseasonable winters to moments of quiet resilience, the MPR News photo team did what they do best: follow their curiosity, chase stories and bring you along for the ride, one frame at a time.
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.
Rising star from Minneapolis brings LGBTQ+ representation to pro wrestling
As a Black gay man, Devon Monroe is paving the way for a new kind of pro wrestler — flamboyant, authentic, confident — and building a loyal fan base while he’s doing it.
‘Green Gold’: Booming demand for holiday greenery sparks illicit trade in northern Minnesota
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says unlicensed bandits are snipping off the tops of spruce trees, trying to cash in on a market that one legal harvester calls “green gold.” 
Minneapolis punk show mass shooting victims react as teen takes plea deal
Cyrell Boyd is headed to treatment at the Red Wing juvenile facility for his role in the Nudieland shooting in August 2023. At a hearing Tuesday, victims spoke to him about the shooting’s impact.
Should Minnesota continue to put lottery dollars toward the environment?
Currently 40 percent of proceeds from the state lottery go into a fund aimed at protecting the state’s environment. Voters will decide next week whether to renew the fund for another 25 years, but a proposed addition is getting some pushback.
How biochar — the ‘Swiss Army knife of climate tools’ — is growing in Minnesota
Minnesota is emerging as a leader in the research and manufacturing of biochar, a substance that can combat climate change by locking away carbon for centuries. It can also provide other environmental benefits such as filtering water and improving soil.
The Breakthrough of ’48: When Civil Rights Won the White House
At the 1948 Democratic National Convention, Minneapolis Mayor Hubert Humphrey demanded his party “walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights.” Southern Democrats defected, creating their own Dixiecrat Party. But President Harry Truman ran for re-election as the candidate of civil rights, and his dramatic victory set the stage for the landmark civil rights laws of the 1960s.