MPR News AM Update: Struggles for a top Minnesota crop
Good morning and happy Friday. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
A true fall day is here, and it’ll be wet. Statewide highs in the mid 50s and 60s, plus showers in central and southern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities. More on Updraft.
Did you know Minnesota is the nation’s top kidney bean producer? Our Moorhead-based reporter Dan Gunderson reports that tariffs and trade wars are hurting kidney bean farmers in northwestern Minnesota. "Right now, our competition for exports is Canada and Argentina,” said one farmer. “They don't have a tariff, so we're at a disadvantage."
President Trump is coming to Minneapolis, but he won’t exactly be greeted with open arms. Mayor Jacob Frey issued this statement after Trump announced his Target Center campaign rally for Oct. 10: “While there is no legal mechanism to prevent the president from visiting, his message of hatred will never be welcome in Minneapolis.”
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Is the visit about Trump vs. Omar? The Hill reports on a Trump tweet where he, again, calls out Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar. Quoth the president: “In 2016 I almost won Minnesota. In 2020, because of [Omar] & the fact that Minnesota is having its best economic year ever, I will win the State!”
A return to natural hair for African-American women. Tarkor Zehn reports on a trend away from “Eurocentric” hair styles that largely came from a need to assimilate. Salons and YouTube instructors are trying to help people learn to style their hair without chemicals.
Twins make a bomba record. They became the first MLB team to hit 300 home runs in a season, ESPN reports.
The Twins, Vikings, Wolves and Lynx want more cops downtown. While crime rates over the summer weren’t out of the normal, Minneapolis sports execs and business leaders are calling for more cops amid perceptions downtown is less safe. Graphic videos of assaults could be pushing the change.
U students want new sexual harassment rules. Two professors “more likely than not” violated the school’s sexual harassment policy. Now, they’re back in their jobs after suspensions. The Minnesota Daily’s Tiffany Bui and Dylan Anderson report on the fallout.
Russia doesn’t want the Ukraine treatment. The Kremlin says it hopes the U.S. won’t release President Trump’s calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A Russian spokesperson told reporters it could damage relations between the countries, “which are already troubled by a lot of problems."
When ‘OK’ is not OK. The Anti-Defamation League has listed the “OK” hand gesture as a symbol of hate. It started racists on the internet began linking the gesture to white power. But as an ADL leader notes, context matters: "More people than not will use the OK symbol as just 'OK.' But in those cases where there's more underlining meaning, I think it's important for people to understand that it could be used, and is being used, for hate as well."
Baby boomers aren’t the only ones getting fooled by digital scammers. As the Star Tribune’s Emma Nelson reports, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s email was hacked. His account sent out phishing emails, but the hack has apparently been contained.
Farewell to an MPR great. Bill Catlin came to MPR 38 years ago and today he’s calling it a career. Bill calls himself a “one-trick pony,” which is an outright lie. He came to the newsroom when it was a toddler and helped make it the statewide network it is today. He now edits some of our most difficult topics, all with a smile on his face. We’ll miss you, Bill.
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