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What do state flags, an heirloom rifle and Dragon Divas have in common? They’re all in stories our reporters recommend you revisit in a review of the news from 2024.

Minnesota’s new state flag rose early Saturday morning for the first time over the state Capitol complex.

Let it wave: Minnesota’s new flag takes flight

Eden Prairie is a pilot city testing low-salt design. The concept is to plan streets and buildings so ice and melted snow don't accumulate in places where people walk and drive, reducing the need for deicing salt that pollutes lakes, rivers and streams.

How rethinking design could reduce the need for road salt

Firearm safety begins with personal responsibility, and over a century ago it wasn’t much different. But a historic moment in time integral to Bemidji’s founding is shedding new light on that importance — connecting the past with the present — while, with old age, bringing one man a better understanding of himself.

'I'm glad it's home': A family heirloom links back to Bemidji's founding and Indigenous history

April is Arab-American Heritage month and for 25 years, local nonprofit Mizna has been amplifying the voices of Minnesota’s growing community of Arab, Southwest Asian and North African artists. 

‘I wanted to see stories about our experience’: For 25 years Mizna has helped artists make cultural connections

Jim Luby, who has lead the fruit breeding program at the University of Minnesota since 1982, is retiring. His is one of the researchers credited with developing such apples as the Zestar!, the SweeTango and, the giant among them, the Honeycrisp. He’s also developed many other fruits too. It’s involved a lot of hard work, experimentation and tasting thousands of apples.

The man who put the ‘snap’ in Honeycrisp is stepping aside

Robynne Curlee feared telling her conservative Christian father that she was gay. For John Curlee, accepting his daughter’s identity didn’t come easily and required working hard to understand it.

‘This is who Robynne is:’ A father’s struggle to accept his daughter is gay

For the past several decades, two Democrats and two Republicans in the Minnesota House have passed out trees on Arbor Day as a brief respite from political tensions at the Capitol.

Arbor Day tradition aims to put trees in ground while easing political tensions at Capitol

For many Minnesotans, dragon boat racing is a fun way to enjoy the water and form new friendships. But for more than 80 women in the Twin Cities who’ve survived cancer, it runs much deeper. They’ve forged a sisterhood that’s helped them heal.

Touched by cancer, Minnesota’s ‘Dragon Divas’ find power paddling as one

Clawhammer Mike and his banjo are Stone Arch Bridge fixtures. In 2022, he played at the Stone Arch over 100 times. Last year, 75. He’s exchanged life stories with people more times than he can count. But this week, with the two-year bridge construction beginning, Clawhammer had to say his temporary goodbye. It was a tough one. 

‘I chose community’: Stone Arch Bridge musician reflects on the magic of the Minneapolis landmark

Like principals around the country, Amy Kujawski knew cellphones and schools didn’t mix. This year, she found a fix that worked for students, teachers and families. It could be a model for Minnesota.

A Minnesota principal banned cell phones from her school — and it worked

The Minneapolis VA recently broke ground on a new women’s clinic. When it’s completed in two years, the new facility will not only be larger and offer more services than the current clinic, it will be specially designed to serve the specific physical and mental needs of women veterans.

Breaking ground for better care: Minneapolis VA strives to create safer space for women veterans

Many biracial people and children of immigrants deal with complicated feelings around cultural identity. That includes MPR News senior producer Jessica Bari, who decided it was time to talk with her father, a native of Puerto Rico.

I don’t speak Spanish. I asked my dad, am I Latina enough?

For the first time in four years — after the COVID-19 pandemic and then a $9.3 million reconstruction project — public tours of the Soudan Underground Mine in northeast Minnesota are poised to start up again on Memorial Day weekend.

After four-year hiatus, underground mine tours resume at Soudan State Park

“Chamber After Chamber,” Saara Myrene Raappana’s debut poetry collection, reflects a decade of dedication and was published shortly after her death from cancer.

The story of a poet’s heart: How a collection of poetry survived its author’s death

Kerem Yücel and Ben Hovland | MPR News; Tim Evans for MPR News

A blue flag waves above the Capitol building

Ben Hovland | MPR News

Parking lot sloped toward accessible parking

Courtesy of Bolton & Menk

Mathew Holding Eagle | MPR News

Kerem Yücel | MPR News

A person flips a paper while another plays harmonica

Clay Masters | MPR News

Tim Evans for MPR News

Cari Spencer | MPR News

Boys stare at their smart phones in a school hallway

Courtesy of Bari Family

A man shines a flashlight into the distance as kids watch

MPR News reporters share 14 of their most memorable stories from 2024

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