Minnesota Now

Twin Cities Pride returns this weekend with the annual festival in Loring Park and parade in downtown Minneapolis on Sunday. Over the past 53 years, the festival has grown to attract thousands of people to come see performers, check out vendors, and celebrate with friends and family. This year's celebration comes during a challenging moment for many LGBTQ+ people, with ongoing political battles over transgender rights nationwide. Andi Otto is the executive director of Twin Cities Pride. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about this year's festivities and what holding a pride celebration means in 2026.

Starting July 1, Medicare will begin a new pilot program that will allow some users to access popular GLP-1 weight-loss medications at a reduced cost. Originally developed to treat diabetes, GLP-1 medications like Wegovy have exploded in popularity. Dr. Carolyn Bramante is an associate professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School who specializes in obesity and weight loss. She joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about how GLP-1 drugs have changed medicine and what broader access for older Americans could mean.

A group of Minneapolis City Council members is asking the mayor's office to share its plans for the Minneapolis Police Department, after Chief Brian O'Hara resigned amid misconduct allegations. MPR News host Nina Moini talked with council member Robin Wonsley ahead of Tuesday’s meeting.Minnesota-born journalist Justin Ellis is out with a new book exploring the history of racism in his home state, a place known for being nice.Native Americans are working to reclaim tribal tobacco while addressing the harms of the commercial kind. A conference focused on this work is happening this week in Minneapolis.The Special Olympics USA Games kicked off in Minneapolis this week. We met a coach for Minnesota bocce ball to talk about the competition.Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Gunflint Lake” by Maygen and the Birdwatcher, and our Song of the Day was “The Envelope” by Funk N Spuds.

Following the murder of George Floyd, many asked the question: “How was Minneapolis, of all places, at the center of a global racial reckoning?” For Minnesota-native Justin Ellis, it wasn’t surprising. And now, the journalist is out with a new book that lays out Minnesota’s long quiet history of racism to help answer that question. The book is titled “The Cruelty of Nice Folks: Why Minneapolis Is the Story of America.” Ellis joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about it.He’ll host a reading and discussion of the book June 30 at 7 p.m. at Moon Palace Books in Minneapolis.

Leadership is in limbo at the Minneapolis Police Department after the abrupt resignation of former Chief Brian O’Hara. On Tuesday, city council members asked Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for more information on the direction of the department. Council member Robin Wonsley is the lead author of the request to the mayor about MPD’s path during this period of change. She joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about it.After Council member Wonsley spoke to MPR News host Nina Moini live on the air, Mayor Jacob Frey announced that the city aims to select a new chief within the next 16 weeks, after engaging with community members and city leaders, and that a search firm will conduct a nationwide search and consider internal applicants.

A story by Sahan Journal out Monday follows a Hmong family separated by deportation. It starts with the day in February when Linda Yang learned ICE agents planned to detain her husband Zong. He’s now in Laos. Linda and their five kids live in St. Paul. Sahan Journal Reporter Katelyn Vue plans to keep telling the story of how the family is dealing with this new reality in a series of articles this year. She joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about her reporting.

More than six months after Operation Metro Surge began, many mutual aid groups and organizers are still triaging a crisis. The state recently passed $40 million in rent relief, but it likely won't reach local providers until late in the summer. Rent organizers worry many who need that help won't qualify or get it soon enough, as eviction filings threaten to pass last year's record. Cari Spencer spent time at a church in Burnsville where the need is worse than it was at the peak of the ICE surge and spoke with Minnesota Now host Nina Moini about how the need for help has become even greater after thousands of ICE agents left the streets of Minnesota.

For the better part of 2026, Annunciation Church and School parents were engaging with lawmakers to advocate for policy change following a mass shooting in their community. The legislative session has ended, but the work of the Annunciation Light Alliance has not. They are now turning to public engagement. On Monday, the group is partnering with CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman to show his Oscar-winning documentary “All the Empty Rooms,” followed by a panel discussion with Hartman and Annunciation parents at the Main Cinema in Minneapolis. Kristen Neville, co-chair of the Annunciation Light Alliance, and Steve Hartman spoke to MPR News host Nina Moini about the event.

For 30 years, Rose McGee has celebrated Juneteenth by sharing her stage performance of “Kumbayah: The Juneteenth Story” across Minnesota. To mark this special anniversary, the performance will include special guest appearances from cast members from previous years who grew up as a part of this important story about the emancipation of African Americans. McGee joined Minnesota Now to talk more about the play and memorable moments from the last three decades.

Fifteen people have been charged by the federal government for anti-ICE actions this winter. Prosecutors allege they are part of antifa, a left-wing political movement. A history professor explained what antifa is and how it fits into this moment. The U.S. Supreme Court will soon rule on how law enforcement can track people's locations through their cell phones. We talked to a legal expert.Plus, for the first time in 20 years a new ingredient can go into sunscreen. Doctors say it's better than current options.There wasn’t much sunshine Wednesday. We took a look at the rainy forecast with Chief Meteorologist Ben Cathey. This weekend is the 50th annual Grandma's Marathon in Duluth. One runner is preparing to have run all 50. The Minnesota Music Minute was “Everything At Once” by Hippo Campus and “Cherry Picking” by Jumpsuit was the Song of the Day.

Americans will soon have a new option for sun protection. The FDA gave the green light to bemotrizinol, the first new ingredient approved for sunscreen in the U.S. in over 20 years. Minnesota has the nation’s second-highest rate of skin cancer. University of Minnesota dermatologist Dr. Ingrid Polcari considers this development to be a win for local public health. She talked to MPR News host Nina Moini about it.

The U.S. Supreme Court is nearing the end of its current term. By late June or early July, the justices will announce decisions in a handful of high-profile cases. One of those has to do with how law enforcement uses location data collected by tech companies. Minnesota’s Supreme Court decided a similar case back in April.Investigators have used a tool called geofencing to draw a virtual boundary around an area where a crime was committed and find out from tech companies which phones were nearby. Law enforcement needs a warrant to access this data, but critics say the tactic violates privacy rights. University of St. Thomas law professor Julie Jonas joined MPR News host Nina Moini to explain the main questions before the Supreme Court, and what its decision could mean for Minnesotans.

Shakopee’s new outdoor summer concert venue is the Mystic Lake Amphitheater. It’s opening season has a stacked lineup, including Bob Dylan, Dave Matthews Band, Mumford and Sons and Guns N' RosesThe new venue will open with an event called “Setting the Stage: An Evening of Minnesota Music, Comedy & Community,” on Saturday, June 20. St. Paul native, comedian and Saturday Night Live cast member Tommy Brennan will host the event.Brennan joined The Current’s Jill Riley to talk about his Minnesota ties, his work in comedy and the upcoming event at Mystic Lake Amphitheater.