Minnesota Today

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey will give his annual State of the City address Tuesday. It will be his first State of the City gathering since the federal immigration enforcement surge earlier this year.It is difficult for the courts to claw back public money stolen through fraud. So a group of Minnesota legislators are trying a new approach to create a tax on fraud. The U.S. Justice Department says it’s suing the state of Minnesota to stop a lawsuit that the state filed against the oil industry over climate change. At issue is a 2020 lawsuit filed by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison alleging ExxonMobil, Koch Industries and the American Petroleum Institute deceived and defrauded Minnesotans about climate change. The suit is still making its way through the courts.

The number of people canceling or not using their permit to visit the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness rose again in 2025. The U.S. Forest Service says more than 40 percent of permits for May 1 through September 30 last year were never used.Depleted by injury, the Minnesota Timberwolves saw other players step up on Thursday to lift them to a first-round playoff series win over Denver. Now the battered Wolves face another tough test against San Antonio in the Western Conference semifinals starting Monday night. Expect traffic delays on a busy central Minnesota highway over the next couple of months as a detour goes into effect starting Monday. That detour is along U.S. Highway 10 just east of Wadena. MnDOT says it's to allow crews to replace a culvert under the highway. It'll be a short detour to start, but that will be extended to a much longer route in early June as crews replace a second culvert. The detour will remain in place until early to mid-July.

A bill to make Minnesota’s bridges safer passed the House unanimously Thursday. The measure directs the Minnesota Department of Transportation to make a statewide plan to identify bridges with high suicide rates and incorporate suicide prevention in new bridges.The judge presiding over the Feeding Our Future case is limiting convicted ringleader Aimee Bock’s access to confidential case documents after she allegedly directed her sons to send the files to reporters and elected officials.As gas prices climb, drivers want to fill up at the gas station offering the cheapest gas. One south Minneapolis independent gas station with cheaper prices says it's seeing heavier traffic since the start of the war in Iran.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has upheld the first-degree premeditated murder conviction of Adam Fravel. Fravel was convicted in 2024 and sentenced to life in prison for killing Madeline Kingsbury of Winona. Kingsbury, who had two young children with Fravel, disappeared in 2023. Her body was found after a two-month search.Three members of a Prior Lake family are facing federal charges for allegedly attacking a conservative influencer outside the Whipple federal building earlier this month.A bill to help the financially troubled HCMC hospital and fill gaps left by federal cuts in Medicaid and food assistance passed the state Senate Wednesday afternoon.And a citizens group is suing the northeastern Minnesota city of Hermantown to block a proposed Google data center.Go deeper with the latest edition of the Minnesota Today newsletter.From 2024: Adam Fravel sentenced to life in prison for murdering Madeline KingsburyPrior Lake family charged with assaulting conservative influencer at ICE protestCitizens' group files lawsuit to block Google's proposed Hermantown data centerSubscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

A DFL gun violence prevention package faces one last committee hurdle Wednesday in the Minnesota Senate. Gov. Tim Walz delivered his final State of the State speech Tuesday. The two-term Democrat had plenty of support from members of his party as he listed off the changes his administration has ushered through. A new health inequities analysis released Wednesday shows widespread racial and ethnic disparities persist in Minnesota. Runoff from this week’s snowmelt and heavy rain continues to keep rivers running high in northeastern Minnesota. A flood warning goes into effect Thursday morning along the South Kawishiwi River near Ely.

A bill to allow pharmacists to prescribe and dispense drugs to treat opioid withdrawal passed the Minnesota House unanimously Monday. The Senate is considering similar legislation as part of a larger healthcare bill.President Donald Trump signed legislation Monday that overturned a 20-year ban on mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. The Senate passed the bill by just one vote two weeks ago. It allows copper and nickel mines to now resume exploration and submit mine plans. It's a win for Twin Metals, which wants to open an underground mine near Ely.

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The Minneapolis City Auditor will share its findings Wednesday over how the police department handled two high-profile incidents, which led to public accusations that police failed to protect people of color. Those include the case of Allison Lussier, an Indigenous woman who was found dead in her apartment in 2024 after reporting domestic violence to the police. Lussier's death remains unsolved. As well as the case of Davis Moturi, a Black man who was shot by his white neighbor after Moturi reported escalating harassment for more than a year.Fargo’s five mayoral candidates sparred over homelessness and the city’s budget problems at their first debate Tuesday. Fargo’s mayoral election is in June.

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At the Minnesota Legislature, there is less than one month until the final day. Legislative leaders have started meeting with Gov. Tim Walz to hammer out deals. Among the remaining issues is school safety — from added counseling and security features to possible restrictions on guns.Experts who study child abuse say Minnesota’s attempts to outlaw grooming are a step in the right direction, but more changes are needed. Minnesota lawmakers are considering a bill to make grooming a felony, ban teachers from being alone with students on field trips and require grooming prevention training.

Strong storms are possible with even a couple of isolated severe storms ahead of a big cold front. The Storm Prediction Center says there is an enhanced risk (level 3 out of 5) for the southeastern corner of Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin. The national weather service says Friday morning could bring isolated hail and Friday afternoon could bring very large hail and the possibility of tornadoes.Supporters of Thursday’s U.S. Senate vote to overturn a 20-year mining ban near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are emphasizing that environmental safeguards remain in place. The move reopens the door for projects like Twin Metals’ proposed underground copper-nickel mine near Ely. Opponents of Thursday’s vote say they’ll continue to challenge proposed mines near the BWCA whether at the state level, or through the courts.Minnesota Sen. John Hoffman and his family filed a civil lawsuit Thursday against the man charged with shooting them last June.

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