MPR News with Angela Davis

The midterm elections are still months away, but voting is already a major focus. President Donald Trump has claimed that non-citizens vote illegally in large numbers, though there’s no evidence of widespread fraud. Still, he has backed the SAVE Act, which would require in-person proof of citizenship to register. It passed the House, stalled in the Senate and some Republican-led states are moving ahead with similar requirements. At the same time, the federal government is seeking access to state voter rolls, the president’s attacks on mail-in voting have ramped up and the Supreme Court may weigh in on mail-in ballot deadlines. So how secure are elections in Minnesota and across the country? Are new laws needed — or not? MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about how our election systems can balance security with access. Guests: Steve SimonJennifer MorrellCertificate of Election Administration program

It’s been one year since the U.S. raised tariffs on Canada. MPR News host Angela Davis and senior economics contributor Chris Farrell take a look at the impact — on both sides of the border. Angela and Chris will talk again with some of the people they first interviewed last April in Thunder Bay, Ontario and Grand Marais, Minn. Guests: Livio di Matteo Charla RobinsonChris LaVigne Grand Marais Municipal Liquor Store

Historically Black colleges and universities — known as HBCUs — are schools that were created to educate Black students at a time when most colleges would not admit them. While “HBCU” might not be a household name in Minnesota, students and graduates of these 107 schools represent a thriving culture and network, especially in the southern United States. And, their impact is significant. A recent report by Forbes magazine reveals that HBCUs have produced about 80 percent of Black judges, 70 percent of Black doctors and dentists, 50 percent of Black engineers, and 40 percent of Black lawyers. And about half of the nation’s Black teachers graduated from an HBCU. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with several graduates of HBCUs and a leader from an organization that supports these schools. They’ll talk about the history of these institutions and why they still matter today. Guests: Laverne McCartney KnightonJames BurroughsZarina Sementelli

Addiction doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Stress, fear, instability and isolation can shape how people cope and recover. MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about how some people living with substance use disorders support others in recovery. Guests: Caddy Frink Minnesota Recovery Connection Edward Hovelman If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. To learn how to get support for mental health, drug or alcohol issues, visit FindSupport.gov. To find a treatment facility or provider go to FindTreatment.gov or call 800-662-HELP (4357).

We think of wildlife as separate from urban life. But there are a lot of wild critters living all around us in the city. Turkeys have made a remarkable comeback in the last few decades after being driven entirely out of Minnesota. Deer, squirrels, rats and racoons are regular visitors to many people’s back yards. And, a relatively new research project is documenting how coyotes and foxes are vying for territory in city neighborhoods. MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the secret lives of wild animals in our midst and how they interact with each other and with us. Guests: Geoff MillerTwin Cities Coyote and Fox Project.Marlene Zuk Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS. Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

When most of us think about 911, we picture flashing lights and first responders arriving on the scene. But that fast emergency response starts somewhere else — with a person answering the phone. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a 911 call taker, a dispatcher, and the director of Minneapolis’s 911 call center about what happens after the phone rings — how they gather critical details, move information through the system and send help where it’s needed. Guests: Joni HodneLori PatrickBen Jacobs

The Science Museum of Minnesota has wowed generations with its dinosaur fossils, including an 80-foot Diplodocus. And tens of thousands of people have visited its other exhibits explaining everything from outer space to the history of race. But these days, fewer people are visiting. Like other cultural institutions across the country, the St. Paul museum has struggled to lure people back after the COVID-19 pandemic. Attendance is half of what it was in 2019, forcing the museum to eliminate summer camps, lay off employees and make other cuts. MPR News host Angela Davis talks about what contributed to the drop in visitors and how the museum is trying to sell more people on its cool collections, current exhibits and educational programming. Guests: Alison Rempel Brown Colleen Dilenschneider Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS. Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

Snow is still on the ground across parts of Minnesota, but it’s not too early to start thinking about spring allergies. Coming up at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two allergists about what’s coming this season and how to get ahead of it. Guests: Dr. Alice KnoedlerMidwest Allergy and AsthmaDr. Zachary RubinAll About Allergies: Everything You Need to Know About Asthma, Food Allergies, Hay Fever, and More Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS. Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

Foundations play a big role in supporting nonprofit work in Minnesota. One of the most prominent is the Bush Foundation. Founded in 1953 by 3M executive Archibald Bush and his wife Edyth, the foundation gives grants in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and the 23 Native nations sharing that geography. Its funding is helping train Ojibwe language teachers, create a loan pool for Black homebuyers and launch Latina child care businesses. It’s supported everything from duck habitat restoration in South Dakota to programs for entrepreneurs in rural Minnesota. And it invests in emerging leaders through its longstanding Bush Fellowship program. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with the president of the Bush Foundation, Jen Ford Reedy, about how philanthropy is changing, how it shapes a community and how the Bush Foundation has responded to community upheavals, including the recent immigration enforcement surge and the murder of George Floyd. Guest: Jen Ford ReedyGiveMN.org Editor’s note: MPR has received funding from The Bush Foundation.

This is a time of real uncertainty for agriculture in Minnesota. Crop prices are fluctuating, the cost of fuel and fertilizer remains high, and tariffs and global trade uncertainty are adding another layer of pressure on farmers trying to make a profit. As spring planting season begins, farmers need to make some big decisions — facing a lot of unknowns. For many families, farming is not just tied to income, but to identity, tradition, and generations of work. So when things feel unstable, the impact goes far beyond the farm. MPR News host Angela Davis talks about how Minnesota farmers are managing the challenges. Guests: Thom PetersenMegan Horsager Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS. Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

What’s it like to be married for 34 years to someone who wrote a book called “What Happy Couples Do.” That’s the lucky situation in which Brian Bruess finds himself. He is president of the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University and the first president to lead both schools. His wife, Carol Bruess, is nationally known for her research on relationships and communication and is the schools’ scholar-in-residence for relationships and dialogue. MPR News host Angela Davis continues her Power Pairs series talking with Carol and Brian about how they’ve supported each other in marriage, careers and creating community on campus. Guests: Brian J. BruessCarol Bruess Do you know a Power Pair? “Power Pairs” is a series featuring prominent Minnesotans in a close relationship. You may know of them separately but they reveal a new side of themselves when they sit down together. Listen to past interviews here and submit your idea for a future Power Pair here. Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS. Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

When federal agents surged into Minnesota in January, communities didn’t just face a legal issue. They faced a moral one. Faith leaders showed up. Churches became distribution hubs for food and diapers. Nonprofits organized ride shares and distributed rent money. Clergy mobilized to protest, sing, champion and, in some cases, face arrest. “Our faith compels us,” was the common refrain. “Operation Metro Surge” is over now. But churches, mosques, synagogues and faith-based nonprofits say their work is just ramping up. A group of faith leaders joined MPR News host Angela Davis for a North Star Journey Live event at our studios in downtown St. Paul on Thursday, March 26, to talk about what they experienced on the front lines of the immigration enforcement surge and how their faith both compelled and comforted them. They also shared gifts from their own faith traditions to help Minnesotans process our collective moral injury. For such a time as this Guests: ISAIAHRev. Hierald OsortoRabbi Arielle Lekach RosenbergAbubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center Subscribe to MPR News with Angela Davis on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

Federal job cuts last year hit one group the hardest — Black women. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a journalist who interviewed some of the women who lost their jobs about how they are doing a year later — financially and emotionally. The article was published recently in Hammer and Hope, an online magazine that focuses on Black politics and culture. Guest: Natalie Moore is a senior lecturer and director of Audio Journalism Programming at Northwestern University in Illinois. She was a reporter and editor at the Chicago public radio station, WBEZ, for 17 years where she was known for her reporting on segregation and inequality. She writes a monthly column for the Chicago Sun-Times and she is also the author of “The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation.” And she is co-author of “The Almighty Black P Stone Nation: The Rise, Fall and Resurgence of an American Gang” and “Deconstructing Tyrone: A New Look at Black Masculinity in the Hip-Hop Generation.”

Hennepin Healthcare operates one of Minnesota’s largest and most essential hospitals, HCMC, formerly known as Hennepin County Medical Center. And it’s not in good health. The hospital provides emergency trauma and burn care to patients from across Minnesota and trains more than a third of the region’s future doctors. But that mission comes at a cost. The public hospital serves more low-income and uninsured patients than other hospitals, leaving it especially vulnerable as federal Medicaid cuts take hold and the number of uninsured Minnesotans rises. Add in other mounting financial pressures, and leaders say the system is being pushed to the brink. HCMC has already eliminated 100 positions, reduced services and is now seeking sales tax revenue just to stay afloat. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with her guests about the financial crisis at HCMC, why other hospitals are also struggling and some possible solutions. Guests: Jan Malcolmsenior adviser on hospitals and health systems.Dr. Rahul KoranneMinnesota Hospital Association

It’s a tough moment in the job market right now. Layoffs are happening across industries, and for recent graduates just starting out, getting a foot in the door can feel harder than ever. If you’re not out of work, you likely know someone who is — a friend, a partner or a family member. For a lot of us, work is tied to our sense of purpose, identity and even self-worth. So, a job loss can ripple beyond the loss of a paycheck. MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about what unemployment can do to our mental health — and how people are coping. Guests: Connie Wanberg Eli BlaseBlase Therapy Solutions

Repa Mekha saw slim opportunities for himself and his peers growing up as a young Black man in Milwaukee. He ended up in prison, where he started college and embarked on his life’s work of figuring out what it takes to create more paths forward for Black Americans and other groups left out of mainstream economies. He worked with homeless teens in the Twin Cities and got a master’s degree from Harvard University. He also founded a nonprofit that promotes cooperatively-owned businesses and distributes “wealth-building” grants to people who are descendants of the transatlantic slave trade. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Repa Mekha about his life and vision for building wealth and wellbeing for Black Minnesotans.

Technology is changing how we work, how businesses operate and how decisions get made — from artificial intelligence to cybersecurity and automation. And it’s happening quickly. Some leaders in the state’s tech sector say Minnesota has the opportunity to lead — by bringing companies together, developing talent and thinking carefully about how technologies like AI are built and used. MPR News guest host Chris Farrell talks with some of those leaders about the opportunities, the concerns and how Minnesota is preparing people for a changing workforce. Guests: Joel CrandallMinnesota Technology Association.Elizabeth AdamsMinnesota Responsible AI Institute.

What makes tree sap start running in late winter? And how do you tap a tree without harming it? MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the science behind maple syrup, how climate change is affecting the sap season in Minnesota and what trees may better withstand climate change. Guests: Laura Irish-Hanson Brandon Miller University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

The weight of the world is increasingly showing up in therapy these days — from fears of the war with Iran to worries about the job market to anxiety about immigration enforcement. And, the counselors themselves are also feeling the strain. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two mental health professionals about how therapists are coping with stress and burnout, and how all of us can take care of ourselves in difficult times. Guests: Darcie Davis-Gage Minnesota Center for Rural Behavioral HealthNancy RochaCanopy Mental Health & Consulting Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS. Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

The wage gap facing women in Minnesota has barely budged in more than a decade. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two nonprofit leaders about how they think mentorship can help close it. Guests: Ethelind KabaAnn Bancroft FoundationGloria PerezWomen’s Foundation of MinnesotaJeremiah ProgramEsperanza United