Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Day of Remembrance is observed every Feb. 14. People typically wear red while attending rallies or marches around the state.
To prepare this year, members of the Twin Cities Indigenous community and allies gathered at the Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center in south Minneapolis on Feb. 12 to screen-print bandanas and clothing.
The designs center on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives, also known as MMIR. It's a movement that calls for action and attention towards the epidemic of Indigenous people who have gone missing or have been murdered in acts of violence.
The march will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Minneapolis American Indian Center on Friday.
Follow the link in our bio to read more.
Story by Chandra Colvin, video by Anne Guttridge
Getting the ‘Love is Blind’ tea from the participants
We're pretty sure we have the exclusive first interview with participants in the upcoming Minneapolis-based season of Netflix's "Love is Blind" reality dating show (outside of Netflix, of course) ahead of its premiere on Valentine's Day.
Vanessa Boreland, 31, is a media planner and classically trained ballerina living in Minneapolis but originally from the south Twin Cities metro. Kylie Schuelke, 28, is a medical student from Chanhassen.
Get more of the (iced) tea at the link in our bio.
Interview by Feven Gereziher, video by Anne Guttridge
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U.S. Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota announces she will not seek reelection
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith announced Thursday she will retire after next year, opting against a 2026 bid for another six-year term and putting a Democratic-held seat in play in an increasingly competitive Upper Midwest.
The decision comes after Smith had been conveying her plan to run again for a seat she has held since 2018. She has won two prior Senate elections, including a 5-percentage-point victory when last on the ballot in 2020. She had more than $700,000 in her campaign account to start the year.
She said she would put her all into the final two years of the term and expressed confidence that a fellow Democrat from a "deep bench of political talent" in Minnesota would take her place after the next election.
Anthony Sledwards, Plowabunga! among winners in MnDOT's Name a Snowplow contest
While Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards drives the lane against NBA opponents this season, “Anthony Sledwards” will soon be clearing driving lanes for Minnesota motorists.
The Ant-inspired moniker was one of eight winning snowplow names announced Wednesday by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The names will go on one MnDOT plow in each of the agency’s eight districts around the state.
It’s the fifth winter that MnDOT has run its contest.
After receiving more than 7,300 entries earlier this winter, MnDOT released a list of 50 finalist names. Voters were allowed to pick up to eight names in online balloting that ended on Feb. 7.
Follow the link in our bio to see the complete list of winners.
Story by MPR News Staff, video captured by Nicole Ki and edited by Anne Guttridge
Minneapolis musician Laamar doesn't want to be pigeonholed
Geoffrey Lamar Wilson’s project, Laamar, burst onto the Twin Cities music scene in 2023 with the EP “Flowers.” Shortly after, Laamar was named one of First Avenue’s Best New Bands. The band has since opened for Semisonic and will be playing a stage at Minnesota Yacht Club Festival in St. Paul this summer.
Minnesota Now host Nina Moini sat down with Laamar at Lowry Cafe in Minneapolis to talk about songwriting, living in Minnesota and empathy.
Follow the link in our bio to listen to hear more from the interview.
Interview by Minnesota Now, video by Anne Guttridge.
This Valentine’s Day, name a bug at the Minnesota Zoo after someone who bugs you
For a $15 donation, you can name a bug that will be fed to an animal at the Minnesota Zoo.
The zoo said that they encourage people to name the bug after anyone in their life, but the vast majority of this year’s donations have been for loved ones, like parents naming bugs after their kids who “bug them” or women buying their friends a bug and naming it after their friend’s ex-partner.
With each donation, the zoo will send an e-card with your personalized message to the recipient.
The bugs, which include mostly crickets and mealworms, will feed are variety of animals at the zoo including a tamandua (a type of anteater), golden lion tamarins, panther chameleons, poison-dart frogs, turtles, opossums and hedgehogs.
Donations must be made before the end of Friday, Feb. 14.
Story by Sam Stroozas. Video courtesy of Minnesota Zoo, Video narration by Euan Kerr and edited by Anne Guttridge
Former Biden national security advisor defends USAID amid funding freeze
As National Security Advisor, Minnesotan Jake Sullivan helped shape former President Joe Biden’s foreign policy agenda and was involved in the U.S. response to war. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about his tenure at the White House and his reaction to President Donald Trump's second term so far.
Follow the link in our bio to hear more from the interview. Interview by Nina Moini, video edited by Anne Guttridge
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May Day Cafe in south Minneapolis reopens as a worker cooperative
May Day Cafe in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood of Minneapolis reopened early Friday, Feb. 7, as a worker cooperative cafe.
The cafe has been a staple of the neighborhood since the mid-'90s when it was opened by Mala Vujnovich, and it was purchased by employee and baker Andy Lunning in 2003. Twenty years later, Lunning decided to sell and the workers and people in the neighborhood organized to purchase the cafe as the May Day Cafe Workers Cooperative. During a yearlong fundraising campaign, the worker cooperative raised more than $100,000 and in January, the Minneapolis City Council awarded May Day a $130,000 Great Streets Loan.
As of opening, there are currently five worker-owners and 16 full-time and part-time employees. All staff are eligible to become worker-owners after meeting member qualifications.
Read more: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/02/06/the-may-day-cafe-reopens-as-a-worker-cooperative
Story by Alex V. Cipolle, video by Anne Guttridge
The Minnesota Vikings are still dancing
Minnesota Vikings safeties Cam Bynum and Josh Metellus recreated the dance battle scene from 2004's "White Chicks" once again, this time on the NFL Honors stage in New Orleans on Feb. 6. Their version of the dance went viral in December after they performed it after an interception in a game against the Atlanta Falcons.
On stage, the pair competed in a dance-off against LA Rams players Kobie Turner and Cameron Dicker and Buffalo Bills player Dion Dawkins, who briefly danced to Wicked’s “What Is This Feeling” before Bynum and Metellus joined.
Together, the players ended the dance-off segment by joining forces and re-creating the final dance to "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" from "Dirty Dancing."
Video edited by Anne Guttridge.
