Minnesota Today

A DFL state lawmaker is running for Congress in an attempt to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach in a district representing a wide swath of western Minnesota.And Minneapolis climate advocates face a Monday deadline to complete the purchase of a site for an urban farm project... and they're short several million dollars.Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

Minnesota lawmakers voted with their parties on the bill to end the federal government shutdown. The U.S. House passed the bill last night that replenishes government funds for agencies shut for more than seven weeks. Republicans Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach, Brad Finstad and Pete Stauber backed the bill. Democrats Angie Craig, Betty McCollum, Kelly Morrison and Ilhan Omar voted against.The University of Minnesota is raising concerns about an agreement between Fairview Health Services and a group of physicians at the University of Minnesota Medical School. In a unanimous vote, the St. Paul city council has passed a ban on military-style assault rifles in the city. The ordinance also prohibits large-capacity magazines, binary triggers that increase the rate of fire, and home-assembled firearms known as ghost guns that lack serial numbers. The measure is unenforceable because Minnesota law does not allow local governments to regulate firearms. Gun rights supporters say the measure is illegal and have said they plan to sue the city.

Property owners across Minnesota could be asked to come up with nearly one billion dollars more for city, county and other local government operations. Minnesota police groups say a judge set bail far too low for a man accused of assaulting an Anoka County sheriff’s deputy. Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

Minnesota lawmakers voted with their parties on the bill to end the federal government shutdown. The U.S. House passed the bill last night that replenishes government funds for agencies shut for more than seven weeks. Republicans Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach, Brad Finstad and Pete Stauber backed the bill. Democrats Angie Craig, Betty McCollum, Kelly Morrison and Ilhan Omar voted against.The University of Minnesota is raising concerns about an agreement between Fairview Health Services and a group of physicians at the University of Minnesota Medical School. In a unanimous vote, the St. Paul city council has passed a ban on military-style assault rifles in the city. The ordinance also prohibits large-capacity magazines, binary triggers that increase the rate of fire, and home-assembled firearms known as ghost guns that lack serial numbers. The measure is unenforceable because Minnesota law does not allow local governments to regulate firearms. Gun rights supporters say the measure is illegal and have said they plan to sue the city.

Federal prosecutors said today that they're still deciding whether to seek the death penalty against the man accused of killing former DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark. A one-year contract between a key Minnesota agency and a consulting firm will cost the state $2.3 million. Those stories and more in today’s evening update. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

The state’s official Veterans Day program is at the National Guard Armory in Mankato. Officials from the Minnesota National Guard and the state Department of Veterans Affairs will join elected officials and others for the event.Minnesota has begun distributing SNAP benefits to recipients — but there continues to be widespread confusion over whether that will continue as the Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to again freeze the payments. County administrators are struggling to keep up with the constant changes to the status of the program.A deal to reopen the federal government could imperil Minnesota's hemp-derived products industry. Wayzata-based Cargill is one of four meatpacking giants under investigation by the U.S. justice department. The City of St. Paul is the one of the lead plaintiffs in a new lawsuit against the Trump administration over the cancellation of clean energy grants. The city is part of a coalition that said Democratic-led states were unfairly punished with the cancellation of $7.5 billion in projects for things such as electric vehicle charging stations, solar energy incentives and measures to prevent methane leaks. Teachers have reached a tentative contract contract agreement with the Minneapolis school district avoiding a strike that was scheduled to start Tuesday. The union wanted smaller class size caps and pay increases for teachers, adult educators and support staff. A spokesperson said the new contract includes agreements on those demands. Teachers will vote on whether to officially accept the contract on Thursday and Friday.

Veterans and their families in Minnesota who are experiencing hunger will get food support from the state. And a Ramsey County judge won't let Minnesota keep a binary trigger ban in effect as a case challenging goes through appeals.Those stories and more in today’s evening from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

The state’s official Veterans Day program is at the National Guard Armory in Mankato. Officials from the Minnesota National Guard and the state Department of Veterans Affairs will join elected officials and others for the event.Minnesota has begun distributing SNAP benefits to recipients — but there continues to be widespread confusion over whether that will continue as the Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to again freeze the payments. County administrators are struggling to keep up with the constant changes to the status of the program.A deal to reopen the federal government could imperil Minnesota's hemp-derived products industry. Wayzata-based Cargill is one of four meatpacking giants under investigation by the U.S. justice department. The City of St. Paul is the one of the lead plaintiffs in a new lawsuit against the Trump administration over the cancellation of clean energy grants. The city is part of a coalition that said Democratic-led states were unfairly punished with the cancellation of $7.5 billion in projects for things such as electric vehicle charging stations, solar energy incentives and measures to prevent methane leaks. Teachers have reached a tentative contract contract agreement with the Minneapolis school district avoiding a strike that was scheduled to start Tuesday. The union wanted smaller class size caps and pay increases for teachers, adult educators and support staff. A spokesperson said the new contract includes agreements on those demands. Teachers will vote on whether to officially accept the contract on Thursday and Friday.

Minneapolis teachers have reached a tentative agreement with the district, averting a strike that was scheduled to begin tomorrow. And GOP gubernatorial candidate Lisa Demuth is the first in the race to announce her running mate.Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul airport expects to see canceled flights starting Friday after federal officials said they're cutting back air traffic by about 10 percent due to the government shutdown. Patrick Knight, a businessman and former Marine, has joined the race to be the Republican candidate for Minnesota governor.This is an MPR News Evening update, hosted by Emily Reese. Theme music is by Gary Meister.  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or RSS. 

After a second round of ballot counting on Wednesday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey won a third term in office. Frey surpassed the needed 50-percent threshold of ranked choice votes to claim the win. His closest challenger, Sen. Omar Fateh, earned a little more than 44 percent of the vote. In St. Paul, the capital city's new mayor will be state Rep. Kaohly Her. She ousted two-term incumbent Melvin Carter. Her says she will seek legislative support for St. Paul projects. Her term as mayor begins in January.The St. Paul City Council is expected to vote next week on a measure to ban military-style rifles and guns without serial numbers.

Election results: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has been narrowly elected to a third term at City Hall. And in St. Paul, state Rep. Kaohly Her will be the next mayor, unseating incumbent Mayor Melvin Carter.

State Rep. Kaohly Her made history early this morning by becoming the first Hmong American and first woman elected to lead the city of St. Paul. Her defeated incumbent mayor Melvin Carter after a second round of tabulation of ranked choice ballots. Her campaigned on revitalizing the downtown and Midway neighborhoods, and working to make the city more business-friendly and responsive.There was no winner declared in the race for Minneapolis mayor Wednesday morning. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, no candidate reached the threshold needed to be declared the winner after first choice ballots were tallied. Incumbent Jacob Frey received nearly 42 percent of first choice votes. That's about 10 percentage points ahead of his closest opponent state Sen. Omar Fateh. Tabulation resumes at 9 a.m. Wednesday.Minnesota Democrats will maintain a narrow edge in the state Senate after the DFLer won a suburban special election and Republicans won a seat in Wright County. And a longtime St. Cloud nonprofit leader has won a special election for Stearns County commissioner. Voters in Duluth approved a ballot initiative that allows tenants to pay for minor repairs and then deduct the cost from their next month’s rent. The initiative passed overwhelmingly with about 69 percent of people voting in favor of it. The measure is the first of its kind in Minnesota.Primary care nurse practitioners, doctors and physician assistants at Allina Health are on a one-day strike Wednesday. A St. Paul-based home health care company is shutting down and laying off about 400 employees. Dependable Home Healthcare has notified the state its client care services will end in January. Staff and clients were notified Tuesday. The company employs hundreds of personal care assistants and support staff who work with people with disabilities.Hormel Foods Corporation is reducing its workforce. The Austin-based company is cutting around 250 jobs as part of a restructuring. The reductions will come through layoffs, reducing open positions and buyouts.

Today is Election Day. There are races for mayor, city council and school board in communities around the state, as well as ballot questions.A report released today flags issues related to internal controls in the governor's office. And Austin-based Hormel Foods Corporation announced it would cut around 250 jobs as part of a restructuring. Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

It's Election Day across the state. Voters are selecting school board members, county commissioners and deciding other local races. In St. Paul, there's a mayoral election. Minneapolis voters also selecting a mayor today — and all 13 members of the City Council. Six candidates are facing off today over three seats on the Anoka-Hennepin school board, which oversees the state’s largest school district. Two slates of candidates — one conservative and one progressive — are vying to claim those seats. Groups have poured nearly half a million dollars into the races, far outpacing normal spending for a down-ballot election. Dozens of Minnesota school districts are asking taxpayers to OK operating levies.Former Minneapolis police officer Tou Thao is returning to Minnesota. Thao was released Monday from a federal prison in Kentucky after serving time for his role in the murder of George Floyd.Despite last week's deal with China, U.S. soybean farmers are still having to turn to domestic processing plants — including a handful in Minnesota — to offload their harvests.

Tomorrow is Election Day for many communities across Minnesota. Most polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Minnesota offers same-day registration, as long as you have proof of residence. Open enrollment for state health care plans started Saturday, and many Minnesotans are seeing steeper prices for coverage next year.Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

House Speaker Lisa Demuth is running for governor. In an interview with MPR News ahead of the announcement, the Cold Spring Republican described herself as being best positioned among a crowded Republican field to take on DFL Gov. Tim Walz, who is seeking a third term.Demuth climbed to the role of speaker earlier this year under a power-sharing deal in the tied House. Six other Republicans are in the governor's race so far. Demuth’s entrance into the race is drawing sharp reaction in both political parties.Tuesday is Election Day, but voter turnout is expected to be low. For presidential elections, Minnesota typically ranks as No. 1 in voter turnout. But for local elections — even with this year’s high-profile mayoral races in Minneapolis and St. Paul — fewer people will cast ballots. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon says it’s important to vote in local elections because they tend to have a more-direct impact on people's lives.As the federal shutdown continues to jeopardize food assistance programs, local nonprofits are stepping in to help low-income Minnesotans. The Greater Twin Cities United Way has launched an emergency food relief campaign. And it is asking Minnesotans to donate or volunteer.The number of grey wolves around Voyageurs National Park has dropped significantly over the past two years, according to a new report by researchers with the Voyageurs Wolf Project.

Many Medicaid service providers have been scrambling this week to understand how a new Minnesota audit will play out. And China has agreed to buy soybeans from the United States again, ending its boycott of the American crop.Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.