MPR News with Angela Davis

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 is the director of programs for Minnesota Recovery Connection, a nonprofit that works to increase access to the support, care and resources needed to achieve long-term recovery from substance use disorders.Edward Hovelman is a peer recovery specialist and the director of bilingual programs at the Minnesota Recovery Connection. 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 Miller is a post-doctoral associate in the department of fisheries, wildlife and conservation biology at the University of Minnesota, where he works with the Twin Cities Coyote and Fox Project. His research focuses on how coyotes and foxes live in urban areas, and interact with each other and humans. Marlene Zuk is a professor in the department of ecology, evolution and behavior at the University of Minnesota. Her newest book is “Outsider Animals: How the Creatures at the Margins of Our Lives Have the Most to Teach Us.” 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 Hodne is the director of the 911 Emergency Dispatch Center in Minneapolis. She oversees the city’s 911 operations, including staffing and training.Lori Patrick is a dispatcher who has been working at the 911 Emergency Dispatch Center in Minneapolis for over 30 years. She dispatches first responders in the field, relaying crucial information in real time. Ben Jacobs is a call taker for the 911 Emergency Dispatch Center in Minneapolis. He takes emergency calls, gathers critical information and often helps callers stay calm in emergencies.

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 has been the president and CEO of the Science Museum of Minnesota since 2016. She was previously chief of staff at the California Academy of Sciences.Colleen Dilenschneider is founder and managing member of IMPACTS Experience, a market research firm that works with cultural organizations, including museums, zoos, aquariums and science centers. She is based in Chicago.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 Knoedler is an allergist and immunologist at Midwest Allergy and Asthma, which is part Midwest Ear, Nose and Throat Specialists, a group of clinicians based in and around the Twin Cities. Dr. Zachary Rubin is a pediatrician and allergist who practices at Oak Brook Allergists in Chicago. He is also author of the recently published book, “All 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 Reedy has been president of the Bush Foundation since 2012. Reedy was previously chief of staff and vice president of strategy for the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation, where she led the creation of GiveMN.org and Give to the Max Day. She has also worked as a consultant with McKinsey and Company and directed the Itasca Project, a CEO-led regional civic initiative in the Twin Cities. She sits on the board of the Council on Foundations. 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 Petersen is the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Before being appointed commissioner, he was the director of government relations for the Minnesota Farmers Union. He has spent most of his life working for a horse and farm business. Megan Horsager is a farmer in Chippewa County. She works on Stevens farms with her family, where they raise sugar beets, corn, soybeans, alfalfa and silage. 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. Bruess is the president of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University outside of St. Cloud, Minn. He started in July of 2022 and is the first person to serve as the joint president for both schools. He was previously president of St. Norbert College in eastern Wisconsin. Before that he worked for over two decades in administration at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minn. Carol Bruess is scholar in residence for relationships and dialogue at the College of St. Benedict and Saint John’s University and professor emerita of communication and family study at the University of St. Thomas. She researches, speaks and writes about how to create healthy relationships. She’s the author of five books, including “What Happy Couples Do,” and “Family Communication in the Age of Digital and Social Media.” 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: JaNaé Bates Imari is a minister and the co-executive director of ISAIAH, a multi-racial, multi-faith, nonpartisan coalition of faith communities in Minnesota.Rev. Hierald Osorto is senior pastor of St. Paul's-San Pablo Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, a multicultural, multilingual, inclusive Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) congregation.Rabbi Arielle Lekach Rosenberg is lead rabbi at Shir Tikvah Synagogue, a reform congregation in south Minneapolis.Imam Mowlid Ali serves as an imam and youth counselor at Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center in Minneapolis.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 Malcolm was appointed by Gov. Tim Walz as his senior adviser on hospitals and health systems. She served as Minnesota’s health commissioner under three governors, stepping down in 2023 after guiding the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She previously served in executive positions at Allina Health and HealthPartners.Dr. Rahul Koranne is president and CEO of the Minnesota Hospital Association. He leads the organization in advocating for Minnesota's hospitals and health systems, focusing on sustainability, workforce challenges and community health. He previously served as the MHA's chief medical officer.

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 is a professor and a leading researcher on unemployment and job search behavior at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.Eli Blase is a therapist who owns Blase Therapy Solutions, a private practice based in south Minneapolis.

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 Crandall is the president and CEO of the Minnesota Technology Association.  Elizabeth Adams is the founder and chief engagement officer of the Minnesota 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 is an extension educator at the University of Minnesota.Brandon Miller is an assistant professor of horticulture and curator of Plant Collections at the 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 is director of the Minnesota Center for Rural Behavioral Health at Minnesota State University Mankato, which provides mental health counseling in southern and central Minnesota and clinical training for students. She is a licensed mental health counselor and previously worked as a clinician and educator in Iowa. Nancy Rocha is a licensed clinical social worker and clinical manager at Canopy Mental Health & Consulting with locations in Northeast Minneapolis and Richfield, Minn. She sees clients and provides oversight and support to the clinical team.  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 Kaba is the executive director of the Ann Bancroft Foundation, a nonprofit that works to empower girls to achieve their highest potential and dreams. Gloria Perez is the president and CEO of the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota. She is a former president and CEO for the Jeremiah Program, a nonprofit that aims to end poverty for single mothers and children. And she was the executive director of Casa de Esperanza – now Esperanza United – where she mobilized Latinas to end domestic violence. 

MPR News host Chris Farrell and meteorologist Sven Sundgaard talk about the powerful March snowstorm that brought blizzard conditions and dangerous travel to central and southern Minnesota over the weekend.Guest:Sven Sundgaard is an MPR News meteorologist.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.     

Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in the U.S. But when it’s caught early, the survival rate is around 90 percent, according to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance.MPR News host Angela Davis talks about symptoms that shouldn’t be ignored, common misconceptions about family history, and what treatment looks like today.

If you’ve lived in Minnesota for a while, you’ve probably noticed that winters are changing. They’re not quite as cold as they used to be. We get less fluffy snow that stays on the ground. And, sometimes, we even get winter rain.These local changes are closely linked to global warming, as greenhouse gases released by human activities continue to heat the planet.MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a climatologist and a climate journalist about how seasons in Minnesota are changing, how the state is doing on its goals to reduce carbon emissions and how the Trump administration has pulled back on addressing global warming.