Minnesota Now Minnesota Public Radio

A new documentary is now-streaming giving an inside look at the world of Minnesota Roller Derby. It’s called “Minnesota Mean.”

The documentary follows six women on the Minnesota Roller Derby team over the course of a season. It won Best of Fest at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival last year. MPR News host Cathy Wurzer talked with the film’s director, producer and editor, Dawn Mikkelson.

The weather may put on its own show for the Fourth of July. It looks like we will be facing some wet weather during fireworks time.

Some cities are already postponing their fireworks show or doing them a day early. The fireworks event over Lake Minnetonka, for example, has moved to Wednesday night.

For details on the holiday forecast, MPR News host Cathy Wurzer caught up with MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner.

A new law went into effect this week that requires Minnesota cosmetologists to be trained in cutting and styling textured hair. Minnesota is the fourth state to enact such a law.

Research by hair education company Pivot Point found that 65 percent of people in the U.S. have textured hair, yet not every stylist knows what they're doing behind the chair with that type of hair.

Valencia Montgomery Johnson is a cosmetology educator at Aveda Arts and Sciences Institutes who testified at the state Capitol in support of the bill. She joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about it.

With flooding and storms across the state these past few weeks, emergency preparedness is top of mind for Minnesotans. But for some, they’re preparing for two. Caregivers for disabled, ill and elderly people don’t just have themselves to think about in an emergency, they also have the person they’re caring for. 

Paurvi Bhatt, a Twin Cities resident and the president of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for caregivers, talked with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to break down disaster preparedness for caregivers.

In our “Connect the Dots” series, we ask community elders to share their wisdom and lessons learned about what really matters in life.

Ellie Krug was a civil trial lawyer for almost 30 years in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

When she moved to the Twin Cities she dove into several projects, including founding and executive directing a nonprofit providing legal access for people living on low incomes and the creator of workshops on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

She was elected to the Eastern Carver County School Board in 2022. She has a weekly radio program.

Krug is also transgender and the author of “Getting to Ellen: A Memoir about Love, Honesty and Gender Change.”

MPR News senior economics contributor Chris Farrell recently sat down with Krug. He joined Minnesota Now to talk about what he learned from her.

Each month, Dr. Jon Hallberg joins MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about topics that are important to your health and take a deep dive into medical news.

Hallberg is a family medicine physician at Mill City Clinic and a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

In this installment of Vital Signs, he talked about a proposal to add warning labels to social media and a new Disney movie that gives life to difficult emotions.