The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is extending to people who want to study at colleges and universities in the U.S.

MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about how halting interviews for new student visa applications and banning travel from some countries could affect higher education in Minnesota.

Guests:

• Shahzad Ahmad is associate vice president for global and multicultural engagement at St. Cloud State University.
• Scott Olson is the chancellor of Minnesota State — the fourth largest system of state colleges and universities in the U.S. and the largest in Minnesota. He was president of Winona State University from 2012–2023. Before that, he was provost and vice president for academic and student affairs at Minnesota State University Mankato.

When people think about lifting weights, they often picture building a lot of muscle or see it as a way to “bulk up.”

But weight training can be a powerful tool for long-term health — helping strengthen your bones and improve your balance and mental well-being.

MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about how weight training can boost your health — physically and mentally — at any age.

Guests:

• Angela Nguyen is a certified mobility, strength and nutrition coach for American Strength Training Center in Maplewood, Minn. She is also a three-time bodybuilding “posing and presentation” winner.
• Hegel Brandes is the manager of outpatient occupational therapy and physical therapy rehabilitation services for Hennepin Healthcare. He oversees physical therapists who create exercise treatment plans to help people recover from injuries.

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.    

Donald Trump’s presidency has been a busy time for Democratic attorneys general across the country.

President Trump started his term with a flurry of executive orders. In response, many state attorneys general, often working together, filed their own barrage of federal lawsuits to put the brakes on what the president is trying to do.

In January, 22 states and the District of Columbia challenged an executive order to freeze federal funding. In February, attorneys general from three states, including Minnesota, sued to stop a presidential order that would have restricted health care for transgender youth. In April, a dozen states sued to halt many of the tariffs that President Trump imposed without approval from Congress.

And on Tuesday, California state officials continued to push back on President Trump’s decision to deploy Marines and state National Guard troops to immigration protests in Los Angeles.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison about why he thinks President Trump is stepping over the legal limits of the constitution. New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin joins them later in the hour.

Guests:

• Keith Ellison has served as Minnesota’s attorney general since January 2019. Before that, he spent 12 years representing Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
• Matthew Platkin was appointed as New Jersey’s attorney general in 2022. He has also worked in private practice and served as chief counsel to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.

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.    

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with her guests about how smoke from Canadian wildfires could continue to affect our air quality this summer and what we can do to stay healthy when skies are smoky.

Guests:

• Jessie Carr is the supervisor of environmental epidemiology in the environmental health division of the Minnesota Department of Health.
• Matt Taraldsen is a meteorologist and supervisor of the team that issues air quality conditions, alerts and forecasts at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
• Dr. Dylan Wyatt is an emergency medicine physician with Aspirus St. Luke’s health care system in Duluth.

AirNow.gov allows you to check current air quality conditions. You can also download the AirNow mobile app and sign up to receive air quality alerts and forecasts via email.

MPCA current air quality conditions: Current air quality conditions | Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (state.mn.us)

MDH air quality and health website: Air Quality, Climate and Health

MDH Wildfire Smoke web page: Wildfire Smoke - MN Dept. of Health (state.mn.us)

Minnesota Outdoor Air Quality Guidance for Schools and Child Care

DIY Air Cleaner to Reduce Wildfire Smoke Indoors

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a brother and sister who are both award-winning storytellers. They talk about their work and how they support each other as part of our MPR News Power Pairs series.

Guests:

• Daniel Bergin is a filmmaker, executive producer and director of history at Twin Cities PBS, where he was hired more than 30 years ago as a production assistant. He has won more than 20 regional Emmy Awards for his films covering diverse topics rooted in Minnesota history, including “Jim Crow of the North,” “North Star: Minnesota’s Black Pioneers,” and “Out North: MNLGBTQ History.”
• Lea B. Olsen is a veteran TV analyst covering her 15th season with the Minnesota Lynx and is a sideline reporter for the Minnesota Timberwolves. She also covers both the boys’ and girls’ state high school basketball tournaments. Beyond the court, Lea is a professional speaker and the founder of Rethink the Win — a platform that challenges athletes, coaches and parents to see sports as a powerful tool for growth, connection and lifelong impact.

Check out Angela’s previous Power Pair conversations.

Do you know a Power Pair?

We’d love to hear your ideas for Power Pairs to interview. Send us your suggestions.

More than 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Researchers continue to search for ways to prevent and treat it. And last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease.

MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about the latest research and how to support people who live with dementia and their caregivers.

Guests:

• Dr. Dongming Cai is a professor of neurology and director of the Center for Memory Research and Care at the University of Minnesota.
• Jenna Fink is the associate director for community services at the Minnesota — North Dakota Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.

The Alzheimer’s Association’s 24/7 Helpline is 800-272-3900.

The association’s Minnesota-North Dakota chapter also provides local, no-cost education classes and support groups for people with dementia and their caregivers.

Dementia Friends Minnesota offers sessions to help people understand dementia and find out how to make communities dementia friendly.

Summer is starting, the days are getting warmer and if you’ve got a garden, it’s calling for your attention.

Maybe you're growing tomatoes on the back deck or trying to fill your yard with vibrant flowers. Or maybe you’re just trying to stay one step ahead of those pesky weeds.

Whatever your gardening goals, summer is the season when gardens can really shine — or struggle.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks about what grows well in our region, how to time plantings, how to fix common garden problems and how to keep your soil — and your plants — in good shape all summer long.

Guests:

• Catherine Grant is a horticulturalist who manages the greenhouses, medicinal garden and pollinator habitat for the Department of Biology at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

•  Laura Irish-Hanson is a horticulture educator with the University of Minnesota Extension. She works primarily out of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska.

  
  
  
  

  Here’s a list of resources that were discussed on the show:

• University of Minnesota Soil Testing laboratory
• University of Minnesota Extension

• “Hort Shorts” created by UMN Extension

  
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY7GaPXLa0w&list=PLyMOSdo2sM9tCmiTBa19yapMRxPL-04Eb&index=4
  
  
  

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.    

Minnesota has the highest rate of people working remotely in the Midwest, according to the Minneapolis Federal Reserve. More than a third of workers in the state worked at home at least part time in 2023.

But now, five years after the pandemic, the great experiment of remote work is shaking out. More employers are calling workers back to the office. On Monday, tens of thousands of state employees who had been working remotely are required to return to work in person at least 50 percent of the time, complying with a return-to-office order from Gov. Tim Walz.

Some private companies, such as 3M and Medtronic, also are dialing back their work-from-home policies and President Donald Trump has sought to end remote work for federal workers.

MPR News host Angela Davis discusses what we’ve learned about remote work — when it works and when it doesn’t — and what its future might be.

Guests:

• Chris Farrell is a senior economics contributor for MPR News and Marketplace.
• Colleen Flaherty Manchester is a professor and faculty director of the Center for Human Resources and Labor Studies in the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. She studies flexible work and other benefits and programs offered by employers.

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.