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Hosted by Minnesota Star Tribune · 🇺🇸 US · EN · 35 episodes
Established thought leaders with verified media credentials.
Every Friday some of the best reporters in Minnesota dig into one important local story. Host Melissa Townsend brings her distinct curiosity and humor to these weekly deep-dive conversations with journalists from the Minnesota Star Tribune where they break down the facts, the players and the impact. No spin, pretense or A.I. – just great local stories that matter to Minnesota and beyond. It’s what we do best. Available Fridays at 4:30 A.M. Central.
Minnesota Star Tribune hosts Essential Minnesota, a news show with 35 episodes published.
Minnesota voters delivered historic and surprising results in the primary elections. Politics Editor Brooks Johnson looks ahead at the statewide match ups and the impact the winners will have on Minnesotans and our state
We hope you are enjoying your summer!
We hope you are enjoying your summer!
Longtime political reporter Briana Bierschbach details how the Trump administration has pulled back key support that has helped Minnesota safeguard elections while pushing changes based on unproven allegations that could
This week wildfires forced the closure of the Boundary Waters, sent smoke across the Midwest and pushed air quality to hazardous, record-breaking levels. Minnesota Star Tribune reporter Kristoffer Tigue chronicles the ev
This week she capped off an historic month becoming the winningest coach in WNBA history. We go behind the scenes with reporter Cassidy Hettesheimer to Reeve’s early days and the secrets to her success. Corrections: In t
We're taking a holiday break this week but we'll be back July 10!
Acceptance of the new flag among Minnesotans is divided mainly along party lines. But how much of that comes from partisan fervor fueling the culture wars and how much is from a rushed and imperfect design process? Repor
The scandal that led to Brian O’Hara’s resignation was a surprise to many. Reporter Liz Sawyer tells the behind the scenes story of what led to him leaving and why so many people knew so little about it.
Our small team is taking a short break this week. We'll be back with a fresh episode on June 5!
As Minnesota Republicans head into their state convention, three very different candidates are vying for the party’s endorsement for governor: House Speaker Lisa Demuth, businessman Kendall Qualls and MyPillow CEO Mike L
One of the hottest issues in high school sports right now is student athletes who transfer from school to school. Columnist Chip Scoggins digs into what’s going on, what rules are being broken, and asks – is the current
A vote in late April opened the Boundary Waters watershed to copper nickel mining – again. Two reporters describe the family behind the mining proposal, how they worked with lawmakers to reverse a federal ban on mining i
For decades, Bushel Boy tomatoes were everywhere. A homegrown success story delivering fresh, greenhouse-grown beefsteaks across Minnesota. Then, overnight, they vanished. Our reporters dig into what happened and uncover
Threats against elected officials are on the rise but the full number and nature of those threats has been difficult to know. Three reporters spent six months tracking down the real threats Minnesota lawmakers are facing
Minnesota Star Tribune music critic Jon Bream knew Prince before the world did -- before the first record, before he became an icon. Their decades-long relationship had its share of highs and lows (including a ban from P
Rage bait videos and stories online catch a lot of attention. But the real solutions to dealing with fraud in Minnesota are less sensational and more practical. Our reporters run down the real problems that open the door
We ended 2025 with a set of very serious fraud charges involving millions of dollars that were supposed to go to services that are a lifeline for some Minnesotans. And then Operation Metro surge happened. The deployment
Real fraud, allegations of fraud and political rage bait are creating tons of headlines and lots of chaos but not much sense. To parse it out and get to what’s really going on – we go back to 2018 when the first big frau
We don’t have a new episode for you this week because we are working on a deep dive mini-series unraveling the fraud scandals in Minnesota. We’ll tell the full story going back a decade and parse out what’s real, what’s
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Essential Minnesota is hosted by Minnesota Star Tribune. The show is categorised under news (politics) and has published 35 episodes.
Essential Minnesota has published 35 episodes.
Essential Minnesota regularly covers news, politics, society. It sits in the news category, with a politics focus.
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Episodes of Essential Minnesota average 21 minutes. a focused format where a clear narrative arc and tight preparation matter most.
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