North Star Journey

Traditionally, a college degree has been seen as a ticket to a secure future. But not today. Thanks to soaring tuition costs and weighty student loans, many people are questioning the value of college. A 2025 Pew...

MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the power of poetry with Junauda Petrus, the poet laureate for the city of Minneapolis. Junauda says poetry is “soul medicine” that can unite us in our shared humanity. Angela also...

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a Twin Cities rapper and mindfulness instructor who says yoga saved his life.

Artist Rocky Casillas Aguirre has created a mental health universe populated by a ragtag cast of characters. Twitch is the protagonist. He’s bright orange, with big cartoon eyes and very cute. “He’s a little campfire...

Across Minnesota, there are people working every day to strengthen their communities. Sometimes it starts with a small business. Sometimes, with a personal passion — and sometimes, with a gym. MPR News host Angela Davis...

82-year-old Ruby Leith Minkel and her daughter Carrie Minkel-Johnson live in the Lower Sioux Indian Community in southwest Minnesota. Together, they make star quilts as gifts for people both within and outside of the...

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...

Like most school districts in Minnesota, St. Paul Public Schools is facing a complicated set of challenges. Enrollment is up a bit this year, but the small increase follows years of decline . The district faces a budget...

It was Memorial Day weekend, five years ago, when George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Bystanders recorded the nine-plus minutes that Chauvin calmly kneeled on Floyd’s neck, as the Black...

About 4,500 people are released from Minnesota prisons each year. Many of them have spent years, if not decades, behind bars, separated from friends, family and community. What happens when they finally return? How do...

George Floyd's murder in 2020 led to calls to end police violence and racism. Five years later, advocates say not enough has changed. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Medaria Arradondo, the retired Minneapolis...

When the norms and expectations of the workplace aren’t working for you, what do you do? If you’re Alex West Steinman, you create your own workplace. In 2017, West Steinman left a career in advertising and...

Sitting on a frontage road perched above the interstate, hemmed by roads and nondescript government buildings near the Capitol, 12th and Robert streets in St. Paul isn’t much to look at. But in 1903, this was the place...

The Trump administration has proposed new executive orders and policies that are changing the lives of millions of immigrants. Dozens of international students have had their visas cancelled, birthright citizenship is...

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated disparities within Minnesota's health care system that have existed for decades. Black, brown and Native Minnesotans died at a higher rate from the virus than their white neighbors, and...