Gov.-elect Tim Walz named five key agency heads Tuesday for his new administration. Myron Frans, the state's current budget chief, will stay on. Former House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher will run MnDOT.

Security footage shows five people making off with the golden finial that sat atop the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in Como Park. The object is back, but the thieves are unknown.

We revisit our most memorable stories on MPR News in 2018 -- and update you on what the people, dogs and, yes, the raccoon in those stories are doing now.

State environmental regulators on Tuesday called for a deeper look at groundwater contamination in southeastern Minnesota as they rejected a proposed 4,800-head swine farrowing operation.

Penny Marshall, who starred in "Laverne & Shirley" before becoming one of the top-grossing female directors in Hollywood, has died. She was 75.

Three of their children were gravely injured by a fleeing driver; a fourth was born with a life-threatening condition, all since June. Nicolle and Kyle Peltier, though, say their family is on the mend, and they've chosen love over hate.

Oliver Rodriguez-Ocampo weighed in at just over one pound when he was born on July 20, 2017.

It's the season of giving, and for those who give too much, the season of debt. Financial expert Ruth Hayden shared her tips on how to have a happy holiday without draining your bank accounts.

The attorney general's working group on sexual assaults was established after reporting by the Star Tribune revealed a widespread lack of response from the criminal justice system to reports and victims of sexual assault.

Gov. Mark Dayton's two terms have sometimes been rocky, and they've taken a toll on his health. But he racked up significant accomplishments during his time in office.

A new poll shows more than half of Britons would support holding another Brexit referendum. Prime Minister Theresa May warned a new vote would "do irreparable damage to the integrity of our politics."

A partnership between a mental health care provider and colleges is redefining emergency mental health care on campus — helping students get needed care without losing track of their academic goals.

Between 1999 and 2017, the state's suicide rate increased more than 50 percent, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

From twisty thrillers to sweeping family dramas, here are some of The Thread's favorite reads of the year.

President Donald Trump launched the Pentagon's new Space Command Tuesday, an effort to better organize and advance the military's vast operations in space that could cost as much as $800 million over the next five years.

The Trump administration moved Tuesday to officially ban bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic weapons to fire rapidly like automatic firearms, and has made them illegal to possess beginning in late March.

The New York attorney general's office detailed what it called "a shocking pattern of illegality" and said the foundation's decision to shutter was "an important victory for the rule of law."

The White House on Tuesday appeared to inch away from forcing a partial government shutdown over funding for a southern border wall, with Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying there are "other ways" to secure the $5 billion in funding that President Donald Trump wants.

Black students and students with a disability are twice as likely to be suspended, according to an analysis of federal data for NPR.