In Focus: Real answers to real problems. From real Minnesotans.

How do you motivate people who have never voted before to show up at the polls? For this special In Focus discussion, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Secretary of State Steve Simon and two young organizers working to inform and encourage new voters to participate in democracy.

Research shows that people of color are far less likely to engage in nature-based outdoor recreation activities than their white peers. During this In Focus discussion from the Minnesota State Fair, host Twila Dang discusses the so-called nature gap and what to do about it, with outdoor equity experts Anthony Taylor and Asha Shoffner.

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Income inequality is deepening in America. Economic gains in recent decades have been unevenly dispersed, with the vast majority of the wealth going to those already on top. Part of that discrepancy is rooted in the inability to buy property.

Watch, “In Focus: How housing can shrink the racial wealth gap,” a virtual discussion that tackles the racial wealth gap in Minnesota with panelists from across the state.

New research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis shows that the denial rate for home loans is higher for people of color than it is for White applicants. The starkest gap was between Black applicants at 4.3% and White applicants at 1.7%. MPR News host Tom Crann spoke with Alene Tchourumoff, Senior Vice President of Community Development and Engagement at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, for more on the findings.