Ground Level®: Amplifying Community Voices

Your story is powerful. The stories you share with others honor the complexity of our communities while forging a more equitable and vibrant future.

Call 651-228-4800 and leave us a voice memo. If you're more comfortable texting, you can text “Hello” to 1-833-870-4111. You can also email us at tell@mpr.org and join in on conversations in our Ground Level Facebook group.

We’d like to hear your thoughts and questions. Your ideas about solutions. How are your communities? What are you seeing today? And what do you want to see tomorrow?

Note that while we will exercise editorial judgment for language, length and avoiding personal attacks, we will not sacrifice your meaning. We will ensure your main message comes through on air and online.

Why 40 Black women are joining forces to run for office in Minnesota in 2020
More than 40 Black women are running for office in Minnesota this election year, hoping to use their collective political power to respond to George Floyd’s killing.
Do police officers belong in schools?
Amid calls for police reform, we’ve seen new scrutiny on the use of police officers inside schools. Some school districts in Minnesota are removing school resource officers from their buildings.
Voices of Minnesota: Calls for change across the state
MPR News is talking to some of the people behind rallies, marches and demonstrations happening beyond the Twin Cities metro area — about their experiences with race in Minnesota, why they march and what they hope for the future.
Rebuilding, reopening and returning to Minneapolis
What’s happening to the businesses that were damaged and destroyed in Minneapolis and St. Paul during the civil unrest that followed the killing of George Floyd? What will it take to rebuild and reopen? And when will customers return?
For moms striving for better work-life balance, COVID-19 upset the scales
The gender wage gap and the division of household labor were unequal before the pandemic. With schools, summer camps and care facilities either being closed or operating at limited capacity, more women are seeing extra responsibilities added back onto their plates.
How do you talk to kids about racism? Two Black Minnesota teachers share how they do it
For Qorsho Hassan and Monet Barnes, two Black educators who are part of an overwhelmingly white teaching force in Minnesota, teaching kids about racism is a priority. Here’s their advice.
How interracial couples are navigating conversations about race
In the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd and calls for racial equity, how are interracial couples and multiracial families navigating conversations about race and their identity? 
What it would take to close the racial housing gap
The Twin Cities have one of the largest gaps in the country when it comes to homeownership rates between black and white residents. Two experts share their ideas on closing the gap.
Waiting for justice for Floyd, north siders work the land as an act of healing
An urban garden in the Hawthorne neighborhood in north Minneapolis has been in the works for months. But after the police killed George Floyd, it has become a healing space — particularly for Black residents who often feel targeted and criminalized.