Morning Edition

Cathy Wurzer
Cathy Wurzer
MPR

Morning Edition, with Cathy Wurzer in St. Paul and NPR hosts in Washington and Los Angeles, brings you all the news from overnight and the information you need to start your day. Listen from 4 to 9 a.m. every weekday.

Morning Announcements | Weather chats with Mark Seeley

‘That’s a lot of neck to break’: Giraffe surgery at Como is a tricky task
Giraffes are beautiful, but also incredibly fragile, so how do you knock out a 16-foot-tall, 2,000-pound wild animal for surgery? For vets and zookeepers who had to operate on Como Zoo's male giraffe, Skeeter, on Thursday, the answer is: very, very carefully.
Hunters want more 'urgency' in state's CWD response
It's been nearly 20 years since the first case of chronic wasting disease was identified in a farm-raised elk in Minnesota. The disease that afflicts species in the deer family is getting more attention this year after it was found in a herd of captive white-tailed deer near Bemidji and is prompting calls for more aggressive action.
A novel ended George Rabasa's writing career — and then jolted it back to life
George Rabasa’s novel “Undressing Lavinia,” the story of a Mexican woman facing cancer in Minnesota, was so tough to get down on the page, he quit writing entirely. Then a chance glance on his computer gave the book and his writing a new lease on life.
Art Hounds: Dance meditation considers movement across borders
Ananya Dance Theatre performs “Dastak: I Wish You Me” for an in-person audience at O’Shaughnessy in St. Paul. Other Art Hounds picks — a puppetry extravaganza that teaches Cherokee and a “private conversation” through mixed media in Fergus Falls.
Great Halloween Blizzard of '91? Don't tell us again. OK, tell us
Did you know that it once snowed on Halloween in Minnesota? Whether you’ve heard the story once — or a million — times, you know Minnesotans love to rehash the record-breaking blizzard in great detail. It was a “perfect storm” for making memories.  
A reckoning: St. Benedict nuns apologize for Native boarding school
Earlier this year, the Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn., formally apologized to the White Earth Nation for harm caused to generations of Native Americans at church-run boarding schools. It’s led to the start of a journey toward truth and reconciliation.
Masks, equity, culture wars at forefront of Minnesota school board elections
Dozens of Minnesota districts are seeking to fill school board seats after a rash of resignations this year. And some are also asking voters to weigh in on funding questions. But culture war questions are at the heart of many school board campaigns.
St. Paul mandates COVID-19 vaccines for city employees
The city of St. Paul announced Thursday that it will require all city workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of 2021, without an option of routine testing for those who don’t want to get the shot.
Federal plan to study environmental impacts of mining near BWCA draws praise, scorn
Opponents of copper-nickel mining near the Boundary Waters are cheering a decision from the Biden administration that could lead to a 20-year mining moratorium in the region. But supporters of the proposed Twin Metals mine near Ely say it threatens a chance to cash in on a rich treasure trove of valuable metals.
Ex-cop Noor set for June release after resentence in Ruszczyk killing
With his murder conviction overturned in the killing of 911 caller Justine Ruszczyk, ex-Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor was resentenced Thursday to nearly five years in prison for manslaughter, less than half his original sentence.