Social Issues

Crow Wing County commissioners plan to object to new state flag
Crow Wing County Commissioner Paul Koering said he’s heard a lot of displeasure from his constituents about the flag redesign. The county board plans to vote on a resolution at its next meeting on Jan. 2, which it will send to Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders.
In 2023 fentanyl overdoses ravaged the U.S. and fueled a new culture war fight
Fentanyl fueled unprecedented carnage with 112,000 fatal overdoses. The nation is increasingly divided over how to respond.
Power Pair: Lessons about friendship from Resmaa Menakem and Keith Ellison
MPR News host Angela Davis revisits her very first Power Pair conversation. Resmaa Menakem and Keith Ellison talk about how their friendship formed long before either of them were nationally known and how that friendship sustains their justice work.
In 2023, opioid settlement funds started being paid out. Here's how it's going
Some $1.5 billion flowed to local government coffers this year, sparking debates about transparency and how to spend the money. Here are 5 takeaways from a year's worth of reporting on the issue.
The idea of a national African American museum went back 100 years before its opening
The museum celebrated the 20th anniversary of legislation that funded it this week, but it can trace its origins back to Black veterans who fought for the Union Army in the Civil War.
Duluth Indigenous-led nonprofit prepares to open expanded shelter
The American Indian Community Housing Organization, or AICHO, has nearly finished a more than $2 million project in Duluth to expand the region’s only culturally specific domestic violence emergency shelter.