Good morning, Minnesota. Happy Thursday!

Here's the latest news from across the state to start your day. ☕

WEATHER

🥶 Highs Thursday afternoon will hover in the single digits above zero north, to about 10 in the south. More seasonable winter air returns Friday through Sunday with highs mainly back into the 20s.

Get the latest weather news on Updraft.

5 key questions as Minnesota Supreme Court weighs who controls the House

The Minnesota Supreme Court hears oral arguments Thursday over the temporary control of the Minnesota House. Here’s how a political fight ended up in front of the high court and what’s at stake.

‘The chamber that chose cooperation’: Minnesota Senate sees smoother sailing under temporary tie

Unlike the Minnesota House, the Senate has kicked-off a relatively low-key — and so far productive — session. But just below the surface of all this collegiality is tension over policies and oversight from the days of the DFL trifecta.

NEWS ROUNDUP

🏛️ Trump order halting refugee resettlement disrupting Minnesota agencies’ efforts. Officials with refugee resettlement agencies in Minnesota say that action is disrupting efforts to bring people facing strife in their home countries to the U.S. and to the state.

💸 House Republicans seek to roll back DFL taxes, fees tied to transportation programs. Two recently imposed taxes and fees that feed road construction and other transportation projects are being targeted by House Republicans, who want to drop a retail delivery charge and prevent future automatic increases to the gas tax.

📻 Now 20 years in, The Current is still creating and redefining radio. Over a two-decade history, The Current has impacted culture in Minnesota and beyond with a dialed-in mix of familiar and new.

⛪ Trump demands an apology from former Minnesotan bishop who asked him to ‘have mercy.’ Referencing Trump’s belief that he was saved by God from assassination, the Right Rev. Mariann Budde said, “You have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.”

🔪 11 Minnesota chefs and restaurants named 2025 James Beard Award semifinalists. Eleven Minnesota chefs and restaurants were named James Beard Award semifinalists for 2025. The list includes five Minnesota chefs named as a semifinalist for Best Chef in the Midwest category and one Minneapolis chef, Ann Ahmed, named Outstanding Chef.

🚓 Police group sues state over release of undercover officers’ names. In August, the Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training sent independent journalist Tony Webster police licensing information in response to his data request, but the POST Board failed to remove the names of officers who work undercover.

🧑‍⚖️ Federal judge dismisses lawsuit filed against second trooper by family of Ricky Cobb II. Trooper Ryan Londregan fatally shot Ricky Cobb II in 2023 as he fled a traffic stop and knocked Londregan and trooper Brett Seide to the ground. The officers had tried to arrest the 33-year-old for allegedly violating a domestic violence protection order.

MUST LISTEN

🎧 Expert: Birthright citizenship order would mark ‘massive change’ to 157-year-old law. Minnesota has joined a multi-state legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, which guarantees citizenship to all babies born in the U.S., regardless of their parents’ legal status.

🎧 ‘A champion’: Man who covered Leonard Peltier’s trial praises his release from prison. In one of his final acts, former President Joe Biden sent indigenous activist Leonard Peltier home to complete his life sentence. Although it is not a pardon, many in the Indigenous community are celebrating what they see as win for Native American activism.

🎧 Art Hounds: River photography, paternal theater and high school one-acts. Art Hounds recommend “The River Connects Us,” “Loudly, Clearly, Beautifully” and Minnesota State High School League one-act plays

🎧 Listen to today's headlines on our Minnesota Today podcast.

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