MPR News AM Update
 
Monday will be cooler with temperatures a bit below normal. Highs will range from the low 60s in the northeast to the low 70s in the southwest. Get the latest weather news on Updraft.

🎙️Coming up on Morning Edition: Southwest Minnesota State University leaders strengthened ties to local K-12 schools and embraced the region’s growing diversity. The result is an upswing in students fueled largely by the children of first-generation immigrants. It's made Southwest one of the few four-year public universities in Minnesota where enrollment is rising. MPR News reporter Hannah Yang brings us the story.

🎧 Coming up at 9 a.m.:  Seena Hodges is working to help people understand the effects of racism and injustice in many workplaces today. MPR News host Angela Davis talks to Hodges about her work to create racial equity in the workplace, what it means to be “woke” and the role the arts can play in helping us understand others better. We want to hear from you, too. Have you been a part of a diversity training exercise? How did it go? Tell us about your experience and if it made a difference in the way you interact with the people in your life. Call 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the 9 a.m. hour.
 
First-generation college students drive growth at Southwest Minnesota State

Like colleges across the country, Southwest Minnesota State University saw its student counts slide in the decade following the 2008-09 Great Recession. The school responded by strengthening ties to local K-12 schools and embracing the region’s growing racial and ethnic diversity.

The result: an enrollment upswing fueled largely by the children of first-generation immigrants that’s made Southwest Minnesota State one of the few four-year public universities in Minnesota where student numbers are rising.

“Early on our team recognized these are going to be our students in the future, so we changed our vision statement to say SMSU is to be the most inclusive and student-centered university in Minnesota and beyond,” said Kumara Jayasuriya, who took over as the university’s president in July 2019. “We want to create an environment where everyone one of our students feel they belong.”  

 
What else we're watching:
Commissioner orders new water tests at Stillwater prison amid protests. The new tests come just a week after more than 100 inmates refused to go to their cells, which family members said was in direct protest to reduced shower, phone and recreation time, as well as dangerously hot rooms and poor water quality.

Superior National Forest says campers need to stay diligent about bear prevention. Forest managers are encouraging campers to take precautions after a recent uptick in bear-human encounters in the Boundary Waters.

A new era for Golden Thyme: Rondo Community Land Trust secures St. Paul staple. During Saturday's Selby Avenue JazzFest, the owners of the Golden Thyme Café announced the location will be transformed into a small business incubator.

3rd Avenue Bridge reopens in October, Stone Arch Bridge repairs planned for next two summers. The Stone Arch Bridge will be closed to through traffic for two summers, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, but the Third Avenue Bridge nearby will reopen in late October.

Vikings fans swarm Minneapolis for season opener. Thousands of fans made their way to the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon to watch the Minnesota Vikings face off with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, marking the first game of the regular NFL seasonfor both teams. 

— Matt Mikus, MPR News
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