Community Engagement at MPR

At MPR we’re actively working to create programming and events that better reflect Minnesota and support the region in seeing itself more clearly and valuing itself more deeply. In short, we’re on a path to be more relevant to more Minnesotans, whether they live in North Minneapolis or on the North Shore, in Red Lake or on Lake Minnetonka. Here are some examples of the kind of programming we’re already doing:

MPR News

North Star Journey

North Star Journey is a celebration of communities in Minnesota and the champions who are doing the work that we should be bringing a voice to. We hope to bring new understandings of our state and what brought us to today.

• Explore North Star Journey

• St. Cloud mental health center aims to be a bridge to healing

• Kurdish language class bridges generations and cultures in a Moorhead classroom

• 'Finndian?' 'Swanishinaabe?' Some Native people in northern Minn. reconnect with their Scandinavian roots

• Radio program reaches out to Latinos living ‘between worlds’

• A century after a Black church burned, a call to acknowledge history

North Star Journey Live

Minnesota has suffered from persistent racial disparities for years. This we know. But what can be done? North Star Journey Live (formerly known as In Focus) is a live event series and reoccurring topic on MPR News with Angela Davis centered around what Minnesota’s diverse communities need to thrive.

• Explore North Star Journey Live

• Beyond the Border: The immigration crisis, up close

• Houston White’s plan to cultivate a robust Black middle class in Minneapolis 

• How addiction is impacting Karen and Hmong communities 

• Growing diversity: The changing face of Minnesota farming

• Once-ignored Indigenous knowledge of nature now shaping science

Native News

• Explore Native News

• Red Lake chair doubles down on return of tribal lands, including Upper Red Lake 

• U.S. Navy names ship in honor of Master Chief James D. Fairbanks, White Earth Nation citizen 

• Events, marches held across Minnesota to remember missing and murdered Indigenous loved ones 

Minnesota Now

Journalism that doesn’t take itself too seriously and puts people first. Live, down to earth, unscripted interviews that aim to inform and entertain.

• Explore Minnesota Now

• Minnesota author Allison Bechdel comes home for Women's History Month talk in St. Paul 

• Somali homebuyers targeted by contract for deed agreements, state senators consider intervention 

• St. Cloud woman finds her authentic self through her Ojibwe and Muslim beliefs 

• Hmong people with dementia sing in harmony in new Twin Cities choir 

• Oscar-nominated actress Lily Gladstone on 'kicking the door in' for Native performers 

• Transgender Day of Remembrance kindles sadness, celebration

MPR News with Angela Davis

Conversations about life in Minnesota and how the state is changing, weekdays at 9 a.m. 

• Explore MPR News with Angela Davis

• Power Pairs: Angela talks to pairs of Minnesotans in a close relationship about how they support each other and how they’re working to build a better Minnesota

• Josie Johnson, iconic Minnesota civil rights activist, on hope and her legacy 

• What Black men need to know about prostate cancer 

• Policing and Black men: Is building trust possible? One Minneapolis group’s effort 

• Special report: Host Angela Davis explores how George Floyd changed us

• The power of Black male educators

The Current

The Current brings listeners the best authentic new music alongside the music that inspired it, from local to legendary, indie to influential, new to nostalgic.

• The Local Show host Diane brings artist's perspective to covering Minnesota music

• Photos: MPR at the Twin Cities Pride Parade

• The Current's MicroShow series, bringing community together through music

Carbon Sound

More than another music stream, Carbon Sound celebrates the depth, breadth, and influence of Black musical expression and honors the foundational role of Black music throughout all genres of music.

• Photos: Celebrating a year of Carbon Sound

• Carbon Sound x Purewateradio State Fair Producer Showdown

• Carbon Sound Videos

YourClassicalMPR

A collection of curated streams, unique programs and relevant features to connect classical listeners with the music they love.

• Rhapsody in Black

• Minnesota Orchestra, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra  

• Minnesota Opera

• Young Artists in Residence

YourClassicalMPR Class Notes

Class Notes provides free K‑12 classroom resources and concert experiences that inspire students and support teachers.

• Explore Class Notes

• Class Notes Impact Report