Twin Cities

Picture of the Twin Cities skyline with MSP written across it.

blue

Get smarter, faster on what matters in Twin Cities with Nick Halter, Torey Van Oot, and Kyle Stokes.

Axios Twin Cities

Standard

Twin Cities Members

Membership

Axios Twin Cities Partners

Axios Twin Cities Weekender

Weekender

Twin Cities Alerts

Alert

Get smarter, faster about what’s happening in your backyard with local reporters Nick Halter, Audrey Kennedy and Torey Van Oot.

Axios Twin Cities Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

Axios Twin Cities Deep Dive

Deep Dive

topics

politics-policy

epstein-files

donald-trump

2026-midterm-elections

immigration

behind-the-curtain

race-and-equity

technology

privacy-tech-regulation

automation-and-ai

tiktok-news

big-tech

social-media

cybersecurity

economy

social-security

inflation

tariffs

federal-reserve

jobs

transportation

business

stock-market-news

retail-news

crypto

media

elon-musk

dealmaking

health

rfk-jr

drug-prices

axios-explains-abortion

public-health

world

israel

axios-explains-ukraine

iran

russia

china

energy-climate

nuclear-energy

climate-energy-policy

climate-change

extreme-weather

alternative-energy

electric-vehicles

science

emerging-tech

biomedicine

newsletters

pittsburgh

atlanta

san-diego

charlotte

boulder

washington-dc

kansas-city

dallas

denver

detroit

des-moines

austin

boston

chicago

cleveland

columbus

houston

indianapolis

miami

nashville

new-orleans

nw-arkansas

philadelphia

phoenix

portland

richmond

salt-lake-city

san-antonio

san-francisco

seattle

tampa-bay

twin-cities

raleigh

huntsville

colorado-springs

axios-local

axios-pro

axios-live

the-axios-show

Hennepin Healthcare's crisis is a warning for safety net hospitals

HCMC won't be the first safety net hospital pushed to the brink by recent Medicaid cuts, experts predict.

Health

Hennepin County Medical Center is not only at &quot;<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="real risk of closing" data-vars-click-url="https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/hennepin-healthcare-minneapolis-financial-troubles-patient-care/" data-vars-content-id="41167eda-d430-4e04-a3b0-aea550814c36" data-vars-headline="Hennepin Healthcare&#x27;s crisis is a warning for safety net hospitals" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/hennepin-healthcare-minneapolis-financial-troubles-patient-care/" target="_blank">real risk of closing</a>.&quot; It&#x27;s a canary in the coal mine for safety net hospitals everywhere, experts say.Why it matters: HCMC is Minnesota&#x27;s largest emergency room, trains a raft of future medical professionals, and serves patients whose needs or incomes often prevent them from seeking care anywhere else.<ul><li>Experts predict it won&#x27;t be the last hospital pushed to the brink by <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="mounting threats to Medicaid funding" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/01/13/aca-medicaid-hospitals-changes-2026?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosvitals&amp;stream=top" data-vars-content-id="41167eda-d430-4e04-a3b0-aea550814c36" data-vars-headline="Hennepin Healthcare&#x27;s crisis is a warning for safety net hospitals" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/01/13/aca-medicaid-hospitals-changes-2026?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosvitals&amp;stream=top" target="_self">mounting threats to Medicaid funding</a>.</li></ul>

Metro Transit ridership fell 3% last year

Bus usage was flat while light rail ridership fell steeply

News

Metro Transit finished 2025 with ridership about 3% below the previous year.Why it matters: It&#x27;s a<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text=" troubling trend" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/twin-cities/2025/08/06/metro-transit-ridership-recovery-was-slow-now-its-in-decline" data-vars-content-id="df299a70-c314-4a5b-bad3-33dfb37ea83d" data-vars-headline="Metro Transit ridership fell 3% last year" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/twin-cities/2025/08/06/metro-transit-ridership-recovery-was-slow-now-its-in-decline" target="_self"> troubling trend</a> for an agency that is making big investments in service but is still struggling to gain rider buy-in after years of public safety concerns.<ul><li>It also came at a time when transit ridership nationally was on pace to increase by <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="nearly 7% in 2025" data-vars-click-url="https://www.apta.com/wp-content/uploads/2025-Q3-Ridership-APTA.pdf" data-vars-content-id="df299a70-c314-4a5b-bad3-33dfb37ea83d" data-vars-headline="Metro Transit ridership fell 3% last year" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.apta.com/wp-content/uploads/2025-Q3-Ridership-APTA.pdf" target="_blank">nearly 7% in 2025</a>.</li></ul>

Cricket's rise in Minnesota reaches the state Capitol

A bipartisan bill to make it an official high school sport statewide is working its way through the Legislature.

Some Minnesota lawmakers are taking a crack at adding <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="cricket" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2025/04/24/major-league-cricket-us-expansion-grand-prairie" data-vars-content-id="7d7c4789-fca1-409f-9541-7d8ca509b8b8" data-vars-headline="Cricket&#x27;s rise in Minnesota reaches the state Capitol" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2025/04/24/major-league-cricket-us-expansion-grand-prairie" target="_self">cricket</a> to the state&#x27;s roster of official high school sports. Why it matters: The centuries-old sport, one of the world&#x27;s most popular games, is <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="gaining a growing fan base across the United States" data-vars-click-url="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cricket-popularity-u-s-world-cup/" data-vars-content-id="7d7c4789-fca1-409f-9541-7d8ca509b8b8" data-vars-headline="Cricket&#x27;s rise in Minnesota reaches the state Capitol" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cricket-popularity-u-s-world-cup/" target="_blank">gaining a growing fan base across the United States</a>.<ul><li>Interest is expected to rise in the years ahead, as cricket returns to the Summer Olympics lineup in 2028.</li></ul>

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day at these 11 Twin Cities events

The holiday isn't until Tuesday, but there's no shortage of options for starting the celebration early.

Things to Do

St. Patrick&#x27;s Day isn&#x27;t until Tuesday, but there&#x27;s no shortage of options for starting the celebration early — with or without alcohol.<ul><li>Here are my picks for this weekend&#x27;s activities.</li></ul>

50 years later, the Edmund Fitzgerald's story is told again

The book includes interviews with the family of Minnesotan Nolan Church, who died in the wreck.

Fifty years ago tonight, 29 men — including two from Minnesota — died in the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior.Why it matters: The story of the demise of one of the most beloved ships in Great Lakes history is well known by an older generation in the Upper Midwest, but younger people may not know much beyond <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Gordon Lightfoot&#x27;s ballad" data-vars-click-url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuzTkGyxkYI" data-vars-content-id="a6a14fdf-6914-4abf-a256-9d39318d1797" data-vars-headline="50 years later, the Edmund Fitzgerald&#x27;s story is told again" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuzTkGyxkYI" target="_blank">Gordon Lightfoot&#x27;s ballad</a>.

On this day: Minnesota's 1890 census kerfuffle

St. Paul and Minneapolis accused each other of cooking the books. It turns out, they both were right.

If you think the rivalry between St. Paul and Minneapolis is petty now, get a load of what happened on this day back in 1890.Flashback: Seven Minneapolis census takers were arrested by the U.S. Marshal from St. Paul, under accusations that they were cooking the books in order to lay claim to the title of &quot;most populous city in Minnesota,&quot; according to the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Minnesota Historical Society" data-vars-click-url="https://www3.mnhs.org/mnopedia/thisday?month=06&amp;day=17" data-vars-content-id="59749fc9-8764-4829-a49d-a1cce1e91882" data-vars-headline="On this day: Minnesota&#x27;s 1890 census kerfuffle" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www3.mnhs.org/mnopedia/thisday?month=06&amp;day=17" target="_blank">Minnesota Historical Society</a>.

Worthy of your time: The Strib's "Ghost of a Chance" podcast

The Star Tribune podcast tells the story through the lives of Harry and Clementine Robinson.

Minnesota never had Jim Crow laws, but that didn&#x27;t prevent decades of injustices against Black Americans who came north looking for better opportunities. Driving the news: The Star Tribune&#x27;s new six-episode &quot;Ghost of a Chance&quot; <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="podcast" data-vars-click-url="https://www.startribune.com/ghost-of-a-chance/601197355" data-vars-content-id="2e6170df-aec7-494d-a424-f7e73d9e92d3" data-vars-headline="Worthy of your time: The Strib&#x27;s &quot;Ghost of a Chance&quot; podcast" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.startribune.com/ghost-of-a-chance/601197355" target="_blank">podcast</a> tells this story through the lives of Harry and Clementine Robinson, a Black couple who bought a house in predominantly white Southwest Minneapolis in 1917.

Prince's childhood North Minneapolis home could get historic designation

The yellow North Minneapolis rambler is where Prince learned to play the piano

This North Minneapolis yellow rambler may not look like a landmark, but it might soon be. Context: The house at 8th Avenue N and Upton is where <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Prince Rogers Nelson" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/twin-cities/2024/07/26/prince-purple-rain-minneapolis-sound" data-vars-content-id="7f5340ef-5fdb-4339-978a-6092cc9a63d1" data-vars-headline="Prince&#x27;s childhood North Minneapolis home could get historic designation" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/twin-cities/2024/07/26/prince-purple-rain-minneapolis-sound" target="_self">Prince Rogers Nelson</a> lived between the ages of 6-12, according to historian Kristen Zschomler, who has been working to preserve the homes where the music icon lived.

Meet Josie Johnson, Minnesota's "first lady of civil rights"

Josie Johnson joined the civil rights movement as a teenager pushing back against poll taxes in Texas.

A new documentary puts a spotlight on Minnesota&#x27;s &quot;first lady of civil rights.&quot;Why it matters: &quot;<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Hope in the Struggle — the Josie Johnson Story" data-vars-click-url="https://www.tpt.org/minnesota-experience/video/hope-in-the-struggle-2fnmtq/" data-vars-content-id="b00fc3a8-11d6-412c-9655-01b838a780be" data-vars-headline="Meet Josie Johnson, Minnesota&#x27;s &quot;first lady of civil rights&quot;" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.tpt.org/minnesota-experience/video/hope-in-the-struggle-2fnmtq/" target="_blank">Hope in the Struggle — the Josie Johnson Story</a>&quot; seeks to inspire a new generation of activists to follow in the trailblazer&#x27;s footsteps.

On this day: Wealthy St. Paul banker kidnapped by Barker gang

The $200,000 ransom paid by Bremer's family is equivalent to $4.6 million today.

History

On this morning 90 years ago, gangsters followed wealthy St. Paul banker and brewery heir Edward Bremer Jr. after he dropped his daughter off at school. <ul><li>They ambushed him, threw him in the back of a car, and held him for ransom. </li></ul>

🎓 Josie Johnson's mark on U of M

Josie Johnson's mark on U of M