Minnesota Now

A local artist is working to humanize people living with vitiligo through photographs that use black lights to highlight the skin condition. Vitiligo is the autoimmune disorder that causes white patches to appear on the skin. And it affects almost one percent of people worldwide. Sharolyn Hagen started taking photographs of herself when she was diagnosed with vitiligo in 2016 to track the progression of her condition. But it turned into a much larger art and advocacy project. She joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about it.

A Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed Amir Locke during a no-knock raid in 2022 is leading a use-of-force training for the department. We got the details from the MPR News reporter who broke the story. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents began detaining people right after their court hearings, according to immigrant rights advocates who are speaking out against the practice. A new report shows Minnesota farm incomes plummeted in 2024 to their lowest level in two decades. We found out why. We took a look inside downtown Minneapolis real estate with someone who sells skyscrapers. A Twin Cities photographer with an autoimmune condition is using her camera to take down stigma. Our Minnesota Music Minute was ‘Warhorse’ by Joan of Profile. Our Song of the Day was ‘Mudslide’ by Pat Donahue.

MPR News learned that the Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot Amir Locke during a no-knock raid in 2022 is responsible for leading the police department’s use of force training [https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/07/15/minneapolis-police-use-of-force-training-officer-mark-hanneman-amir-locke]. The head of the police department said he understands why the choice of Sgt. Mark Hanneman to do this type of training will concern some people - but said Hanneman is the right person for the job. However, the decision to put Hanneman in that position upset members of Locke’s family and others who say it hurts MPD’s efforts to reform police culture and repair community relations. Cari Spencer reported the story and joined Minnesota Now to share about her reporting.

Selling a downtown office building in the Twin Cities— or anywhere— is no easy feat these days. Very few buildings have changed hands since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune. [https://www.startribune.com/downtown-minneapolis-towers-sales-state-of-market-cbre/601364287]   Almost every successful sale of a downtown office building in the 2020s involved Harrison Wagenseil of commercial real estate firm CBRE’s Minneapolis team. Wagenseil was part of the brokerage team behind the recent sale of the Wells Fargo and Ameriprise towers in downtown Minneapolis. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about what goes into selling a skyscraper, and why it’s so difficult.

Farming is an unpredictable industry. From severe weather to market prices, a lot is out of farmer’s control. New data shows that in 2024, little was in farmer’s favor in Minnesota. A University of Minnesota annual report [https://www.cffm.umn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/FINBIN-Report-24_FINAL.pdf] that looks at farm finances found that in 2024, Minnesota farmers saw their lowest net income in 20 years. Minnesota crop farmers saw the biggest losses. In 2024 the median net farm income was $2,371, compared to $47,484 in 2023. Some farmers will get some of their money back. Applications opened last week for disaster assistance from the USDA for losses from 2023 and 2024.   Jordan Goblish has a corn and soybean farm in Vesta, Minnesota. Pauline Van Nurden is an extension economist at the Center for Farm Financial Management at the University of Minnesota. They both joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about the financial state of Minnesota farms in 2025.