Do local businesses still own Main Street in Minnesota’s rural communities? Or are national chains and large corporations changing the fabric of what it means to be a small town?

That’s the question MPR News host Kerri Miller posed during her most recent Rural Voice town hall, held Sept. 28 at The Broadway event center in downtown Albert Lea, Minn.

Business owners and community leaders agreed that keeping local businesses local is key to maintaining small town feel and charm. But doing that is no small feat.

Business owners say they work long hours, money is always tight and even if the business is a success, figuring out how to grow sustainably is a challenge.

Organizations designed to support local businesses, like the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, say it’s a story they hear a lot. They pointed to the critical role community support and innovative financing models play in sustaining rural businesses.

Isaac Thompson grew up in the Twin Cities dreaming of becoming a professional violinist. His career took him off the stage and into arts leadership — and eventually brought him back home to lead the Minnesota Orchestra, the same institution that inspired him as a kid.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Thompson about his first year as CEO of the orchestra and his vision for making classical music more accessible.

Guest:

• Isaac Thompson is the president and CEO of the Minnesota Orchestra, a role he began in October 2025. He previously served as president and CEO of the Oregon Symphony and held leadership roles at the New York Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

Isaac Thompson serves on the Minnesota Public Radio Board of Trustees.

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Generations of children have run and climbed their way through the Minnesota Children’s Museum.

They've shopped for plastic food at the pretend farmers' market, launched ping-pong balls, whooshed down the giant spiral slide and blown bubbles at the wacky car wash.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with the museum’s president Dianne Krizan about how the museum is doing following its post-COVID attendance slump, why play is so important for kids and how the museum is trying to help address anxiety in young children.

Guest:

• Dianne Krizan is the president of the Minnesota Children's Museum and a champion for children's wellbeing and play. The museum announced earlier this fall that she'll be retiring in June 2027 after leading the St. Paul institution for more than 17 years.

Four years ago, Rural Voice launched in St. Joseph, Minn., with a conversation about the challenges and opportunities of building a business in rural America.

This year, to kick off the 2026 season, Rural Voice returned to St. Joseph to talk about belonging. MPR News host and Rural Voice moderator Kerri Miller led a discussion at Krewe Restaurant on Sept. 14. Community members shared personal stories about what it means to belong — especially when you enter a small town as a newcomer.

Rural Voice is a series of town hall discussions designed to illuminate the rewards and challenges of making a home in rural Minnesota. For more information, and to see if a Rural Voice is coming to a city near you, check out the Rural Voice website.

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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. 

When someone stops drinking alcohol or using drugs, it’s only the beginning.

For many people, recovery is a long journey — one that can mean rebuilding relationships, changing everyday habits and finding a new community and sense of purpose.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks during National Recovery Month with two guests who rebuilt their lives after alcohol or drug use brought everything crashing down — in very public ways.

Guests:

• Beth McDonough is a sober advocate, author and former Twin Cities TV crime reporter. She writes in her first memoir “Standby” about losing her job, home and sense of identity in 2008 following two arrests for drunken driving. Her new memoir, “Still Standing,” describes her recovery from alcoholism and how she rebuilt her life after her public downfall. She lives and writes in southern Utah.
• John Solomon recently stepped into the new role of executive director of lifelong recovery at Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, where he also earned his master’s degree in counseling and completed treatment for bi-polar disorder and alcohol and methamphetamine use. He previously worked as a therapist in Alaska and as CEO of the Alaska Behavioral Health Association. He is a former singer and songwriter with the rock band Communist Daughter.

As artificial intelligence companies create increasingly powerful models, lawmakers are calling for rules to regulate the technology. MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about the debate over AI regulation, who should oversee it and what the guardrails could be.

Guests:

• Daniel Schwarcz is a professor of law at the University of Minnesota.
• Chris Farrell is the senior economics contributor for MPR News and Marketplace.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.    

The worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is several years behind us, but many Minnesotans are still living with its consequences in the form of long COVID.

Long COVID is a chronic condition that can last for weeks, months or even years after a COVID infection. A major symptom is extreme fatigue, and other symptoms can include everything from blood pressure changes and brain fog to joint pain and depression.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a doctor and a public health leader about long COVID and other other post-infection chronic conditions that doctors are only beginning to understand.

Guests: 

• Dr. Tanya Melnik is an internal medicine doctor and director of the M Health Fairview Adult Post-COVID Clinic. She is also a clinical associate professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
• Kate Murray manages the Long COVID and Post-COVID Conditions program at the Minnesota Department of Health, one of the first public health initiatives focused on understanding the impacts of long COVID and related conditions and improving access to support.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.    

Kerri Miller is on the road again for her Rural Voice town hall series — a project that highlights the joys and challenges of living in rural Minnesota.

On Sept. 21, Miller moderated a discussion at Rapids Brewing Co. in Grand Rapids, with parents, teachers and community leaders about what can be done to retain young talent in rural communities.