Your 30s are often described as the decade when you’re supposed to have life “figured out.”

Maybe you’ve built a career, bought a home, started a family or settled into the person you’re going to be — but for many people, that’s not what this decade looks like.

MPR News guest host Kyra Miles talks with her guests about how your 30s can be a time of big transitions and changing priorities. They’ll explore what research says about this stage of adulthood and why so many people feel pressure to have it all together.

Guests:

• Audra Nuru is the director of family studies and professor at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. Her research explores how we communicate to construct identities and navigate periods of change.
• Melissa Ertl is a researcher and assistant professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota. She also works as a practicing therapist.

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Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are coming home to Minnesota for a special concert at the Minnesota State Fair. The Minnesota music legends are the award-winning songwriting and production duo behind dozens of hits for some of the biggest names in music and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with the longtime friends and creative partners about their Minnesota roots, the story behind their successful careers and the friendship that has kept them working together for more than 50 years.

Guests:

• Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are a Grammy Award-winning songwriting and production duo from Minnesota who have created hits for artists including Janet Jackson, Prince, Mariah Carey and Usher. They have been friends and creative partners for more than 50 years.

Do you know a Power Pair?

“Power Pairs” is a series featuring prominent Minnesotans in a close relationship. You may know of them separately but they reveal a new side of themselves when they sit down together. Listen to past interviews here and submit your idea for a future Power Pair here.

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American Indians on tribal lands in the United States have historically faced some of the nation’s worst economic conditions.

Casinos have helped improve bring jobs and development to many Minnesota tribes over the past four decades. And, now, the number of other types of businesses owned by Native entrepreneurs and tribal governments is growing — and becoming more diverse.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with MPR News senior economics contributor Chris Farrell and two Native business owners featured in the new series from MPR’s Upper Midwest Newsroom “Beyond the Bet,” exploring the diversification of Native entrepreneurship.

Guests:

• Robert Blake is the founder and CEO of the solar development business Solar Bear. He is also founder and executive director of Native Sun Community Power Development, a nonprofit organization that is building out an electric vehicle charging network on tribal lands and promoting clean energy through education and workforce training. He lives in St. Paul and is a citizen of the Red Lake Nation of Ojibwe people in northern Minnesota.
• Madonna Peltier-Yawakie is co-founder and president of Turtle Island Communications, Inc. based in Brooklyn Park, Minn. The company provides engineering and technical consulting services to tribes, states and federal agencies to expand broadband internet service in reservation communities. She is a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota.

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We all need someone to talk to. But as we get older, it can be harder to find opportunities to build meaningful connections.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks about programs that bring older adults and volunteers together through phone conversations, virtual coffee chats and in-person visits.

Guests:

• Emma Lucchesi is the senior director of programs at Friends & Co, a Minnesota-based nonprofit that runs programs to create connection and belonging for older adults.
• Leigha Jensen has volunteered with Friends & Co since 2018. She is matched with an older adult who she calls regularly and now considers a good friend.

Eating is a fundamental part of life. So, when things aren’t going well with our digestive system, it affects not only our health but also our routines, social lives and very identity.

And these days, more people seem to be struggling with chronic gastrointestinal problems, including irritable bowel syndrome and autoimmune diseases such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

MPR News guest host Kyra Miles talks with her guests and listeners about diagnosing and living with gut problems.

Layoffs have become a recurring headline this year, with companies in technology, finance, manufacturing and other industries announcing job cuts.

But at the same time, unemployment remains relatively low, applications for unemployment benefits are near historic lows and Minnesota recently added jobs, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

So what's really happening in the job market?

MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about what’s driving recent layoffs, where job opportunities might be, and what it all says about the economy.

Guests:

• Chris Farrell is a senior economics contributor for MPR News and Marketplace.
• Angelina Nguyen is the director of the Labor Market Information Office at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
• Kyle O'Keefe is a district president at Robert Half, a recruiting and business consulting firm.

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.    

Buying a house or condo is becoming harder for many people in Minnesota.

The math is simple. Home costs are rising and most people’s incomes aren’t keeping up.

But solutions are more complicated. Communities need to build more low-cost homes, help buyers with down payment assistance and lower-interest loans, and help current homeowners maintain and stay in their homes.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity’s CEO Chris Coleman about how the nonprofit organization is working on all these fronts to tackle the housing affordability crisis.

Guest:

• Chris Coleman became president and CEO of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity in 2018 after serving as mayor of St. Paul from 2006 to 2018. He worked previously as an investment advisor for RBC and served for six years on the St. Paul City Council.

Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity uses thousands of volunteers every year. Learn more on their website’s volunteer page.

For many people, going to the dentist is easy to put off — until something hurts.

Millions of Americans don’t get regular dental care because of cost, lack of insurance, difficulty of finding a provider or fear of the dentist.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two experts about why oral health matters, the barriers that keep people out of the dentist’s chair and what’s being done to make dental care more accessible.

Guests:

• Dr. Elmi Abdulkadir Elmi is a dentist and co-founder of All About Dentistry, a general dental practice with locations in Burnsville and West St. Paul. He was also selected as a 2026 Bush Fellow, recognized for his work expanding access to oral health care.
• Dr. Sheila Riggs is an associate professor of dental public health in the School of Dentistry at the University of Minnesota and chair of the Association of Critical Access Dental Providers of Minnesota.

Here are some of the resources that were discussed on the show:

• Dental Clinics and Services - Help Me Connect
• Public Resources | Minnesota Dental Association
• University of Minnesota Dental Clinics

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.