In the past two weeks, federal prosecutors have charged nine people with defrauding two Medicaid programs. Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson sits down with MPR News host Nina Moini to share more about how his office has been tackling fraud in the state.

The National Rural Teacher of the Year is from a school district in Wright County. We'll hear how his approach to teaching has changed over the past three decades.

And after a devastating loss, the Lynx are out of the WNBA playoffs. We'll talk with our sports contributors Wally and Eric to break down what happened and whether the Vikings can secure redemption across the pond.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Break” by Gully Boys.

The last 20 minutes of Minnesota Now was preempted by NPR special coverage.

It’s a mournful day for Minnesota Lynx fans. The team lost Game 4 of the WNBA semifinals to the Phoenix Mercury Sunday night. That means they’re out of the playoffs. The Lynx were ranked No. 1 in the league this season and favored to make the finals.

Head coach Cheryl Reeve was not at the game. The league suspended her for behavior during and after the previous game in Phoenix.

Reeve and some other coaches have said the play in the WNBA is becoming too physical.

Joining Minnesota Now host to talk about this and the Vikings games across the pond are our sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson.

Minnesota teachers have done a three-peat for the National Rural Teacher of the Year.

The National Rural Education Association bestowed the honor last year to Melissa Oberg, who teaches special education in Grand Marais. In 2023, it went to Morris teacher Jenny Maras.

This year’s honoree is Jeff Granrud. He teaches math at Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted High School. That’s a district of about 1,300 students an hour west of the Twin Cities in Wright County. Granrud joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about his nearly 30-year career in teaching.

Over the last two weeks, federal prosecutors in Minnesota have charged nine people with defrauding two different Medicaid programs, and they say this is just the beginning. Last week, federal prosecutors charged a woman for defrauding a state autism treatment program out of $14 million.

The week prior, eight people were charged with defrauding the state's housing stabilization services. Now the State Department of Human Services is suspending another disability program over fraud allegations. No one has been charged.

This is all on top of more than six dozen people charged so far in the feeding our future child nutrition scheme. Acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Joe Thompson is the prosecutor in charge of all these cases. He sat down with Minnesota Now host Nina Moini for a wide-ranging conversation about fraud in Minnesota.

Autism is in the news. On the national level Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President Donald Trump's false comments about its causes created backlash. Here in Minnesota prosecutors are taking down an autism center fraud scheme. We'll talk about all of it with local advocates.

It's vaccine season — but since the CDC has changed guidelines around COVID-19 shots, there's been a lot of confusion how and when to get it in Minnesota. We're going to clear that up.

And we'll get the latest on rural housing needs in the midst of a shortage out of Bemidji.

Plus a company is making it easier to shop around for therapists. We'll learn about how to find the right fit.

And we'll learn about the life of a renowned northern Minnesota nature writer.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Sunshine" by Atmosphere and "Dark was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" by Ben Gateno was our Song of the Day.

Asking for help can be hard. And making a commitment to continuously ask for help can be even harder. We’re talking about therapy. A new event is helping make therapy accessible. It’s called Therapy on Tap. Nearly every month, about 15 therapists set up at a brewery and have conversations at mental health or help people find a therapist.

Our ask: Help me find a therapist

Our professional: Adam Steinbach, LMFT, co-found of As You Are Therapy

The next Therapy on Tap is this Sunday at at Utepils Brewing in Minneapolis.

On Thursdays, we’re featuring the work of our regional reporters and having them open their notebooks a bit to shed light on how they work.

Earlier this week, MPR News Bemidji bureau reporter Mathew Holding Eagle III shared a story about housing needs in Beltrami County. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini to provide some insight on reporting on his story.

If you have a news story or tip in Bemidji or the surrounding area you can email mholdingeagle@mpr.org.

Under President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the federal government is putting a lot of attention on autism. Scientists and doctors criticized Trump’s debunked statements about the causes of autism from a press conference he held earlier this week. Advocates of autistic people and their families are also raising concerns about the way the president talks about autism.

The Autism Society of Minnesota released a statement Wednesday calling this language dehumanizing and harmful.

The federal rhetoric comes as autism centers in Minnesota are under scrutiny for fraud. Federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged the owner of an autism treatment clinic with stealing $14 million from a state program that funds services for young people with autism spectrum disorder.

Joining MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about this is the Autism Society of Minnesota’s executive director Ellie Wilson and communications director Zephyr James, who was diagnosed with autism as an adult.