On the ground in Minnesota
Make Me Smart
Marketplace
4.6 • 5.4K Ratings
🗓️ 16 January 2026
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On today’s show, Dana Ferguson, political correspondent for MPR News, joins Kimberly to share how her community has been affected by a recent surge in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity, including the fatal shooting of Renee Macklin Good. We’ll also discuss the impact on small businesses in the Twin Cities and the political fallout from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s decision to end his reelection campaign.
Here’s everything we talked about today:
- "Minnesota business owners feeling the effects of ICE enforcement actions" from MPR News
- "As immigration raids roil Minnesota, corporate leaders stay silent" from Marketplace
- "Tim Walz drops out of Minnesota governor’s race, Klobuchar considers jumping in" from Politico
- "With limited political power, Minnesota Democrats navigate resistance to Trump" from MPR News
- "Walz's exit from Minnesota governor's race will pose challenges for both parties" from MPR News
- "What to Nosh in the North Star State: Minnesota's Most-Iconic Dishes" from Food Network
- "Photos: The Minneapolis music scene, from the 1980s to now" from MPR News
We love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email makemesmart@marketplace.org.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | At Pluralsight, we don't just teach skills. |
| 0:02.8 | We are building the tech workforce, who deliver results fast, accelerated by top-tier content. |
| 0:08.6 | Lead with confidence, lead with expertise. |
| 0:11.1 | Visit us at Pluralsight.com to tap in and learn more. |
| 0:23.5 | Hello everyone, I'm Kimberly Adams. Welcome back to Make Me Smart, where none of us is as smart as all of us. |
| 0:27.7 | Thanks for joining us, whether you're watching the YouTube live stream or listening to |
| 0:31.7 | the podcast. |
| 0:33.1 | It's Friday, which means it is time for economics on tap. |
| 0:37.3 | And today, we're going to be talking about what all of us have been following in the news all week. |
| 0:42.4 | What's been happening in Minnesota in the wake of last week's ice shooting in Minneapolis, continued ice raids in the area, protests in response to it, and more. |
| 0:52.4 | I know a lot of us have been watching these videos and paying attention to what's going on. So we wanted to get some on the ground perspective. And thankfully, we have a wonderful local reporter here with us who has been covering this story. Joining me to talk about this is Dana Ferguson. She's a political correspondent for NPR News. And the whole team at NPR News has been doing just an incredible job covering what's been going on in Minnesota. |
| 1:17.4 | And I'm not just saying that because we have the same parent company. |
| 1:20.4 | It's because you guys have been really doing amazing work under incredibly difficult circumstances. |
| 1:26.8 | Dana, welcome to the show, but how are you holding up? |
| 1:29.8 | Thank you, Kimberly. I'm hanging in there, is what I would say. It's been a week. |
| 1:35.9 | It has been, but hopefully, you know, it is so important, especially in times like this, to take a minute minute to rest, to decompress. |
| 1:45.0 | Hopefully we can do that here. |
| 1:46.6 | What did you bring to drink? |
| 1:48.4 | Oh, I brought with me. |
| 1:50.5 | It's kind of boring, but I brought some water. |
| 1:53.3 | Not boring. |
| 1:54.0 | I need to hydrate this week. |
... |
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