Minnesota Now: Nov. 20, 2024

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NINA MOINI: This is Minnesota Now. I'm Nina Moini. The Office of Cannabis Management rejected about 2/3 of applications from people hoping to start some of the state's first ever cannabis businesses. We'll hear more about frustration from hopeful entrepreneurs and why the state deemed so many applications ineligible.

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Today is Trans Day of Remembrance. We'll talk to a new organization on the North Shore about building resilience. And a wildlife refuge in the state is lucky to be a stop on the migration path of the sandhill crane. We'll learn about why more cranes are showing up this fall.

Plus, we'll learn about the life of a journalist who changed the narrative around the AIDS crisis back in the 1980s. All that and more coming up right after the news here on Minnesota Now. Thanks for being here.

LAKSHMI SINGH: Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. In a Georgia case that inflamed the nationwide debate over immigration this election year, Jose Ibarra, the man accused of murdering nursing student Laken Riley in February, was found guilty today. The defendant sat silently as family members, including Riley's mother, Allyson Phillips, read their impact statements in court a short time ago.

ALLYSON PHILLIPS: Jose Ibarra took no pity on my scared-- [SIGHS] panicked and struggling child. There is no end to the pain, suffering, and loss that we have experienced or will continue to endure.

LAKSHMI SINGH: Ibarra entered the US illegally in 2022 and was allowed to remain while he pursued his immigration case. During his campaign, President-elect Trump repeatedly said Riley's killing was proof that the Biden administration's immigration and border security policies were weak.

As Trump continues nominating supporters to his next cabinet, one big job remains open. NPR's Maria Aspan reports the race is on to be Trump's treasury secretary.

MARIA ASPAN: The next treasury secretary will be responsible for helping shape the nation's economy, including the tax cuts and sweeping tariffs the president-elect promised during his campaign. It's a crucial economic role, but the competition to be Trump's nominee has turned messy and public.

Over the weekend, Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. both posted on X in support of one candidate, billionaire CEO Howard Lutnick. But now Lutnick is out of the race. Instead, Trump nominated him to be commerce secretary. The remaining apparent frontrunners for Treasury include two other billionaire investors, Marc Rowan and Scott Bessent, and a former Federal Reserve governor, Kevin Warsh. Maria Aspan, NPR News, New York.

LAKSHMI SINGH: In Gaza, aid organizations managed to transport six patients, including two children, out of the Palestinian territory, to receive life-saving treatment. But as NPR's Scott Neuman reports from Israel, thousands more are waiting for medical evacuation.

SCOTT NEUMAN: A small convoy of ambulances began a brief journey from the European hospital at Khan Yunis to the Rafah crossing along the Egyptian border. For the patients inside the vehicles, their cases are deemed too complicated for the relatively primitive care they can get in war-torn Gaza. Instead, they are destined for Jordan.

Since May, when the Rafah crossing was closed, only 335 patients have been evacuated. The WHO says at least 14,000 more need to leave Gaza to get proper treatment. Scott Neuman, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

LAKSHMI SINGH: US stocks are trading lower this hour. The NASDAQ is down 136 points, or roughly 3/4 of a percent. It's NPR News.

SPEAKER: Support for NPR comes from NPR stations. Other contributors include Maiden Cookware. Maiden Cookware is crafted by chefs for chefs and designed for restaurants and home kitchens around the world. Their cookware can be found at maidencookware.com. This is NPR.

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NINA MOINI: Across the state today, it is looking crisp and gusty. Temperatures 27 degrees right now with flurries in Thief River Falls on the higher end of the scale. Red Wing, Winona at 35 under partly sunny skies. We'll have scattered snow showers on and off through the day. Plowable snow possible in the Northwest.

I'm Nina Moini with these Minnesota news headlines. Target today is reporting third quarter earnings below expectations as it looks to the holiday shopping season. Here's Estelle Timar-Wilcox.

ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: The Minneapolis-based retailer says sales went up just slightly in its most recent quarter. It lagged behind rivals like Walmart and Amazon. Target's outlook for the holiday season also fell short of analysts' expectations.

Company leaders blame its lagging performance on inflation. Prices on necessities are still higher than a few years ago, and Target says customers are spending cautiously. The retailer was also affected by an October dockworker strike.

Target has attempted to draw in customers with lower-priced necessities, like clothing and household goods. It's also offering lower priced gifts and grocery deals in a push to boost sales during the holidays. I'm Estelle Timar-Wilcox.

NINA MOINI: Minnesota DFL Party Chair Ken Martin is hoping to become the next leader of the Democratic National Committee. Mark Zdechlik first brought you this news yesterday on Minnesota Now, and he has more from Martin himself.

MARK ZDECHLIK: Martin announced his candidacy for DNC chair on social media. He says he can help national Democrats regroup following this month's election.

KEN MARTIN: We lost ground with Latino men. We lost ground with working class households. We lost ground with young men and white women. That's all things we know for sure based on this last election. What we don't know is how and why at this point.

MARK ZDECHLIK: Martin says he can help national Democrats get back support they've lost. Martin has led the DFL since 2011. And under his leadership, Minnesota Democrats have not lost a statewide election. I'm Mark Zdechlik.

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NINA MOINI: Our top story this hour, Minnesota cannabis regulators say they plan to hold a lottery sometime in the next two weeks to determine who will get to open up the state's first legal marijuana businesses. But the Office of Cannabis Management is facing some pushback this week after it rejected more than 1,100 applicants it deemed ineligible. That's around 2/3 of them. Reporter Matt Sepic has been following this and joins us now. Thanks for being here, Matt.

MATT SEPIC: Hi there, Nina.

NINA MOINI: Hi. So Minnesota legalized recreational marijuana for adults more than a year ago, for anyone who doesn't know. Why aren't we seeing dispensaries in strip malls yet?

MATT SEPIC: Well, that's by design. The law took effect on August 1 of 2023 with much fanfare. It allows people over 21 to possess, use, and grow marijuana with some limitations. People are, and that all took effect right away.

And there are some retail outlets in Minnesota, we should point out. They are operated by the Red Lake and White Earth tribal nations, which are sovereign and independent. So they were able to get up and running right away.

Now, state lawmakers anticipated that it would take much longer to get the legal businesses going across the rest of Minnesota. So it's certainly not fair to call this any sort of a delay.

NINA MOINI: Hmm.

MATT SEPIC: This is a heavily regulated industry and legislators wanted to make sure that people who have been historically harmed by the war on drugs would have a chance to compete meaningfully in the business. That means the first prospective pot proprietors to apply for these licenses are those the law considers social equity applicants.

NINA MOINI: Hmm.

MATT SEPIC: And who are they? They include people who live in high poverty areas, places with historically high cannabis enforcement rates, people who themselves have been convicted of a marijuana-related crime before the law changed, or those who had a close relative who was found guilty of one prior to legalization. This is a lot of people.

And the Office of Cannabis Management says more than 1,800 applied for just 282 licenses for businesses of all sorts. These include micro-operations, cultivators and manufacturers, retailers, and what are called "mezzo businesses," these medium-sized, vertically-integrated marijuana operations where people grow and sell and the whole bit. With so many of these applicants, the state, as you mentioned, is holding a lottery to figure out who gets to move forward in the licensing process.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, tell me more about what's happening with the lottery, and then why regulators are facing this criticism.

MATT SEPIC: Well, as I said, around 1,800-plus people applied. And then this week, on Monday, the OCM, the Office of Cannabis Management, notified around 1,150 of these applicants that their names would not be going into the hat for the lottery. That's around 2/3 of them.

I spoke yesterday on the phone with OCM Interim Director Charlene Briner. She told me the reasons for the rejections varied from documentation problems to violations of ownership requirements. The state is really trying to avoid having big out-of-state companies swooping in and using qualified social equity applicants as a front for much larger multi-state operations. Briner says, in some cases, other people tried to game the lottery, or they submitted information that looked a bit fishy or fraudulent.

CHARLENE BRINER: So multiple applications that were identical in nature, we saw that some of them didn't have IP addresses or websites that were valid. We saw some of them tying back to phone numbers that were not in service or phone numbers that went back to one particular individual.

MATT SEPIC: Now, Briner told me that making it through the license application process is really the first step toward proving that prospective business owners can operate in what is expected to be a really strict regulatory environment.

CHARLENE BRINER: This is an objective review of specific criteria called for in statute. So it is very clear what is required. And we gave very clear instructions. There was no subjectivity. There was no comparing one applicant to another.

NINA MOINI: OK. So Matt, did regulators give any of the applicants an opportunity to correct the errors on their paperwork?

MATT SEPIC: Yeah, to a limited extent. Last month, OCM sent deficiency notices to around 300 of the applicants and did allow them to correct problems. These particularly were with electronic check payments. That's what Charlene Briner told me.

But she says allowing everybody to fix every single error that came up would take months and drag out the licensing process. And that would mean in the end, that it would delay legal marijuana businesses from opening.

NINA MOINI: Matt, are you hearing from people who are trying to get licenses or maybe were denied?

MATT SEPIC: Well, yeah, I'm hearing from their attorneys and other consultants in the industry. And they say this wholesale rejection of applicants is unfair and could violate the new law.

Carol Moss is an attorney here in the Twin Cities who represents more than a dozen clients who are trying to enter the recreational cannabis market. She says around half of the folks she represents were rejected. And she told me that she's having a tough time explaining to her clients the reasons for those rejections.

CAROL MOSS: A lot of these rejections are based on what I would describe as very flimsy reasons. For example, somebody uploaded a picture of their ID, and it was wavy, and that got rejected.

MATT SEPIC: Now, Moss tells me that in many cases, these rejection letters from OCM don't give an explanation. She says the office has been inconsistent in the way it handles the applications. And she rejects the idea that applicants are engaging in shenanigans to boost their chances in this license lottery.

CAROL MOSS: These are not people that are gaming the system. And so when I see those types of comments, it makes me concerned that the reviewers are looking at factors outside of the application.

MATT SEPIC: And Nina, Moss says that could open the Office of Cannabis Management up to litigation, something that she is discussing with her clients and others in the industry are talking about as well.

NINA MOINI: And so what happens next?

MATT SEPIC: Well, barring any action in the courts that might result in an injunction from a judge, the state is expected to move forward with its license lottery sometime in the next two weeks. And I just did check the court online computer system and have not seen any lawsuits against the Office of Cannabis Management as of right now. [CHUCKLES]

NINA MOINI: And Matt, last question here-- a lot of people are just wondering, with all of these ins and outs that are going on, when could we see the first legal marijuana businesses, other than the tribal shops you mentioned?

MATT SEPIC: Well, it could be a few months. Besides the license lottery, Briner at the OCM tells me the state is still finalizing all those complex rules for cannabis operations, and that is a process all its own. Those are right now going back and forth with the state reviser's office, which is the official publisher of state rules and laws. So once those are finalized and the licenses are granted, we could start to see businesses in strip malls and on corners, legally selling marijuana.

NINA MOINI: Matt, thanks so much.

MATT SEPIC: You're welcome.

NINA MOINI: That was our Matt Sepic.

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A new report details how mental health providers and patients alike are frustrated with Minnesota-based insurance giant UnitedHealth Group. Reporters from ProPublica spoke with hundreds of providers and patients who say the company has questioned them over needing several therapy appointments a month, and then refused to cover care.

Government officials began to investigate why a decade ago, but the problem is still rampant. ProPublica reporter Annie Waldman said that care advocates from UnitedHealth would grill therapists about why they need to see a patient twice a week for six months at a time.

ANNIE WALDMAN: They were being subjected to these intensive clinical reviews in which the medical necessity of their therapy was being questioned to the point where coverage might be cut off. Providers told us it was a mystery. They didn't know why they were being flagged by United or its subsidiary, Optum, which handles a lot of the mental health claims.

But as it turns out, government regulators investigated United for this very practice. By the end of 2021, three states had cited the company for using an algorithm system that flags people who they decided were getting too much therapy, and then scrutinizing and cutting off care. This was a process that was being used for mental health care, but not physical medical care, which violates federal parity law.

NINA MOINI: But even after that scrutiny, the company has rebranded the program and used similar practices under different names. That, along with different regulations and different states, makes it hard to catch this issue.

ANNIE WALDMAN: A spokesperson for Optum said that this new kind of iteration of the program was separate and distinct from the former algorithm system, which they told us had been discontinued. They also said that one category of their reviews is voluntary and doesn't result in coverage denials. But we did speak with several therapists who were subject to the new program. And they said that they had a negative impact on their ability to treat their patients.

NINA MOINI: Waldman said the investigation raised a big question.

ANNIE WALDMAN: Who should be determining who gets access to mental health care? Should it be the insurance companies and their algorithms, or should the decisions be based on the expertise of your licensed mental health professional, who is directly involved in your patient care?

As a society, we're using data and algorithms more and more often in our lives. But without transparency and accountability, it can be really hard for the public to understand how these critical decisions are being made, particularly when it comes to health care.

NINA MOINI: For more on this report, we have the full story on our website, mprnews.org.

[COLE DIAMOND, "SHINE A LIGHT ON ME"]

COLE DIAMOND: (SINGING) This road goes on forever

Just when you think you've strayed away

You find another Earth

NINA MOINI: A little country for our Minnesota Music Minute today. This is Cole Diamond with "Shine a Light On Me," a song he released this summer. Cole Diamond is the stage name for Ryan Ott, a singer-songwriter born and raised in Hutchinson, who now lives in Minneapolis. He's playing a Thanksgiving show next Wednesday at the Turf Club. Find more information at coaldiamondmusic.com.

COLE DIAMOND: (SINGING) Shine a light on me

Shine a light on me

This time keeps getting smaller

NINA MOINI: Well, a happy Give to the Max Day Eve to all those who celebrate. We hope that you'll certainly celebrate with us here. Celebrating Give to the Max Day here at MPR News, I'm Nina Moini, a new host here at Minnesota Now, still getting to know all of you at this hour. Appreciate you tuning in. And I'm so thrilled to be here with our senior producer of the show, Aleesa Kuznetsov.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: Hi. Thanks so much for having me.

NINA MOINI: Thanks for being here, Aleesa. For folks who don't know, tell us just a little bit about what you do to contribute to this program that is meant to serve our audience.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: Sure. Yeah, we have a team of four producers, including myself. And every day we're helping put together these great conversations that you get to host, the people you get to talk to, that everyone gets to listen to, and deciding the top news every day, deciding what we think Minnesotans need to know and maybe bring to a conversation at the dinner table, maybe talk to their friends about and share. And so I'm really lucky to be able to help do that work, and bring these conversations every day, and work with you as our new host has been really great this first-- we're in week two.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, week two. And it's so important that we share with our listeners and our audiences just how many people are here doing this work at MPR News, getting this on the air. And you know what? It's not free. And we've been fortunate for almost 60 years to turn to the public and ask our members to help us keep going, and not just surviving but thriving. So this Give to the Max Day, don't wait. Go to mprnews.org and give what you can. Because guess what? This is huge, Aleesa.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: Yeah.

NINA MOINI: Today, all gifts to MPR will be matched by the MPR member fund. Give what you can. Hey, if you want to renew your support right now, that will also be doubled. And if you're making your first gift ever, now is really the time because your support is going to be tripled. So you just go to mpr.news.org, and give what you can. Or if you want to talk to a person, call 800-227-2811. It just takes a couple of minutes.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: Talk about give to the max.

NINA MOINI: Yeah!

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: Tripling.

NINA MOINI: [LAUGHS]

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: That really is the max. And you don't even have to give to the max. We're almost maxing it for you with the double or the triple--

NINA MOINI: Exactly.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: --match there. And really cool gifts that you can get--

NINA MOINI: Yeah.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: --as well when you donate. We have a thank you gift, an MPR shirt made by a local artist. Renea Thull is her name. When you give $5 per month or more, you get our newest shirt. Dare I say it's the coolest shirt we've had.

NINA MOINI: It's super cool, outdoorsy.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: Yes, it has this fall vintage vibe. You get the Mississippi River. There's a moose. There's some pine trees, some fish, maybe a walleye, we could say.

NINA MOINI: [LAUGHS]

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: But it's really beautiful. So you can check out the design when you go online. Get one for yourself with just $5 per month. That's at mprnews.org or 800-227-2811.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, and now, again, is the time really to go. Can't drive this home enough for all of you that the MPR member fund doing us a huge service today. All gifts made to MPR News today are going to be matched. That means you're doubling your effort for us. You can also renew your support. That will be doubled.

And again, if you're making your first ever gift, if you listen to us every day, or if you tune in for your news, or your weather, or your politics, or your international news, or you want all Minnesota news like we give you this hour, now is the time to give and make your gift go as far as it possibly can. So don't wait.

Tomorrow's Give to the Max Day. Maybe you have a few different causes that you're wanting to give to. Maybe you're thinking, how can I contribute right now and feel like I am taking action in my community? Now is the time to do that. Give to the Max at mprnews.org or call 800-227-2811. Every bit helps.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: Yeah, Give to the Max Day is such a cool day in Minnesota--

NINA MOINI: Yeah.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: --to see everybody coming together and raising so much money for all these different nonprofits--

NINA MOINI: Yeah.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: --across the state. And we are asking for that today, too. We need your help to keep going. We got a comment from Julia in Minneapolis. She said, "Life would not be the same without MPR every day. I want it to continue forever." [LAUGHS]

NINA MOINI: Aw.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: And if you want it to continue forever, we need your help to do that. Any amount helps. And like we've said, it's doubled if you already are a member, tripled if it's your first gift. If you're someone who listens to Minnesota Now every day and if you really feel like it gets you up to speed-- you get to listen to new and interesting perspectives-- but you're not a member yet, this is the a great chance to do it. We really want to keep bringing this program. We've been doing it for over three years.

NINA MOINI: Yeah.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: We're starting this new chapter with you, Nina, to continue bringing these great stories and trying new things. So give to the max today. Any amount helps. Again, that's at mprnews.org or 800-227-2811.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, we do this work for all of you. We really wake up in the morning-- I know Aleesa is up early, and she's thinking, what matters to people? We're finding a top lead story, a very newsy story to start, kick things off for you. And then you all know if you listen. We're talking about Minnesota music, different events and festivals that are going on, different amazing people who are telling their amazing stories.

Think of this service that we provide at MPR News and what it's worth to you. Maybe there's other things you subscribe to. Why not become a member and think of it that way? Help drive your gift as far as it can possibly go right now. Don't wait. Give to the max, which is whatever your maximum is, at mprnews.org.

Check out those cool gifts, the T-shirt from a local artist. There's tons of other gifts that you can check out, too. $5 a month, $10 a month, $15 if you can give more. Just give whatever you can. mprnews.org or call 800-227-2811. Get your gift doubled-- or tripled, if it's your first time. We certainly hope you're next. And thank you.

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This is Minnesota Now. Thank you so much for listening. Today, people around the world gather to remember lost loved ones for Trans Day of Remembrance. The day was created to recognize people who were murdered because of their transgender identity.

The new organization called Trans Northland is holding events in both Duluth and Superior to remember lost peers and have important conversations about resilience. Sean Hayes is the executive director of Trans Northland, and he's here now on the line to talk about it. Thanks for being here, Sean.

SEAN HAYES: Thanks so much for having me.

NINA MOINI: And Sean, I know it's a difficult time right now, a tricky time from folks that we've been hearing, a lot of people since the election, transgender people concerned about the future of their health care under another Trump presidency. But I want to zoom out for a minute if it's OK. Trans Day of Remembrance has been going on for 25 years now, right? So why is this trans-- tradition, rather-- relevant all these years later, do you think?

SEAN HAYES: Well, that's a great question. And this is always a hard day for our community. And going back 25 years, I think about our ancestors, or trans-cestors, as I've heard the term, and those folks really gathering together to mourn and to grieve the loss of their community members and siblings and in their communities. And so that tradition has continued, sadly, because our community continues to face oncoming violence, as well as discrimination and all sorts of attacks as of late, as you mentioned.

NINA MOINI: So with all of that in mind, what are some of your things that are top of mind for you this Trans Day of Remembrance?

SEAN HAYES: Yeah, so this year, we had started planning this event about a month ago. So that was before we knew the election results. And so my dear friend Tee, who works at the Gender Equity Resource Center over at UWS, and I had connected, and we just said, hey, no matter what happens, our community needs to continue to build connection together.

We need to continue to show up for one another, as well as really talk about how we take care of ourselves as individuals. And then also, what does collective care within our community look like as we move into these unknown future years, where we know and are already preparing for the attacks and the hard times that we're going to face as a community?

And so our focus was going to be really high on the resiliency piece. Oftentimes, we call this date Trans Day of Remembrance and resilience. And so that was just really important for us, thinking about all of the folks, whether it's young, trans and gender non-conforming youth, all the way up to our elders, who just are feeling a lot of worry, a lot of concern, a lot of just downright fear about what the future holds. So we want to create spaces where folks can connect and build relationships. And just, that's such a huge reminder that we are not alone. There are many of us, and we are strong together.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, tell me about how Trans Northland is going to be recognizing the day and what people can experience because you're right, there's a lot of talk about resilience and needing to be strong. But there's also joy in coming together and support, right?

SEAN HAYES: That's exactly right. One of the things Trans Northland has done over the last couple of years is host an event called Trans Day or Trans Joy Fest. And so we really, really value and are looking for ways all the time to build joy and to build that hope and just to have those reminders for our community folks, the parents, the family members of trans folks, as well as all of our allies and aspiring allies.

So we're excited about our events tonight. We know that they're going to be heavy and lots of folks don't necessarily want to come out for this one. But we are encouraging and inviting our friends and family and aspiring allies to come out and to support us in this time.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, there's events in downtown Duluth, a panel, a performance, it looks like, at UW Superior. So there are different ways for people to experience this moment, it sounds like. How about, Sean, for people who want to be allies or better allies to the trans community, what do they need to know about this day, and how to approach it, and more generally, how to show their allyship right now?

SEAN HAYES: Yeah, great question. I would say just care. Care is at the top of our needs right now on a day like today. So the trans person in your life, the family member, whoever it is, reach out and just check in and say, hey, how are you today? Maybe buy them a cup of coffee and show a little extra love on this hard day.

And for those aspiring allies as well, we want to connect with you at Trans Northland. We want you to reach out, and meet with us, and talk about ways that our allies can start to show up, and continue helping support us along the way.

NINA MOINI: And just a final question for you here, Sean-- if you want to, are there any people or specific things that you're thinking about today-- maybe people that have been lost-- that you wanted to maybe remember right now?

SEAN HAYES: Oh, goodness. Yep, I do. I was looking at some of the research, and I know that there were 36 transgender and non-binary folks killed in the United States in the past year. Two of those people were from Minnesota and lived in Minnesota.

So I want to lift up their names, Savannah Williams, as well as Liara Tsai, as well as we've lost folks in our community as well to suicide, which is a real worry for folks right now as well. And so I lift up my dear friend Evan Adams, who died a few years ago, as well as all of the folks that just aren't with us today when they really should be.

NINA MOINI: Well, Sean, I thank you for sharing that and all of this with us, really. And I wish you well with your events and everything that's going on in your area. Thank you, Sean.

SEAN HAYES: Thank you so much. Take care.

NINA MOINI: You, too. That was Sean Hayes, Executive Director of Trans Northland.

SPEAKER: Support comes from 47 Degrees, an art gallery nestled along the Knife River, featuring local artists and works reflecting the North Shore of Lake Superior. 47 Degrees Gallery is open Friday through Sunday, 10:00 to 5:00, June through December.

NINA MOINI: We have lots more ahead on this Give to the Max, pre-Give to the Max Day here on MPR News. It's Minnesota Now. We're going to learn about why the number of sandhill cranes has grown in a refuge north of the Twin Cities. And we'll remember a pioneering journalist who shed light on the HIV/AIDS crisis back in the 1980s. But first, let's get some news from Emily Reese. Hi, Emily.

EMILY REESE: Hi, Nina. Ukraine now can use American-supplied anti-personnel landmines to help it slow Russia's battlefield progress in the war. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the change in Washington's policy follows changing tactics by the Russians.

The war on its 1,001st day has largely been going Russia's way in recent months. Russia's bigger army is slowly pushing Ukraine's backward in the Eastern Donetsk region, while Ukrainian civilians have repeatedly been clobbered by Russian drones and missiles often fired from inside Russia.

Israeli officials have demanded freedom to strike Hezbollah in Lebanon as part of any emerging ceasefire deal between the sides. They made their demand today as signs of progress on a ceasefire emerged. Hezbollah's allies in the Lebanese government have said the militant group has responded positively to the proposal, which would push the militant group's fighters and Israeli ground forces out of a UN buffer zone in Southern Lebanon.

A major storm is sweeping across the Northwest US, battering the region with strong winds and rain. It caused widespread power outages and downed trees that killed at least one person. Falling trees struck homes, littered roadways across Northwest Washington, where more than a half million people were without power this morning. The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks through Friday, and hurricane-force wind warnings were in effect. The storm system is considered a bomb cyclone.

A woman, Katie Ornelas, bought a vinyl record at a thrift store-- a really good one, too-- The Modern Jazz Quartet at Music Inn, 1956. But that's not what she got. UPI reports she got vows and prayers from a wedding. The label on the vinyl read "Phil's and Donna's Wedding, August 21, 1966."

Ornelas realized the sentimental value of the record. She tracked down Phil and Donna Schmidt, who figured the album got mixed up in an estate sale they held after Phil retired from teaching. Donna said they're grateful to have the record back in time for their 59th wedding anniversary next year, Nina.

NINA MOINI: That's very kind of them. Thank you, Emily. That's Emily Reese, folks, another one of the wonderful people that makes Minnesota Now and MPR News run every day, one of our brilliant newscasters, who I know Emily puts a lot of thought into her newscasts, as Aleesa Kuznetsov, our senior producer who joins me, also knows here on this day before Give to the Max Day. Thank you, Emily.

Well, let's talk about it, Aleesa. We got to get down to it. Tomorrow's Give to the Max Day. But don't wait. You can celebrate right now. And gifts to MPR-- get this-- are going to be matched dollar for dollar by the MPR member fund. If you're renewing your support today, if you want to crank it up a little bit, that's going to be doubled.

If it's your first time ever giving, if you've maybe tossed around the idea, but you just haven't thought of it, do it now because your first gift ever-- sustaining gift or one-time gift-- are going to be tripled right now by the MPR member fund. So don't wait. Give what you can. Give to your max at mprnews.org, or call 800-227-2811. Again, I'm joined by Aleesa.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: Yeah, thanks for having me. Obviously, your money is going very far today, but every dollar matters to be able to have these conversations. You mentioned a little bit in the last segment about the impacts of the election that we're still seeing in several communities.

Election Day may be behind us, but we're still having a lot of conversations, covering a lot of stories and communities about what this race means for Minnesotans, how it could impact them. And that's what we're here to bring you. And we need your support to be able to do that on this pre-Give to the Max Day.

You can donate now. You don't have to wait till tomorrow. You can donate today. And your money, like you said, is going so far. Maybe you already donate. But after this election, you're turning to us more. This is a good time to renew that donation or maybe up it a little bit.

Maybe you donate $5 a month, and you have $5 more to give us-- $10 a month. That's going to be doubled right now, thanks to our MPR member fund. And if it's your first gift ever-- maybe you're a new listener, because after this election, you're searching for trusted news--

NINA MOINI: So important.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: --that we're providing and that you're providing here on the show, Nina, on Minnesota Now-- and that's going to be tripled. So don't wait. Give to the Max at mprnews.org or 800-227-2811.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, I can't tell you, Aleesa, how many people have reached out to me in the past couple of weeks and said, thank you for covering this community or this community or how people are feeling in all walks of life. That's what we are aiming to do here. And our hope is that people will learn something new, or get to know someone new, or enrich their lives. That's what we get to do every day. That's a pretty cool job.

We couldn't do it for the last 60-ish years without our members, the single-most important source of our funding that drives us and continues to let us be able to thrive and bring you the news and the stories and the insights that we know that you want. So that's the service.

How much is it worth to you? Whatever you're able to give, do it now. It's Give to the Max right now at mprnews.org or call 800-227-2811. You can just head to the website. You can set it at an amount, $5 a month.

You get a nice T-shirt, a beautiful T-shirt made from a local artist, a one-of-a-kind design that she did for us here at MPR News. So now is the time to give to your max at mprnews.org, or call 800-227-2811. Gifts are going to be doubled right now. If it's your first gift ever, it's going to be tripled.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: Yeah, and one of my favorite things about these times when we come on air is reading member comments.

NINA MOINI: Sure.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: And this is a favorite of mine. Calvin from Minneapolis said, "I've been listening to Public Radio for the past 24 years of my--"

NINA MOINI: Wow.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: "--24-year-old life."

NINA MOINI: Oh.

[LAUGHTER]

Nice.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: "I've dreamed of the day I'd have a stable job and can finally start donating. Today, that dream comes true." And I think that's what we strive on Minnesota Now. Whether you're 24 or 84, we want to be sharing with you the things that matter to you. Or maybe you're listening with your kid in the car, starting them young. [LAUGHS] You can help support that today for Give to the Max at mprnews.org or 800-227-2811.

NINA MOINI: You're absolutely right. We are a service. Maybe we're with you during the lunch hour every day. Maybe you listen to Cathy on Morning Edition in the morning. Maybe you listen to Tom Crann or Angela Davis.

We're here with you all day. We're bringing you local, what's going on in your backyard. We're bringing you state, national, international news that you can use, all in one place. It's an amazing service we're honored to provide. Give to the Max today at mprnews.org. Get your gift doubled or tripled if it's your first gift. And thank you.

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NINA MOINI: This is Minnesota Now. World AIDS Day is coming up on December 1, and leaders in the HIV/AIDS field are taking this time to reflect on the enormous progress the medical community has made to reduce the spread and improve the lives of people living with HIV. That progress was made in no small part from the shift in public narratives around the disease.

A little known leader from those early days of the HIV/AIDS crisis was Randy Shilts. A Minnesotan is exploring the life of Randy Shilts, a pioneering journalist from San Francisco who worked to change the narratives and reporting around the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s this was.

Michael G. Lee is a professor at St. Mary's University here in Minnesota and the author of a new book about Randy's life. It's called When the Band Played On. Michael, thanks for taking the time to talk about your book. We really appreciate you.

MICHAEL G. LEE: Thank you for having me, Nina.

NINA MOINI: So, Michael, I'm curious. It's a big commitment to write a book on somebody. What was your connection, if any, to Randy Shilts? Why did you want to write about him?

MICHAEL G. LEE: Well, I had worked for several years in the HIV services sector and beginning about a little over 20 years ago, when I came to Minneapolis to work for what was then the Minnesota AIDS Project, and went back for my PhD at the University of Minnesota in 2010 with a really strong interest in the history and the culture of HIV/AIDS service organizations, having worked in them for several years.

I just found it really interesting that they were known to have come out of the gay activist tradition of the 1970s. And I had a chance to do some historical research in my doctoral program that I used to look at what were the health and social service concerns happening in urban gay communities in the 1970s that would have informed the creation of AIDS organizations in the 1980s.

And I was well aware of Randy Shilts, having read two of his three books before coming to my doctoral work, and was intrigued to find, as I was doing this historical research, that by the mid 1970s, Randy was authoring as a freelance journalist for The Advocate, which was kind of the gay national newspaper of record in the mid '70s.

Randy was authoring all these pieces by about 1975, 1976, of all of the pandemic-level conditions that were affecting urban gay communities that we later came to know of as being the comorbidities and more of the social disease of HIV and AIDS. So he was writing about pandemic levels of alcoholism, drug abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, social isolation, loneliness, all of the clusters that would later, in the '80s and '90s, be associated with the AIDS epidemic.

And I was just astounded that he was so clairvoyant, that a half decade before the CDC started reporting on these mysterious illnesses, killing gay men, he was, Randy, identifying everything going on around it and sounding these very urgent alarms in the pages of The Advocate. And it made me take an interest in his life story. And especially when I found there had not been a published biography by that point, I did the unorthodox thing of having the inspiration to start my next project before I'd finished my dissertation.

NINA MOINI: Oh, wow.

MICHAEL G. LEE: And so I went immediately from finishing one major project into the next. And that's been the last 10 years of my life.

NINA MOINI: Wow, amazing. For those who maybe don't remember, Michael, how the AIDS crisis unfolded back in the '80s and the early media coverage around it, can you talk about what that looked like? And Randy helped that to evolve.

MICHAEL G. LEE: Initially, this was very much segmented as a medical story that science journalists were following, but not a whole lot of anyone else. And Randy, starting in about 1982 as a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, started detailing-- started covering AIDS as part of his regular beat with the Chronicle.

And he immediately brought into the mainstream what a few gay publications were doing at the time in places like San Francisco and New York, which was telling both the human interest side, as well as the political side, of the American AIDS response, which was a lot of delaying, ignoring, underfunding, claiming that there was enough funding to do the research needed to identify the virus.

And Randy was the first to really try to keep that on the pages of a daily newspaper on an ongoing basis, so that people were not just seeing some of these more clinical images of doctors in white lab coats and some very ill patients, but getting into the lived experiences, as well as the political frustrations that were happening, especially among public health officials, who were saying that they needed far more resources to be able to respond to this new threat than they were being allotted by the federal government.

So Randy was really pioneering in terms of getting that coverage into the mainstream news at a time when a lot of papers and outlets were content to keep it shelved as this very niche medical issue that was not of great concern to the mainstream.

NINA MOINI: Well, it sounds like Randy was pretty courageous to be covering what he was covering and also the first openly gay journalist in the US, it sounds like, based on your reporting. So what was it like for him at that time?

MICHAEL G. LEE: So Randy was the first openly gay journalist to have a beat covering the gay community in a mainstream paper. That was, again, for the San Francisco Chronicle. And it took a toll on him as it became difficult for him to experience on a day-to-day basis these crises that were affecting his friends and his loved ones.

And he was spending extensive time not just trying to interview and get the story from public health officials, but also talking to activists, talking to patients on Ward 5B, which, at San Francisco General Hospital, was the first dedicated AIDS ward in the United States. He was losing close friends and loved ones, people who had been friends and lovers of his.

And for people who maybe today don't realize, that there was a point in time where people in San Francisco, New York, and other large cities were experiencing, on average, about a funeral a day, sometimes more. And so that personal toll absolutely had an effect on his journalism, which, in turn, had an effect on his private life that my book tried to detail with more intimacy, so people really understand what he took on, experiencing those traumas firsthand.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, that's so fascinating. And also that how media covers issues is also a part of history, our shared history, and how that evolves is all very fascinating. Michael, as we're coming up on World AIDS Day, we mentioned at the top here of our segment, on December 1, how are you looking back on Randy's life and work after so many years of medical developments and advancements for HIV here in the US?

MICHAEL G. LEE: Well, first of all is gratitude. He comes from a generation of gay men that sadly bore the brunt of that horrible pandemic. And I think the younger generations who have come up since then maybe have benefited in ways that they don't recognize, given that he passed away from AIDS 30 years ago himself.

He has a fraught, a very complicated legacy. He was vilified by some segments of San Francisco's gay community for his very critical reporting on the gay bathhouses. And The Band Played On included a controversial story about a French Canadian flight attendant named Gaétan Dugas, who was labeled Patient Zero in a very localized, early case control study from--

NINA MOINI: Wow.

MICHAEL G. LEE: --the CDC. And Randy used some literary embellishment to, I would say, present him as more influential than he was, which created a great deal of controversy when the book came out. So it's not a straightforward legacy that people can always look at and say, was he a hero, or was he a villain? I think there's a lot of insight and nuance and details in between that give his legacy more complication than we get from a simple, straightforward portrayal.

I think it's also important to note his final book, Conduct Unbecoming, detailed the history of the US military's persecution of gay and lesbian service members from World War II until the early '90s. And he did a great service to those folks. Many of them had been drafted in Vietnam and/or had gone into the military because of their own socioeconomic circumstances and experienced a great deal of private interrogation and prosecution for their identities.

And that overlapped with the AIDS epidemic as well, especially in the 1980s. Randy gave light to those stories in a way that otherwise would not have been done. And it was important for those stories to be told.

NINA MOINI: Michael, thank you so much. Sounds like a fascinating read and a nuanced individual, as we all are looking forward to this. Thank you, Michael.

MICHAEL G. LEE: Appreciate it. Nina, Thank you for having me on.

NINA MOINI: That was Michael G. Lee, the author of the new book, When the Band Played On-- The Life of Randy Shilts, America's Trailblazing Gay Journalist.

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NINA MOINI: Every fall, thousands of migrating sandhill cranes stop to rest at the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, north of the Twin Cities, before heading south for the winter. The long-legged birds are known for their loud, rattling call. Take a listen.

[CRANES CALLING]

Beautiful. In recent years, the number of cranes at the refuge has been climbing. Reporter Kirsti Marohn tagged along for one of the final counts of the season.

KIRSTI MAROHN: It's well before dawn when volunteers start gathering at a maintenance building on the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge. Clothed in warm layers and blaze-orange hats, each gets a clipboard, a pencil, and an assigned counting spot from Kris Spaeth, a biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

KRIS SPAETH: So you'll take 70 West then. Same thing then. Just take birds that are going north over you. Who wants to try the new spot?

VOLUNTEER: I'll do that.

KRIS SPAETH: Want to try it? So then--

KIRSTI MAROHN: The crane counters fan out to their designated locations. Spaeth hops into a pickup and heads down a gravel road to a spot overlooking the refuge's sprawling St. Francis wetland. It's an ideal place for sandhill cranes to rest for the night, often perched on one leg in the chilly water.

KRIS SPAETH: A reason they stayed here and stick around here is because there's an abundance of food in the agricultural fields that surround the refuge.

KIRSTI MAROHN: As the sky lightens, the cranes begin to take flight, just a few at first, then more and more, wings stretching nearly 7 feet across, lanky legs trailing behind them.

KIRSTI MAROHN: 32, 34, 40, 43.

KIRSTI MAROHN: Spaeth keeps a running tally, peering through binoculars and writing the totals on her clipboard.

KRIS SPAETH: It's interesting. You learn to count by 2's and count by 3's and count by 8s. And so it puts all of your elementary math skills to use. The sounds never get old out here. It's really cool.

KIRSTI MAROHN: In the early 1990s, there were just around 1,000 Eastern sandhill cranes here. A couple of decades later, their numbers had grown by five or six times. Two years ago, staff and volunteers counted a record 29,000 in a single day. A century ago, sandhill cranes had nearly vanished from Minnesota due to overhunting and habitat loss. Spaeth says federal protections, both for cranes and wetlands, contributed to their comeback.

KIRSTI MAROHN: These birds wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the actions of a lot of people over the last several decades to conserve habitat that's important to them and regulate things like hunting.

KIRSTI MAROHN: Land within the Sherburne refuge has been federally protected since 1965. Spaeth says restored shallow wetlands here provide important roosting sites for the cranes.

KRIS SPAETH: It's a reliable spot, too. There's no land use change that's going on inside of the refuge. So I guess word has gotten out.

KIRSTI MAROHN: Despite their recovery, sandhill cranes still face threats, mostly from humans-- wetlands drained for farming or development, collisions with power lines or wind turbines. And climate change is making it less predictable when the cranes will arrive and how long they'll stay. Spaeth says it's also shifted the center of their wintering grounds, as warmer temperatures and available food allow them to stay north longer.

KRIS SPAETH: So that used to be somewhere around Florida and Georgia. And then it moved to Northern Georgia, and now it's up into Kentucky even.

KIRSTI MAROHN: As the number of sandhill cranes at the Sherburne refuge has grown, they've attracted more attention and visitors, hoping to glimpse the distinctive birds and to hear their full-throated call.

STEVE WINSLOW: They're so different than anything else. I always think when they fly over, their sound is prehistoric. It sounds like dinosaurs or something.

KIRSTI MAROHN: This is volunteer Steve Winslow's first season helping with the count.

STEVE WINSLOW: There isn't a day I can go out and not see a crane, I feel like, around this area. And it's the same story as the bald eagles and the wild turkeys and everything. So there's some big success stories in the birding world, and I think sandhill cranes are part of that.

KIRSTI MAROHN: When the count is over, the staff and volunteers add up their numbers. Spaeth announces the day's total.

KRIS SPAETH: Today, we had 17,727. So we're about 252 birds off from last year's peak.

KIRSTI MAROHN: Soon, as colder temperatures set in, these graceful birds will take to the skies, headed for warmer climes. Kirsti Marohn, MPR News, Zimmerman.

[CRANES CALLING]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

NINA MOINI: Our thanks to Kirsti Marohn, one of our wonderful, amazing reporters we have situated all around the great state of Minnesota. Here on Minnesota Now, we are celebrating Give to the Max Day here at MPR News. Get this-- tomorrow is Minnesota's biggest day of giving.

But don't wait. Starting today, right now, all gifts to MPR will be matched by the MPR member fund. Double the impact of your gift right now, or if you're making your first gift ever, your support is going to be tripled. There's really no time like right now to take action. Give to the Max at mprnews.org, or call 800-227-2811. I'm Nina Moini, here with our senior producer of this wonderful program, Aleesa Kuznetsov.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: Hi, yeah, I'm happy to be here. You mentioned about how Kirsti's one of our regional reporters. She just did that story in Sherburne County. We have Dan Gunderson with this new series Wander and Wonder in Greater Minnesota. And actually, today, we have this lovely documentary debuting by Leah Lemm. She's a citizen of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. She went there to connect with her native roots and harvest wild rice.

So all of this work cannot be done without your support. We're all across the state. We're here in the Twin Cities as well. We have a great team in our studio here in St. Paul. And we want your support to help this keep going. So we're celebrating Give to the Max Day a day early. We'll be celebrating tomorrow as well.

NINA MOINI: Yeah. [LAUGHS]

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: And your money goes really far today. If you are making your first gift ever, your support will be tripled. So don't wait. Act now. Give to the Max at mprnews.org, 800-227-2811.

NINA MOINI: Join the likes of a Caroline in Roseville, Carol in Red Wing, Mary in Fargo, Christopher in Maple Grove, Kimberly in New Prague, Morgan in St. Paul, Heather in Lake Park. We appreciate each and every one of our members. Can't tell you what it means to us when we hear from folks, Aleesa, right, that are saying, we appreciate that you're bringing us Minnesota news for a full hour every day here on Minnesota Now, again, servicing our entire state and region. That's really our goal.

ALEESA KUZNETSOV: Yeah, and if you give $5 a month or more, you can get a Public Radio T-shirt. It looks really cool. It's by a local artist. There's lots of other gifts-- socks, mugs, crewnecks-- to say thank you for giving to the max with us. And yeah, you can look at those gifts that you can get at mprnews.org, or 800-227-2811.

NINA MOINI: Double your contribution now, or triple it if it's your first time ever giving. Think about what this service, MPR News, means to you. How often do you listen? What's it worth? Give to the Max, give what you can. It's at mprnews.org, or call 800-227-2811. Every little bit helps. We appreciate all of our listeners and members. We hope that you'll give what you can at mprnews.org. And thank you.

[MUSIC PLAYING]