Melissa Olson

2 weeks ago | grandforksherald.com | Melissa Olson |Melissa Olson

NORTH BRANCH, Minn. — Johnathon Carlson was driving home from a weeklong family vacation in Florida with three of his children when he was pulled over by a county sheriff south of Atlanta. Carlson said he was told by a Crisp County sheriff that his tribally issued licensed plates weren’t allowed on Georgia roads. “We were just going back and forth about it,” Carlson said. “He kept telling me they’re fake.” Carlson, a Red Lake tribal citizen, said he’s never had an issue with his plates before.

Jan 16, 2025 | postbulletin.com | Melissa Olson

ST. PAUL — A group of over 120 elected current and former tribal leaders from across the United States are calling on President Joe Biden to grant clemency to Leonard Peltier, a longstanding political activist convicted in 1977 in the murder of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, according to a story first published Monday by HuffPost.

Dec 31, 2024 | inforum.com | Cathy Wurzer |Dana Ferguson |Hannah Yang |Melissa Olson |Gracie Stockton

It continues to be a slow roll for Minnesota’s legal recreational marijuana business. Ahead of the new year and the start of another legislative session, reporters Dana Ferguson, Hannah Yang and Melissa Olson joined Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer with updates on the budding enterprise. Legal speedbumps and roadblocks in 2024 There have been some surprises as Minnesota developed a framework for the new industry.

Oct 4, 2024 | inforum.com | Melissa Olson

PRIOR LAKE, Minn. — The Harris-Walz campaign kicked off a nationwide effort to earn the votes of Native Americans. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan spoke Wednesday, Oct. 2, at the launch of “Native Americans for Harris-Walz,” a new effort by the campaign to reach out to Native American voters. The midday event held was held at the Mystic Lake Event Center, a complex owned by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

Sep 18, 2024 | kuow.org | Dan Gunderson |Melissa Olson

The latest on the Land Back movement, in which Native American tribes reclaim landThe Land Back Movement is an effort by native Americans to reclaim lost land. Two reporters take a look at where it’s worked and where it hasn’t at reservations in Minnesota.