Phil Picardi

Jun 14, 2024 | mprnews.org | Phil Picardi |Megan Burks |Lukas Levin

Empty downtowns are not a new story in our post-pandemic news cycle. But what is new is just how empty downtown St. Paul office buildings actually are. Axios reporter Nick Halter dug through documents detailing office buildings for sale by the city’s largest landlord — Madison Equities owned by the late Jim Crockarell — and found the company underreported its vacancy rate to the St. Paul Building Owners and Managers Association.

Jun 14, 2024 | southernminn.com | Phil Picardi

By By PHIL PICARDI and LUKAS LEVIN Minnesota Public Radio News In only one weekend, Morning Edition's intrepid wildflower chasers Kelly Povo and Phyllis Root found all six types of Lady Slippers that naturally grow in Minnesota. With a great deal of effort and a sprinkle of luck, Povo and Root were able to find the flowers in a span of two days. Get any of our free email newsletters - news headlines, e-edition, prep sports, obituaries, entertainment and more.

Jun 13, 2024 | mprnews.org | Phil Picardi |Gracie Stockton

The official start of summer is a week away — which means more time outside for many Minnesotans. After a multi-year drought, the weather has turned wetter and Meteorologist Sven Sundgaard says that pattern is more conducive to bouts of severe storms. So how do you stay safe in remote, outdoor, water-filled, even woodsy areas of Minnesota like the Boundary Waters Canoe Area when severe weather strikes?

Jun 13, 2024 | mprnews.org | Phil Picardi |Megan Burks |Lukas Levin

Minnesota’s women’s pre-professional soccer team, Aurora, could be on the cusp of going pro, three years after it first formed. The club has attracted enough investment to make a second bid to join the National Women’s Soccer League. Andrea Yoch, an Aurora co-founder, said the team put its bid in Friday. And though there’s speculation about the team being a shoe-in, she said it won’t know the outcome until the end of the year. “It’s a very secret process,” Yoch said.

Jun 7, 2024 | mprnews.org | Phil Picardi |Gracie Stockton

For generations, a highlight of any visit to northern Minnesota’s Jay Cooke State Park has been a squeaking, swaying walk across the rushing St. Louis River on the storied Swinging Bridge. This year, the bridge celebrates its centennial — but the wood metal and stone it’s made of now is not nearly as old. First built in 1924 by the U.S. Forest Service of ropes and logs, the bridge has been rebuilt or reconstructed five times over the last 100 years.