Brian Arola
@brianarola.bsky.social
Greater MN Reporter at MinnPost. Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.minnpost.com/greater-minnesota-newsletter/
Northern Lights shining bright over Mankato tonight.
November 12, 2025 at 3:09 AM
Northern Lights shining bright over Mankato tonight.
NDAs, used to keep information from the public, are being normalized in local government, including in connection to a proposed data center outside of Duluth.
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Why local MN officials are signing NDAs - MinnPost
Recent controversy in St. Louis County raised questions about how widespread NDAs are, why they’re used, and how open records laws apply.
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November 3, 2025 at 10:15 PM
NDAs, used to keep information from the public, are being normalized in local government, including in connection to a proposed data center outside of Duluth.
www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
MinnPost's newly launched Capitol Conversations Newsletter by @rlyrealmattblake.bsky.social is sure to be a must read. Sign up: www.minnpost.com/capitol-conv...
Capitol Conversation Newsletter Signup - MinnPost
Minnesota state government reporter Matthew Blake shares the latest from the Minnesota State Capitol. Delivered Wednesday afternoons.
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October 23, 2025 at 11:11 PM
MinnPost's newly launched Capitol Conversations Newsletter by @rlyrealmattblake.bsky.social is sure to be a must read. Sign up: www.minnpost.com/capitol-conv...
“The farmers need it, there’s no doubt, but it’s kind of been self-inflicted by the president’s policies."
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Minnesota farmers want trade over a bailout, but they’d take it - MinnPost
A bailout could hold Minnesota farmers over as they contend with market disruptions linked to Trump’s trade war.
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October 23, 2025 at 11:08 PM
“The farmers need it, there’s no doubt, but it’s kind of been self-inflicted by the president’s policies."
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www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
A club ‘no one asked to be a part of’: Two decades on, Rocori shooting survivors reflect on lingering trauma
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Rocori school shooting survivors reflect on a day they can't forget
Their experiences reveal the unpredictability of grief, as well as a way forward for the Annunciation community.
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October 13, 2025 at 10:58 PM
A club ‘no one asked to be a part of’: Two decades on, Rocori shooting survivors reflect on lingering trauma
www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
Ahead of today and Wednesday's Nobel Conference at Gustavus, I spoke with researcher Ulbe Bosma about his work researching sugar's bitter role in history. www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
Nobel Conference explores sugar’s bitter role in world history - MinnPost
Historian Ulbe Bosma talks about his book on sugar as the 61st conference kicks off at Gustavus Adolphus College.
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October 7, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Ahead of today and Wednesday's Nobel Conference at Gustavus, I spoke with researcher Ulbe Bosma about his work researching sugar's bitter role in history. www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
Outside of a clinic in North Mankato slated to close in December, the DFL organized a rally Friday highlighting Republican cuts to Medicaid and the ACA, which party chair Richard Carlbom says will lead to more hospital and clinic closures and rolled back services.
October 3, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Outside of a clinic in North Mankato slated to close in December, the DFL organized a rally Friday highlighting Republican cuts to Medicaid and the ACA, which party chair Richard Carlbom says will lead to more hospital and clinic closures and rolled back services.
Reposted by Brian Arola
Local grocery stores are lifelines for small towns. If the one in Greenbush closed, residents would have to travel 50 miles for other options.
Cuts to food assistance will hurt these grocers and rural Minnesotans.
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Cuts to food assistance will hurt these grocers and rural Minnesotans.
www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
What happens when the rural Minnesota grocery store closes?
Small-town grocery store owners feel a strong sense of responsibility to their communities, but the threat of closure often looms.
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September 29, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Local grocery stores are lifelines for small towns. If the one in Greenbush closed, residents would have to travel 50 miles for other options.
Cuts to food assistance will hurt these grocers and rural Minnesotans.
www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
Cuts to food assistance will hurt these grocers and rural Minnesotans.
www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth doesn’t rule out gubernatorial run, but says her current role feels like the right place to be.
September 27, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth doesn’t rule out gubernatorial run, but says her current role feels like the right place to be.
MinnPost collaborated with Rural News Network on Sowing Resilience, a project exploring food insecurity in rural communities. For it I visited remote areas of Minnesota to learn how vital grocery stores are to quality of life.
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www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
What happens when the rural Minnesota grocery store closes?
Small-town grocery store owners feel a strong sense of responsibility to their communities, but the threat of closure often looms.
www.minnpost.com
September 23, 2025 at 2:37 PM
MinnPost collaborated with Rural News Network on Sowing Resilience, a project exploring food insecurity in rural communities. For it I visited remote areas of Minnesota to learn how vital grocery stores are to quality of life.
www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
Farm Aid 40 in Minneapolis was a day I won’t forget. Great story/photos by my MinnPost colleagues www.minnpost.com/arts-culture...
September 22, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Farm Aid 40 in Minneapolis was a day I won’t forget. Great story/photos by my MinnPost colleagues www.minnpost.com/arts-culture...
Court rulings and/or legislation seem inevitable to clear up disputed interpretations of Minnesota's cannabis law by cities.
Good reporting by @brianarola.bsky.social on the legal gray areas around Minnesota's cannabis laws that are being exposed by cities, and the growing expectations that the courts or state lawmakers will need to clarify. www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
Cities expose legal gray areas of Minnesota cannabis law - MinnPost
Conflicting interpretations over local government authority make it increasingly likely that judges or lawmakers will soon try to clarify cannabis law.
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September 22, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Court rulings and/or legislation seem inevitable to clear up disputed interpretations of Minnesota's cannabis law by cities.
Any goodwill derived from Minnesota lawmakers having to work together more last session will be tested by gun control debates. www.minnpost.com/state-govern...
Lawmakers pledge to lower the tone ahead of gun control debate
An annual report by the group promoting the pledge showed an uptick in bipartisanship at the Capitol in 2025.
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September 19, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Any goodwill derived from Minnesota lawmakers having to work together more last session will be tested by gun control debates. www.minnpost.com/state-govern...
Two tiers of Minneopa Falls.
September 13, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Two tiers of Minneopa Falls.
Enjoyed this interview with @jaygabler.com about the @duluthnewstribune.com's upcoming Edmund Fitzgerald podcast.
Thanks @minnpost.bsky.social for covering the forthcoming @duluthnewstribune.com Edmund Fitzgerald podcast!
News Tribune podcast explores legacy of Edmund Fitzgerald
Reporter Jay Gabler taps into the enduring fascination with the Lake Superior tragedy in ‘Edmund Fitzgerald: 50 Years Below.’
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September 5, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Enjoyed this interview with @jaygabler.com about the @duluthnewstribune.com's upcoming Edmund Fitzgerald podcast.
Fewer Canadians are coming to Minnesota this year amid strained U.S.-Canada relations. Last month I crossed the border for an interview with the Fort Frances mayor to hear how he's maintaining friendly relations with his American neighbors in International Falls.
www.minnpost.com/economy/2025...
www.minnpost.com/economy/2025...
Concern at Minnesota border as more Canadians stay home
The leaders of two border communities with longstanding ties hope U.S.-Canada relations will mend soon.
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September 3, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Fewer Canadians are coming to Minnesota this year amid strained U.S.-Canada relations. Last month I crossed the border for an interview with the Fort Frances mayor to hear how he's maintaining friendly relations with his American neighbors in International Falls.
www.minnpost.com/economy/2025...
www.minnpost.com/economy/2025...
Reposted by Brian Arola
Print is not dead! Greater Minnesota reporter @brianarola.bsky.social wrote about three local, family-owned newspapers in a western Minnesota county that are hanging on in part through collaboration: www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
Tiny Swift County bucks trend with three family owned papers
In this western Minnesota county of 9,900 people, three independent, print-focused publications keep the news flowing.
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August 22, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Print is not dead! Greater Minnesota reporter @brianarola.bsky.social wrote about three local, family-owned newspapers in a western Minnesota county that are hanging on in part through collaboration: www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
Long story short, the last photo before my car broke down along Minnesota’s northern border was of Willie Walleye in Baudette.
August 23, 2025 at 1:08 AM
Long story short, the last photo before my car broke down along Minnesota’s northern border was of Willie Walleye in Baudette.
O Canada! Giving myself a new, unofficial title as MinnPost’s international correspondent after today’s visit to Fort Frances, Ontario.
August 22, 2025 at 9:40 PM
O Canada! Giving myself a new, unofficial title as MinnPost’s international correspondent after today’s visit to Fort Frances, Ontario.
I ate my way through Minnesota’s biggest county fair, the Steele County Free Fair, over the weekend. Read on for highlights from one of my favorite events in Greater Minnesota.
August 18, 2025 at 12:50 AM
I ate my way through Minnesota’s biggest county fair, the Steele County Free Fair, over the weekend. Read on for highlights from one of my favorite events in Greater Minnesota.
Two Minnesota GOP congressmembers told me they want transparency when asked about the Epstein files, but what they'll do to ensure the Trump admin releases information remains to be seen.
www.minnpost.com/national/202...
www.minnpost.com/national/202...
‘We want transparency’: Minnesota’s Congressional delegation comments on Epstein files - MinnPost
Minnesota U.S. Reps. Pete Stauber and Brad Finstad called for transparency. Stauber also questioned Democrats' political motives.
www.minnpost.com
August 6, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Two Minnesota GOP congressmembers told me they want transparency when asked about the Epstein files, but what they'll do to ensure the Trump admin releases information remains to be seen.
www.minnpost.com/national/202...
www.minnpost.com/national/202...
Gov. Tim Walz rocking a Mankato River Ramble hat at Farmfest today.
August 6, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Gov. Tim Walz rocking a Mankato River Ramble hat at Farmfest today.
These 13 Minnesota cities applied for cannabis muni licenses. www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
These Minnesota cities are considering municipal cannabis stores
City-run cannabis shops would be national outliers, but successful municipal liquor stores provide a model to go by.
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August 5, 2025 at 9:53 PM
These 13 Minnesota cities applied for cannabis muni licenses. www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
While in Montgomery for an assignment recently @photoellen.bsky.social and I got swept up in preparations for Kolacky Days, a celebration of the city's Czech heritage. Her photos at a bakery 100+ years old are the real highlight here. www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
Czech-ing in from Montgomery, the kolacky capital of the world
Community festivals like Kolacky Days are part of the summer scene in Greater Minnesota, where themes run the gamut.
www.minnpost.com
August 1, 2025 at 4:28 PM
While in Montgomery for an assignment recently @photoellen.bsky.social and I got swept up in preparations for Kolacky Days, a celebration of the city's Czech heritage. Her photos at a bakery 100+ years old are the real highlight here. www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
An Albert Lea man didn't want to sue the city, but may do so after Councilors defied state law by denying his cannabis business license Monday. www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...
Albert Lea at odds with state law after denial of cannabis license
City councilors in the southern Minnesota town bemoan a lack of local control as the city attorney warns of consequences.
www.minnpost.com
July 29, 2025 at 5:32 PM
An Albert Lea man didn't want to sue the city, but may do so after Councilors defied state law by denying his cannabis business license Monday. www.minnpost.com/greater-minn...