Minnesota

Food benefits frozen for 20,000-plus families, primarily children, in Minnesota amid shutdown

Published

6 months ago

October 31, 2025

Food benefits frozen for 20,000-plus families, primarily children, in Minnesota amid shutdown

The federal government shutdown has frozen money for another food assistance program in Minnesota, and the majority of people impacted are children.

Federal money for November food benefits under the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) has been halted as the shutdown continues.

Unlike the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), whose federal funding has also been frozen, MFIP was specifically designed for young families and pregnant women. It’s also temporary, and there’s more than grocery money bundled into it. There’s also a cash benefit to help families cover diapers, medications, school supplies, and more.

However, at least half of that money is designated for groceries, and that part of MFIP is frozen.

Tabitha Pannell is a single mother of two girls. While pregnant, Pannell said she found out her eldest child, now 3 years old, had congenital heart defects and required surgery starting at birth. That’s when she applied and was approved for MFIP.

“I knew that would be challenging, and at the time, I didn’t have a good enough job to sustain providing,” Pannell said.

“And with medical complexities, that’s kind of a scary road as a new parent alone.”

Now, the $650 a month the family of three counts on for groceries won’t be coming in.

“I know I’m not going to be able to make up that particular amount,” she said.

“If these parents, like myself, we don’t have a fallback plan, that gets really tricky.”

More than 23,000 Minnesota families use MFIP each month on average, according to information provided by the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF).

“Families are incredibly worried and concerned about how they will put food on the table. They’re worried about the long-term impacts that it might have on their children’s health,” DCYF Commissioner Tikki Brown said.

About $20 million in federal funds goes to these families, mostly young kids, every month, Brown said, adding that a large chunk of that, the grocery money, isn’t coming for November.

Earlier this week, the state committed an additional $4 million to food banks in anticipation of MFIP and SNAP benefits running out.

“A lot of food pantries and food shelves, they’re an option, but they’re going to be overwhelmed,” Pannell said.

$4 million seems like a drop in the bucket, even when it comes to MFIP, which is a much smaller program than SNAP, and Brown agreed.

“Correct,” Brown said. “Right, if this goes into December, I’m incredibly concerned about what Minnesotans will be facing.”

“That’s kind of what I’m bracing myself for,” Pannell said, asked about her family’s situation if the shutdown continues beyond November.

“You know, politics aside, there’s kids that are not being fed, and if that doesn’t infuriate anyone, than that speaks to a larger issue.”

State officials are looking, but have not come up with any additional places to pull money from, Brown said.

“It’s been incredibly discouraging to know that, despite our very best efforts, unless Congress acts, our hands are truly tied,” she said.

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Minnesota

AJR Brings Their Catchy Pop Hits To The Minnesota State Fair in 2026

Published

10 hours ago

April 14, 2026

Press Room

AJR Brings Their Catchy Pop Hits To The Minnesota State Fair in 2026

ST. PAUL (WJON News) — A multiplatinum indie pop trio will grace the stage of the Great Minnesota Get Together this summer. AJR will hit the stage at the Minnesota State Fair on Wednesday, September 2nd. The trio has generated billions of streams and four platinum singles, along with being one of the 500 most listened to artists on Spotify.

AJR will be joined by Quinn XCII (92) and Avery Cochrane. Quinn XCII (92) blends pop, alternative, and genre-bending storytelling and has garnered multiple platinum singles like “Straightjacket.” Tickets for AJR go on sale at 10:00 a.m. on Friday.

9 grandstand shows have now been announced for the 2026 state fair.

AJR joins Bonnie Raitt, “Weird” Al Yankovic, Sierra Ferrell, Tommy James & The Shondells with special guest Herman Hermit’s Peter Noone, Rod Stewart with Richard Marx, Brad Paisley, and the It’s Iconic tour with TLC, Salt-N-Pepa, and En Vogue as acts announced for the 2026 state fair.

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Two classic rock legends in Kansas and Jefferson Starship brought down the house at the Ledge Amphitheater in 2025.

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Turnpike Troubadours at the Ledge

The American Country Band Turnpike Troubadours took the stage at the Ledge Amphitheater in Waite Park with their “Wild America” tour and special guest Old Crow Medicine Show.

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Minnesota

What a University of Minnesota grad has done for space exploration

Published

22 hours ago

April 14, 2026

Press Room

What a University of Minnesota grad has done for space exploration

The successful Artemis II mission around the moon is a reminder that space exploration is built on decades of groundwork. Photojournalist Joe Van Ryn and Frankie McLister show how a University of Minnesota graduate helped pave the way for spaceflight.

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Minnesota

Minnesota county is investigating potential kidnapping and false imprisonment by federal officers

Published

1 day ago

April 13, 2026

Press Room

Minnesota county is investigating potential kidnapping and false imprisonment by federal officers

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota officials are planning to investigate the actions of federal law enforcement officers in one county, potentially including a kidnapping, burglary and false imprisonment.

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi and Sheriff Bob Fletcher said they planned to release more details about the investigation at a news conference later Monday. Ramsey County includes the state capital of St. Paul.

Choi and Fletcher said they will pursue information they need for the investigation from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The department has refused so far to cooperate with other state and local investigations into the killings by federal officers of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

The news conference announcement did not specify which incident is being investigated, but the county’s chief prosecutor and sheriff said they would ask the public for information about this and other incidents.

The state and the chief prosecutor in Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, sued the Trump administration last month to gain access to evidence they say they need to independently investigate three shootings by federal officers in Minneapolis, including the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

The lawsuit accuses the federal government of reneging on its promise to cooperate with state investigations after the surge of around 3,000 federal law enforcement officers into Minnesota.

Minnesota and Hennepin County have also appealed to the public to share information about federal officers’ potentially illegal activities, given the refusal by federal authorities to provide evidence.

The Trump administration has suggested Minnesota officials don’t have jurisdiction to investigate those cases. State and county prosecutors say they need to conduct their own inquiries because they don’t trust the federal government.

The Justice Department in January said it was opening a federal civil rights investigation into Pretti’s killing, and two officers have been placed on leave, but the agency said a similar federal probe was not warranted in Good’s death.

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