Collection
LGBTQ+ life in Minnesota
LGBTQ+ life in Minnesota is a chronological collection of stories that provide a glimpse into the history and sometimes turbulent nature of the LGBTQ+ experience in the state. This curation is not to highlight individual Minnesotans based on their orientation, but rather to present voices of and on the LGBTQ+ community…as it relates to the enduring fight for civil rights, societal achievements, and the act of many in attaining acceptance and inclusion in towns, family, healthcare, church, education, politics, arts, and the workplace.
212 Collection Items
- ‘Motherpuckers’ teach women’s hockey with joy and inclusion, and a little irreverence
MPR’s Dan Kraker profiles the Duluth hockey team ‘Motherpuckers,’ which teaches beginner hockey for women, nonbinary, and transgender people.
- Professional transgender disc golfer suing sport's top league for discrimination in Minnesota
MPR’s Nina Moini interviews Natalie Ryan on her love for the sport of disc golf, as well as why she is suing one of the leagues in Minnesota.
- ChangeMakers: Davin Sokup - First trans man elected to office in greater Minnesota
On this segment of ChangeMaker series, MPR’s Nina Moini interviews Davin Sokup, the first trans man elected to office in greater Minnesota. Sokup, 36, has served Northfield as an at-large council representative since January 2023. Sokup speaks to getting involved in public service and for people to begin dialog with a trans individual to better understand each other.
- Call to Mind: Queer Youth Resilience and Mental Health
MPR News shares a special broadcast from Call to Mind, American Public Media’s initiative to foster conversations about mental health. Program includes experts’ insights on queer youth mental health, new data from the Trevor Project about the consequences of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, stories of families in different parts of the country who face state laws that prevent trans people from accessing gender-affirming care, and the voices of young people attending the Miami Beach Pride festival.
- Jean-Nickolaus Tretter, renowned Twin Cities LGBTQ archivist, dies at 76
St. Paul resident Jean-Nickolaus Tretter, who was involved in the launch of Twin Cities Pride and began one of the few Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender archival collections in the country, passed away at the age of 76.
- Voters poised to send first openly trans person to Minnesota Legislature
A milestone victory Tuesday night could send the first transgender person to Minnesota’s Legislature. MPR’s Brian Bakst interviews Leigh Finke, a video production company owner, who prevailed in her DFL primary for an open House seat in the St. Paul area. She’ll be the favorite heading into November’s election.
- Looking back on 50 years of Pride in the Twin Cities
All Things Considered’s Tom Crann speaks with Jean Tretter, a founder of Twin Cities Pride; and Roxanne Anderson, founder of Power to the People, about the 50th anniversary of the Pride festival in the Twin Cities.
- 'Nothing about my book that is anything but love': Minneapolis author responds to Texas book list
All Things Considered’s Tom Crann interviews Minneapolis activist and writer Junauda Petrus about her book “The Stars and the Blackness Between Them” being placed on a potenial banned books list in Texas. The book is the story of two black girls from very different backgrounds finding love and happiness in a world that seems determined to deny them both.
- Ghosts, murder, forbidden love roam northern Minnesota in Ojibwe writer's new novel
MPR’s John Enger interviews Native American author Dennis Staples about his first novel, "This Town Sleeps." The story depicts the struggle of a gay Ojibwe man to accept a Native tradition where he rarely felt at home, while escaping a reservation he could never quite leave. It is told through the eyes of a twenty-something narrator, who bears a striking resemblance to Staples himself.
- Gay Marriage - The look back at the biggest political story of the decade in Minnesota
MPR’s Briana Bierschbach presents a sound montage summary of the biggest polictical story of the decade in Minnesota…the fight for passage of a same-sex marriage bill. Report includes numerous clips of the debate and outcome.