In today’s segment, more Minnesota voters will be heading to the polls for special elections. Then, your online activity and data have new state protections. And, Minnesota has a new official State Constellation.
—–Executive Producer: Victor Palomino Producer: Xan Holston Anchor: Grace Jacobson Reader scripting: Frankie FelegyFact checking: Joel Glaser, Victor Palomino Editorial support: Emily Krumberger Mixing & mastering: Chris Harwood
Transcript
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HOST: You're listening to North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live, a daily newscast about what it means to live in Minnesota.
ANCHOR: In today's segment, more Minnesota voters will be heading to the polls for special elections. Then, your online activity and data have new state protections. And, Minnesota has a new official State Constellation.
I'm Gracie J.
2025 is turning out to be the year of special elections. Voters in Brooklyn Park in the North metro will be electing a successor for Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman on September 16th. A gunman assassinated Hortman and her husband. Residents in Buffalo, just north of the Cities, will be voting on November 4th to replace Senator Bruce Anderson, who died unexpectedly. And on November 4th, Woodbury voters need to replace Senator Nicole Mitchell, who resigned after being convicted of first-degree burglary. That will be the sixth special election this year. Two candidates for the Senate already serve in the House. If either wins, that would prompt another special election.
Next, from ads that follow you around online to Artificial Intelligence that makes decisions about your life, Minnesotans now have new rights to push back. Xan Holston has more on the state's new data privacy law.
Xan Holston: When you use an app shop online and scroll websites, you leave behind data like your name, location, browsing habits and even your voice. But what happens with that data is less clear.
Steve Elkins: Our data is being Hoovered up by businesses, large and small.
Xan Holston: That's State Representative Steve Elkins. He was the lead author on a bill that became the Minnesota Consumer Data Privacy Act, or MCDPA for short, a new law that went into effect July 31 and gives Minnesotans significantly more control over how their data is collected and used under the MCDPA. Minnesotans now have the right to see what data a company has about them, get a copy of it, correct it, and ask for it to be deleted. The law also gives people the right to opt out of targeted advertising and the sale of their data to third parties, something that often happens behind the scenes, without people even knowing.
Steve Elkins: There's a whole industry that is based on buying and selling our data and using it to make decisions about us.
Xan Holston: The MCDPA won't apply to most small businesses, just ones that handle data from more than 100,000 consumers or make over 25% of their revenue from selling personal information.
Steve Elkins: You're exempt as long as you're not actually in the business of buying, selling or processing data.
Xan Holston: But the protections aren't automatic. It's up to consumers to take control of how their data is handled. That means checking privacy policies, using opt out links and preference controls in websites and submitting formal requests if you want your data deleted or corrected. As Artificial Intelligence or AI systems play a growing role in decision making, consumer advocates say laws like this matter more than ever. Elkins shared the story of a well-established Minnesota attorney who was denied access to an apartment finding service.
Steve Elkins: And we asked them, you know, "Why am I being turned down for your apartment services?" They said, "Sorry, that's proprietary."
Xan Holston: That, he said, is an example of profiling, when companies use data and algorithms to make decisions, often without a human involved. But under the new law, Minnesotans can push back.
Caitlin Micko: Now consumers will have the right to opt out of profiling.
Xan Holston: That's Assistant Attorney General Caitlin Micko. She said Minnesota's law gives people the power to say--
Caitlin Micko: I don't want AI to decide whether or not I qualify for an apartment or a financial product or a job.
Xan Holston: The Attorney General's office is in charge of enforcing the new law that includes educating businesses, tracking complaints and stepping in if companies don't respond to data requests. Under the new law, businesses have 45 days to respond to requests. After that, consumers can report them to the Attorney General's office.
Caitlin Micko: We're hoping to work with businesses to achieve compliance. But, of course, we expect to also bring enforcement actions where there are serious violations.
Xan Holston: Minnesotans can learn more and get template forms for submitting data requests by visiting privacyMN.com. For North Star Stories, I'm Xan Holston.
ANCHOR: You are listening to North Star Stories.
Look up in the night sky and you just might see Minnesota – kind of. Our new state constellation is: Ursa Minor, thanks to a new Minnesota law. Ursa Minor is also known as the Little Bear or Little Dipper, since it looks a bit like a kitchen ladle. Ursa Minor contains the North Star in its shape and can be seen year-round, which is why it's been used for navigation in the Northern Hemisphere for thousands of years. The North Star is the closest of its kind to Earth – and maybe to our Minnesota hearts, too.
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HOST: North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota. Online at ampers dot org.