Ascension Catholic's unconventional plan to hire and retain teachers
For the last three years, about 10% of the teaching staff at Ascension Catholic in Minneapolis hasn't had a teaching license or degree.
Jonah Kaplan is WCCO and CBS News Minnesota's award-winning investigative reporter who has built a strong reputation for his balanced and in-depth coverage of high-impact issues affecting the community.
He has conducted exclusive interviews with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, among many other high-ranking federal and state officials. Jonah's also been an integral part of severe weather and breaking news coverage over his nearly 15-year career, including embedding on a C-130 flight with the U.S. Air Force into the eye of Hurricane Florence in 2018.
Jonah actually started in sports working behind the scenes with TV crews at YES Network and ESPN, but later made the switch to news in part to watch the games instead of work them! His work on-air has since appeared on CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN and MSNBC.
Jonah's professional journey includes stops at WTVD-TV in Raleigh, NC; WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee, WI; KSPR-TV in Springfield, MO; KAUZ-TV in Wichita Falls, TX; Gray Television's Washington D.C. Bureau; and the NHL's Boston Bruins. He graduated with honors from Boston University's College of Communication.
Jonah has received multiple awards for his work, including the 2023 Upper Midwest Emmy for Best Reporter, and he is two-time winner of the TV News Reporter of the Year award from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) of the Carolinas.
Outside the newsroom, you can find Jonah struggling to remain a fan of Philadelphia sports teams, playing ice hockey, or chanting and leading music at area synagogues (he's a son of two rabbis!). Jonah lives in the Minneapolis area with his wife and three daughters.
For the last three years, about 10% of the teaching staff at Ascension Catholic in Minneapolis hasn't had a teaching license or degree.
The University of Minnesota confirmed on Thursday that a 2021 breach of a university database may have compromised personal information of students and staff dating back to 1989.
Many U.S. public school facilities need at least a facelift, with half needing updates or replacements, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
"You have to continue to invest in cyber defenses because the threats continue to evolve," said MNIT Commissioner Tarek Tomes.
MPS leaders tell WCCO the district did much better this summer in retaining its students, but that's a low bar considering just how many students have left over the past few years.
A 21-year-old woman who helped GOP donor Anton Lazzaro sex traffic underage girls at "every step of the way" was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison.
There are more than 200 police officers, sheriff's deputies and state troopers from more than 60 law enforcement agencies at the fairgrounds this year.
Hurricane Idalia is forecasted to become an extremely dangerous Category 3 storm, packing winds up to 120 mph.
There are nearly 38,000 fixtures that light up in St. Paul at night, and it only takes a few missing bulbs to illuminate a major problem.
The report also noted a spike in chronic absenteeism since the pandemic. Only about 70% of students attended school at least 90% of the school year. Before the pandemic, that figure was closer to 85%.
Extreme temperature swings are very normal and very Minnesotan, according to climate scientists. But things are changing, and not necessarily for the better.
Few details were immediately available, but U officials say that they "became aware that an unauthorized party claimed to possess sensitive data allegedly taken from the University's systems" late last month.
"I just came so far from where I've begun," said Conner Erickson.
Canadian authorities are warning while we could be dealing with this smoke, they could be dealing with more states of emergency until October.
Boil orders have happened before in Brainerd; the city is among the few municipalities in Minnesota to not treat their water.