From Soul of the Southside in Minneapolis to Opal’s Walk for Freedom in St. Paul and celebrations in St. Cloud, Winona, Marshall and beyond, here is your comprehensive guide to Juneteenth 2026 events across Minnesota.
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Posted inFood
HEAL After Dark Is Creating the Late-Night Space North Minneapolis Has Always Deserved
HEAL After Dark is open Friday through Sunday from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. at 4171 Lyndale Ave. N. in North Minneapolis, offering plant-forward, scratch-made late-night dining rooted in Southern, Caribbean, Latin and Mediterranean-inspired flavors.
Posted inEvents
Movie on the Farm: Watch Farming While Black Under the Stars This Juneteenth
Frogtown Farm is hosting a free outdoor screening of Farming While Black on June 19 at Frogtown Park and Farm in St. Paul, inviting the community to gather under the evening sky this Juneteenth to reflect on Black land stewardship, food sovereignty and liberation.
Posted inEvents
The 28th Annual Twin Cities Jazz Festival Returns June 19-20 With Free Performances All Weekend
The 28th Annual Twin Cities Jazz Festival brings world-class talent to Mears Park and more than 18 St. Paul venues on June 19 and 20, with all performances free and open to the public in the Lowertown neighborhood of downtown St. Paul.
Posted inPolitics
Federal bill could gut state protections for kids on social media
Contributing writer Anya Armentrout examines how social media harms Black youth disproportionately, why Minnesota’s new Stop the Harms Act matters and why advocates fear the federal KIDS Act would gut state-level protections that actually have teeth.
Posted inHealth + Wellness
Turning Point celebrates 50 years of culturally specific care
Turning Point, Inc. MN, a North Minneapolis substance abuse treatment center serving the African American community with a culturally specific approach, celebrated its 50th anniversary this week, having served more than 25,000 clients since 1976.
Posted inAnother View
In a 30-year league, Black female head coaches are nearly extinct
The WNBA is 64% to 70% Black, yet there is not a single Black female head coach in the league this season. MSR sports columnist Charles Hallman examines why that disparity is not getting the attention it deserves.
Posted inLocal & State
118 Men at Rush City Prison Launch Canteen Strike, Demand Meeting With DOC Central Office
One hundred and eighteen men incarcerated at Minnesota Correctional Facility-Rush City have launched a peaceful canteen strike and are calling on Department of Corrections officials to come to the prison directly to address what they describe as extreme and violent conditions of confinement.
Posted inOpinion
License plate readers can help keep our communities safe this summerÂ
Sanneh Foundation executive director Tony Sanneh makes the case for license plate reader cameras as a practical public safety tool that can help law enforcement respond faster, deter crime and protect communities during the busy summer months.
Posted inOdds and Ends
Natasha Howard returns to Minnesota for a full-circle moment
Natasha Howard has returned to Minnesota, where she won her first WNBA championship in 2017, signing as a free agent and immediately becoming one of the Lynx’s most impactful contributors alongside fellow free agent addition Nia Coffey.
Posted inYouth Financial Education
Financial foundations: Distinguishing needs vs. wants
Sponsored by JPMorgan Chase. The second installment of MSR’s Youth Financial Education Series explores the difference between needs and wants through the experience of 25-year-old Alexis Harmon, who is using the 50/30/20 rule to build toward homeownership and financial stability.
Posted inPolitics
The Convention Hall and the Kitchen Table
Hamline University political science professor David Schultz builds a median voter index scoring 12 contested issues to show that Minnesota’s center-left voter sits at 60, while the DFL scores 80 and the Minnesota GOP scores 23, explaining why Republicans have not won a statewide race in two decades.
Posted inMusic
Minneapolis Showed Up for Prince at the Celebration 2026 Block Party and Sing Along
Emmanuel Duncan recaps the Prince Celebration 2026 Block Party and Sing Along, which brought fans, neighbors and music lovers together in downtown Minneapolis for a free celebration of one of the most iconic artists the world has ever known.
Posted inWNBA
WNBA’s push for cleaner play brings more fouls, longer games
Nearly a month into the WNBA season, the league’s new officiating points of emphasis have produced mixed results, with foul counts up significantly and games stretching longer, while the new CBA’s developmental player spots are opening doors for younger players across the league.
Posted inProfiles In Power
Nico Woods is building Black political infrastructure from the ground up
At 36, South Minneapolis native Nico Woods is building a sustainable political infrastructure for Black communities through Victory of the People, connecting more than 200 young people to political opportunities and developing a pipeline of future leaders.
Posted inEvents
The Black Parachute Is Giving Away Free Journals for Black Men Across the Twin Cities
The Black Parachute founder Josh Cobb is bringing free guided journals and mental wellness resources directly to Black men across the Twin Cities through a series of pop-up events this summer, with stops at Juneteenth celebrations and community events through August.
Posted inEvents
ART BQ Returns June 16 at MLK Recreation Center in St. Paul
825 Arts is hosting a free ART BQ pop-up on June 16 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center in St. Paul, featuring a community forum on neighborhood tax dollars, food from Gravy Babies, Plant Bingo and 3-on-3 basketball.
Posted inLocal & State
Fitz was my best friend in Minnesota
Contributing writer Ray Richardson shares a deeply personal tribute to Larry Fitzgerald Sr., his best friend in Minnesota for more than 30 years, tracing their connection from a Williams Arena media room in 1990 to Super Bowl press boxes and a lifetime of shared memories.
Posted inEducation
Black Student Loan Default Rate Five Times Higher Than White BorrowersÂ
A coalition of civil rights and consumer advocates is urging the federal Education Department to halt plans to garnish wages of nearly 9 million student loan borrowers in default, warning the policy will disproportionately harm Black and older borrowers.
Posted inBlack Business Spotlight
How one St. Paul makeup artist built her business from the ground up after high school
Black Business Spotlight: Makeup artist Kelexis McKinley built Slayage By Keke over 11 years from experimenting in the mirror after high school into a storefront beauty studio on University Avenue in St. Paul.SUBTITLE
Black Business Spotlight: Makeup artist Kelexis McKinley spent 11 years building Slayage By Keke from a home glam room to a storefront