Does it feel like every trip to the grocery store costs more than it used to? You're not alone. With food prices still high, many households are looking for ways to stretch their grocery budgets.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two experts about smart shopping, cutting food waste and preparing healthy, affordable meals.

Guests:

• Mary Schroeder is a health and nutrition educator with the University of Minnesota Extension and a registered dietitian nutritionist. She specializes in helping individuals and families make healthy, affordable food choices through meal planning, food budgeting and food waste reduction. She is based in Willmar, Minnesota.
• Jenny Breen is a chef, public health nutritionist and author of “Cooking Up the Good Life.” She teaches culinary nutrition courses through the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing at the University of Minnesota.

Whether you're planning a weekend road trip or hoping to book a flight, travel costs can add up quickly. But there are ways to spend less without giving up the experiences that make a trip memorable.

MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about searching for airfare deals, ideas for destinations closer to home and finding more value when you travel.

Guests:

• Kyle Potter is the editor of the travel website Thrifty Traveler.
• Sara Joy Berhow is the public relations supervisor for the Parks and Trails Division of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.    

Next week, the United States marks a unique milestone: the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

For some Americans, the semiquincentennial is a moment to celebrate the nation’s achievements and ideals. For others, it is an opportunity to reflect on the gaps between those ideals and the realities of American history. For many, it is both.

MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about what the anniversary means for the U.S.

Craig Leipold may be one of downtown St. Paul’s biggest boosters.

He’s the owner of the Minnesota Wild, and his company manages the venues that bring two million people downtown every year for games, concerts and other events: the Grand Casino Arena, the Saint Paul RiverCentre and Roy Wilkins Auditorium.

This year, he expanded his sports franchises to include a new women’s volleyball team that he hopes will attract even more fans to downtown. And he just became majority owner of the historic St. Paul Hotel, the century-old hotel overlooking Rice Park where he stays on the top floor when he isn’t home in Racine, Wis.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Leipold about his career, the business of sports, being a dad of five sons and what’s ahead for downtown St. Paul.

Summer is a great time to get lost in a good story, discover a new author, or tackle that book on your nightstand. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two booksellers about their recommendations and what Minnesotans are reading.

Many people underestimate how much they spend on subscriptions and memberships.

Consumers think they spend around $90 a month, according to one survey. But when asked to actually add up those recurring fees, the average came to $220 a month — more than twice as much.

MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about the rise of the subscription economy, why recurring fees have become so common and how consumers can get a better handle on what they’re paying for.

Guests:

• Demitri McGee is a financial coach, certified housing counselor and youth director at Build Wealth Minnesota, a nonprofit opportunity center dedicated to helping families through financial education, personalized coaching and community-based programs.
• Akshay Rao is a professor of marketing at the University of Minnesota, where he holds the General Mills chair at the Carlson School of Management.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.    
 

From missing a father to mourning a changed relationship or grieving the dad you never had, Father’s Day isn't joyful for everyone.

On Thursday, MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about the complicated emotions the day can bring and strategies for coping.

Each minute after someone’s heart stops is a countdown towards death — nine in 10 people die if they experience a cardiac arrest outside a hospital.

Dave Ogle beat the odds. The Woodbury man’s heart stopped seven years ago while he was at home watching TV. His wife Kris Patrow was able to perform CPR until paramedics arrived. And then he was rushed to one of the few hospitals in the world that was pioneering new techniques that could restore blood flow to his lifeless body.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Ogle and Patrow about his recovery, and with a cardiologist about the importance of CPR and why Minnesota has some of the best cardiac arrest survival rates in the country.