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🔮 The Biggest Stories Predicted for 2026

January 5, 2026 · — Anna

Hi friends! Executive Producer Anna Weggel here. Today’s newsletter is a fun one because it features predictions from all 13 City Casts hosts from around the country about what they think the biggest story in their city is going to be in 2026.

After a refreshing break, we’re so excited to get back to our regular ol’ schedule of bringing you weekday newsletters and podcasts episodes starting today. Did you miss us? We certainly missed the work! As always, feel free to reply to this email and let us know how your holidays went, and what your hopes and dreams are for the Twin Cities this year.

Today’s Must-Know

14 people smiling on a conference call
City Cast hosts and CEO David Plotz (top left) eager to share their predictions for their city in 2026. (City Cast)

The Biggest 2026 Stories Predicted by City Cast

Nobody understands a city’s pulse quite like a City Cast host — their knack for spotting what matters proved them to be a reliable voice for 2025’s biggest local stories. Now, we’re turning to them to forecast what’s in store for 2026. From political shifts to data centers, their perspectives offer a candid preview of the issues and surprises that could shape our hometowns.

Curious what’s around the corner? Catch their unique insights on our latest podcast episode, where all 13 hosts predicted this year’s biggest stories. Here’s a preview of that conversation:

Local Politics

  • The Twin Cities, a longtime hub for legal immigration, is facing rising tension as ICE continues to target the Somali community. One Republican state representative has already spoken out against Trump’s rhetoric, but there are also voices supporting the president’s language. Which way will things shift in 2026? “ This year is going to be a lot of navigating, coming to a consensus. There's a spot I hope we land, but I'm not certain where we will land.” — Sean McPherson
  • Several of Chicago and Illinois’ longest-serving leaders are retiring, which could open the door to a competitive primary and potentially transform a new generation of Democratic leadership.

Data Centers

  • Many City Cast cities are seeing a surge in data center development. “It’s going to be a doozy” of a conversation in 2026, as our CEO David Plotz pointed out.
  • In Madison, the mayor and much of the City Council last year proposed a one-year moratorium on zoning certificates for new data centers while they try to better understand how data centers could impact the electric grid and energy bills. City Cast Madison host Bianca Martin says Madisonians are “up in arms.” “Folks are concerned that this might be a bubble, that this could be another dot-com bubble where Silicon Valley folks rush in, move to scale, and then they’re like, let’s abandon ship,” Martin says.
🎧 More City Cast predictions for 2026

What to Do

Monday, January 5

Tuesday, January 6

More Twin Cities Events

We’ll be back tomorrow with a Twin Cities-only version of this same topic. We asked our contributors to share a prediction for the one story they know in their hearts will come true in 2026. Some are funny, some are heartbreaking, some are horrifying. Make sure you tune in!

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