Paul David Wellstone was an American Democrat politician, academic, and author who represented Minnesota in the United States Senate from 1991 until he was killed in a plane crash in Eveleth, Minnesota, on October 25, 2002.
Born July 21, 1944 in Washington D.C., Wellstone was a professor at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and a community organizer in Rice County prior to entering public office. Wellstone gained national attention after his upset victory over Republican incumbent Rudy Boschwitz in the 1990 US Senate election. In his 1996 reelection campaign, he defeated Boschwitz in a rematch. As a member of the Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, Wellstone was a vocal leader of the progressive wing of the national Democratic Party.
August 26, 1993 - Midday’s Gary Eichten hosts U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone live from the Minnesota State Fair. Wellstone answers audience and listener questions on health care, the economy, NAFTA, etc.
October 20, 1993 - U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone talks congressional actions and the non-binding agreement being worked on regarding political and social unrest in Haiti.
November 26, 1993 - U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone reflects on the political efforts and accomplishments of 1993. Topics include voter registration, campaign reform, earned income credit, crime bill, amongst others. Wellstone also comments on his concern on the economy and conflict in Yugoslavia.
December 14, 1993 - Dave Durenberger and Paul Wellstone, Minnesota’s U.S. senators, debate at Minnesota Meeting. The topic of debate is health-care reform. Durenberger is an advocate of managed competition in health care, while Wellstone is an advocate of a single-payer system. Minnesota Meeting is a non-profit corporation which hosts a wide range of public speakers. It is managed by the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
December 16, 1993 - Paul Wellstone, Minnesota U.S. senator, discusses his fact-finding trip to the former Yugoslavia. Wellstone also answers listeners.
January 13, 1994 - U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone discusses his support for The Partnership for Peace, a program by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that aims to increase stability and security in the Euro-Atlantic region.
February 7, 1994 - U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone shares his view that NATO and the West need to act on the Bosnia conflict in order to end atrocities and violence against civilians.
April 18, 1994 - MPR’s Gary Eichten talks with U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone about the options available to the U.S. as Goražde, a U.N. designated safe haven, has been taken over by Bosnian Serb military.
May 11, 1994 - U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone comments on the upcoming vote on ethic bill in the U.S. Senate.
August 17, 1994 - U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone comments on what was found in U.S. Army documents about spraying in parts of Minnesota in the 1950s. Wellstone worked to get information released.