February 13, 2009 - In what it calls a proactive move, St Paul's Penumbra Theatre has trimmed it's 3.8-million-dollar budget by almost a quarter.
February 13, 2009 - The Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul announced it is trimming its budget by almost a quarter and pushing a major production into next year.
March 10, 2009 - Penumbra's artistic director Lou Bellamy and actors join Midmorning to talk about Lorraine Hansberry's play, A Raisin in the Sun.
March 17, 2009 - Two senior statesmen reflect on public life and civic engagement. Former Vice President Walter Mondale and former U.S. Sen. Dave Durenberger discuss their experiences in public life and the need for civic engagement.
April 3, 2009 - Excerpt of Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak commenting on 2006 police shooting death. Rybak says city officials believe allegations of misconduct in the 2006 police shooting death of a 19-year-old man are false. Earlier this week, a lawyer representing the family of Fong Lee, filed affidavits which contradict police claims that Lee had a gun when Officer Jason Andersen shot and killed him. The documents also raise the possibility that the gun found next to Lee's body was planted by another police officer. Rybak urges people to be patient and let the legal process take its course.
April 13, 2009 - Governor Tim Pawlenty joins Gary Eichten in the MPR studio to answer questions about the state's $4.6 billion budget shortfall, and other key issues being debated in the 2009 legislative session.
April 14, 2009 - Margaret Anderson Kelliher, speaker of the Minnesota House; and Larry Pogemiller, the Minnesota Senate majority leader, discuss the $4.6 billion budget shortfall and other key issues being negotiated in the final five weeks of the 2009 Legislative session.
April 15, 2009 - Ahmed Samatar, dean of the Institute for Global Citizenship at Macalester College in St. Paul; and Hussein Samatar, founder and executive director of the African Development Center in Minneapolis, discuss the major concerns of Somalis living in Minnesota, including whether young men are being recruited to fight with terrorists. The two Somali men who are longtime Minnesota residents and U.S. citizens.
May 6, 2009 - MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill reports on some Indian activists that will fight a planned oil pipeline that would cross the Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota. Segment includes clip of commentary from Native American environmentalist Winonna LaDuke.
June 1, 2009 - MPR’s Elizabeth Stawicki reports on arguments to the Supreme Court over Senate seat.. Minnesota's long-running U.S. Senate race is in the hands of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Justices grilled attorneys for Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken during oral arguments. Coleman is appealing a three-judge panel's decision that put Franken ahead by 312 votes.