All Things Considered is a comprehensive source for afternoon news and information provided by various MPR hosts in St. Paul and NPR hosts in Washington over the decades. The program contains interviews, reports, speeches and breaking coverage.
February 27, 2006 - MPR’s William Wilcoxen reports on Teacher Quality Enrichment, a scholarship program that is helping diversify the ranks of the district's ESL teachers. St. Paul's public school district is trying to boost the number of immigrants teaching English as a second language.
March 6, 2006 - Former Minnesota Twin Kirby Puckett is listed in critical condition in an Arizona hospital after suffering a stroke. For fans and former teammates of the Hall of Fame outfielder, the news was received with shock and sadness.
March 7, 2006 - Along with the fans, Kirby Puckett's many former teammates are mourning his unexpected death. One of them is Roy Smalley. He played three seasons with Puckett ending with 1987, when the Twins won their first World Series. Roy Smalley remembers that season well, and agrees with the accounts that credit Puckett with leading the Twins to its first championship.
March 8, 2006 - MPR’s Karl Gehrke reports that the University of Minnesota School of Music and the SPCO are collaborating on a festival exploring Elliot Carter's confounding work. On first hearing, Carter's music sounds chaotic. It doesn't fit into preconceived notions of what "classical" music should sound like. There's no single, steady rhythmic pulse or recurring melodic themes to grab onto.
March 9, 2006 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann interviews Lee Pao Xiong, director of Concordia's Center for Hmong Studies, about the first ever International Conference on Hmong Studies. Academics from around the world are coming to Concordia University to talk about a culture undergoing dramatic transition.
March 20, 2006 - MPR’s Toni Randolph reports on a bill making its way through the state Senate that would allow recognition of Hmong cultural marriages by the state of Minnesota. The measure would give the negotiators between families in Hmong cultural weddings the authority to perform legal marriages, but the bill is getting resistance from some Hmong leaders.
March 22, 2006 - Dr. Jon Hallberg, a team physician for the Minnesota Twins, describes various off the field issues in the MLB, including steroid use. Hallberg also details squad’s health at spring training in Fort Myers.
March 23, 2006 - MPR’s Tim Pugmire reports on a "People of Faith” rally at the Minnesota State Capital, where opponents of a proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman gathered at the state Capitol.
March 24, 2006 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann interviews Scott Coooper, a lobbyist for OutFront Minnesota -- an advocacy organization for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community. Cooper says amendment would cut off discussion on gay marriage issue.
April 18, 2006 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann talks with Jacob Reitan, director of the Soul Force Equality Ride; and Jay Barnes, Bethel University's Provost, about a visit of the cross-country bus tour by gay-rights activists to Bethel University.