Midday, the longest running MPR news program, began as an extension of a daily half hour noon newscast called “Midday Report.” In September 1971 it expanded into various longer iterations, running weekdays, as well as encompassing some weekend programming. During this period, it was described as: “A program of news and information, a calendar of the day’s cultural events and the environmental report.” In January 1972 the name changed to Midday, and a month later it was described as: “A program of news, consumer and environmental information, discussion of public issues, and reports by the MPR and NPR news staffs."
Separate MPR public affairs programming were featured, such as Spectrum, Sportfolio, MPR Special, Insight, Weekend, Forum, and MPR’s Mainstreet Radio, among others. Local programming was also featured, including Westminster Town Hall Forum, Carlson Lecture Series, Minnesota Meeting, Minnesota Press Club, and Mondale Policy Forum. National outside programming included Options, Horizons, Communique, National Press Club, Chappaqua Lecture, Ford Hall Forum, Commonwealth Club, among others; and interview shows from the likes of Studs Terkel, William F. Buckley and Nancy Fushan.
As the years progressed, the “Interview” and “Call-in” would become a regular format for Midday. Beginning in the mid-1970’s until 1992, Midday was hosted by Bob Potter, after which, Gary Eichten became the permanent host. Many guest hosts also participated over the years. During the Eichten era, Midday became a daily two-hour program staple, running from 11AM-1PM. Midday ended its run in January 2012, when long-time host Eichten retired.
February 25, 2005 - By the time you finish this sentence, you may very well have decided whether or not to listen to Malcolm Gladwell's speech at the Commonwealth Club of California. Gladwell's book "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" is about these kinds of split-second decisions: how they are made, why they are often surprisingly good and why they are sometimes tragically bad. Part 1
February 25, 2005 - By the time you finish this sentence, you may very well have decided whether or not to listen to Malcolm Gladwell's speech at the Commonwealth Club of California. Gladwell's book "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" is about these kinds of split-second decisions: how they are made, why they are often surprisingly good and why they are sometimes tragically bad. Part 2
March 2, 2005 - John Feinstein covered sports and politics in his eleven years at the Washington Post. He has written several bestselling books, including "A Season on the Brink" and "A Good Walk Spoiled," but Feinstein's latest novel is his first foray into the genre of young adult fiction. "Last Shot" is the story of two teenagers who win press passes to cover college basketball's Final Four and unearth a plot to fix the big game.
March 4, 2005 - For years New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote prolifically on globalization. Then 9/11 happened, and the tragedy consumed his attention. Friedman has said he "lost the thread" of globalization for a while. His forthcoming book, "The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century," picks up the thread. Thomas Friedman is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, a bestselling author and a native of St. Louis Park, Minn.
March 25, 2005 - An MPR Special Report, titled “What Happened in Red Lake?”, details the chronology of the shooting at Red Lake, what's known about the student who killed nine people and himself, and what makes this sovereign Indian community different from other communities. The special also examines the shooting within the context of other school shootings.
April 5, 2005 - The Iranian presidential election in June is expected to bring a conservative successor to reformist President Mohammad Khatami, but Iranian-American journalist Azadeh Moaveni says that her generation of young Iranians is hungry for democratic reform. Moaveni is the author of the bestselling "Lipstick Jihad: A Memoir of Growing up Iranian in America and American in Iran."
April 11, 2005 - Reacting testily to criticism from former Gov. Jesse Ventura last week, House Speaker Steve Sviggum, R-Kenyon, shot back that "the former governor and governors always have more strength, more criticism, more vision and knowledge after they've left office, then when they were in." What do some other former Minnesota governors think of the current legislative session?
April 14, 2005 - Betty Crocker was born in 1921 in the Home Services Department of Minneapolis' Washburn Crosby Company, which would later become General Mills. She was conceived as a pen name to answer the torrent of baking questions pouring into the office, and the name stuck. In the decades that followed she became the domestic ideal, the role model to which millions of American women aspired, or were expected to aspire. Susan Marks is the author of "Finding Betty Crocker: The Secret Life of America's First Lady of Food."
April 28, 2005 - New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has come to the conclusion that Christopher Columbus had it all wrong. He says the world isn't round, at least not anymore. In his new book, "The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century," Friedman argues that communication technology has leveled the international economic playing field, allowing people from Brainerd to Bangalore to compete on a more or less even footing. Thomas Friedman is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, a bestselling author and a native of St. Louis Park, Minn.
May 26, 2005 - The voices of three Minnesota Republicans. Voices of Minnesota takes a tour of the GOP's big tent with three prominent Minnesota Republicans from the party's left wing to its right: Sally Pillsbury, Wheelock Whitney and Bill Cooper.