A selection of programs and series throughout the decades that were broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio.
Click here for specific content for Midday, and All Things Considered.
January 30, 2019 - MPR’s Matt Sepic reports on the various ways Minnesotans are dealing with the brutal cold snap that hit the state. Amid some of the coldest weather in a generation, the Postal Service stopped delivering mail, schools closed, homeless sought shelter, a rail on the Blue Line cracked, Twin Cities hospitals saw a jump in frostbite cases, and there were broken water mains. Report is followed by an interview with John Storkamp, a runner in the Arrowhead 135 race.
January 31, 2019 - MPR’s Brian Bakst reports that Governor Tim Walz has provided the first details about what will be in a two-year budget package he’ll release. The DFLer told a group of Greater Minnesota mayors to expect a hefty increase in aid from the state. Walz says there is more than that in store for communities beyond the metropolitan area.
February 7, 2019 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann talks with data journalist Tony Webster about police departments asking judges to approve what are called “reverse location” search warrants, which allow police to collect cellphone data near crime scenes.
February 7, 2019 - MPR’s Brian Bakst reports on Governor Walz’s efforts to get up to speed on pressing issues and learn more about legislators who will decide the fate of his agenda. Waves of House members and state senators will be invited to mingle with Governor Walz and a few commissioners at the official Summit Avenue residence.
February 19, 2019 - MPR’s Tim Pugmire reports on Governor Tim Walz releasing a two-year budget plan that provides a big funding boost for schools, raises the gas tax, restores the health care provider tax, and allows a buy-in option for MinnesotaCare. In announcing his first budget recommendations, the DFL governor says his priorities of education, health care and community prosperity reflect the promises he made as a candidate.
February 25, 2019 - MPR’s Marianne Combs reports on gusting winds and drifting snow that trapped hundreds in areas of Minnesota. Combs interviews some of those that were trapped and officials who rescued them.
February 26, 2019 - MPR’s Tim Pugmire reports on DFL Governor Tim Walz’s release of a $1.3 billion package of public construction projects that he says makes crucial investments across the state. The largest parts of the borrowing plan are for transportation and higher education, but Walz put a special emphasis on spending he wants for affordable housing.
March 5, 2019 - MPR’s Tim Pugmire reports that DFL Governor Tim Walz signed his first two bills, and he suggested the bipartisan agreements could be a model for the rest of the session. Despite frequent calls for “early wins,” lawmakers took two months to put legislation on the new governor’s desk. Neither Walz nor top legislative leaders were sounding disappointed.
March 6, 2019 - On this episode of Appetites, MPR’s Tom Crann talks with chef Yia Vang about Hmong food and his latest project in a residency at Sociable Cider Werks in northeast Minneapolis. Historically, Hmong people as an indigenous group moved around Southeast Asia to find quality farmlands. Vang says that aspect of the culture and history of the Hmong people is why the food can't be tied to a specific product, technique or style.
March 8, 2019 - MPR’s Dan Kraker visits an area about a quarter-mile offshore from Duluth's Leif Erikson Park, where a hearty band of volunteers have carved a skating rink unlike any other on the frozen surface of Lake Superior. It is an increasing rarity, as warmer winters over the past few decades have resulted in substantially less ice cover.