LGBTQ+ life in Minnesota is a chronological collection of stories that provide a glimpse into the history and sometimes turbulent nature of the LGBTQ+ experience in the state. This curation is not to highlight individual Minnesotans based on their orientation, but rather to present voices of and on the LGBTQ+ community…as it relates to the enduring fight for civil rights, societal achievements, and the act of many in attaining acceptance and inclusion in towns, family, healthcare, church, education, politics, arts, and the workplace.
January 29, 2015 - MPR’s Lorna Benson profiles Dr. Keith Henry, who in 1985 opened the state's first HIV/AIDS clinic at a public hospital in St. Paul as AIDS and fear of AIDS patients gripped Minnesota and the world. Henry and others reflect on what has changed in the last 30 years in supporting those fighting the disease.
June 10, 2015 - MPR’s Marianne Combs profiles One Voice Mixed Chorus of Unity Church Unitarian in St. Paul. The chorus bills itself as the largest LGBT and Allies chorus in the nation, with more than 125 singers and an additional 50 volunteers. For years the chorus has explored issues surrounding gender.
July 16, 2015 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann talks with Jack Baker and Michael McConnell, who made history in 1970 when they walked into the Hennepin County Courthouse and became the first same-sex couple in the country to apply for a marriage license.
January 22, 2016 - MPR’s Brian Bakst details the appointment of Margaret Chutich to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Chutich is the first openly gay justice on court.
June 17, 2016 - Morning Edition presents music segment of the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus with a song from their new choral opera "Two Boys Kissing" which premieres at the Ted Mann Concert Hall in Minneapolis.
July 14, 2016 - With Hennepin History Museum hosting an exhibition on the Quatrefoil Library, MPR’s Marianne Combs profiles the library and its history. Quatrefoil is one of just a few LGBT lending libraries in the nation.
November 20, 2016 - MPR’s Lorna Benson reports on a Ramsey County court ruling that Minnesota's refusal to cover transition-related surgeries violates the state constitution. State lawmakers enacted the ban in 2005, selling it as a cost-saving measure, and it only applied to people receiving state Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare benefits.
March 12, 2017 - MPR’s Laura Yuen talks with Christina Ginther on why she is suing the Minnesota Vixen for discriminating her for being transgender.
May 30, 2017 - MPR’s Euan Kerr profiles Chasity Brown, a Twin Cities based singer songwriter. Brown talks about the making of her album “Silhouette of Sirens," a collection of musical snapshots of her life drawing on country and soul music. She also says as a biracial queer woman of color living in this day and age, she can't help but be political.
July 19, 2017 - MPR’s Marianne Combs profiles artist Joe Sinness and his exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Art that explores - and celebrates - facets of gay male sexuality with lovingly detailed drawings. The exhibit is called "The Flowers."