Over the decades, MPR has presented the many different perspectives of Minnesota politics and politicians. This collection is home to a multitude speeches, interviews and debates on the issues of the day. Important topics of civil rights, environment, crime, budget, legislation, and campaigns are addressed.
Click on link to these well-known figures to see audio segments directly related to them: Michele Bachmann Arne Carlson Keith Ellison Hubert Humphrey Amy Klobuchar Eugene McCarthy Walter Mondale Tim Pawlenty R.T. Rybak Jesse Ventura Paul Wellstone
December 11, 2001 - With chances that Major League Baseball could delay plans for a year to eliminate the Minnesota Twins and Montreal Expos, Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer talks with Minnesota State Representative Harry Mares about what Minnesota legislators will need to accomplish this session regarding a ballpark discussion in order to save the Twins team.
December 18, 2001 - The U.S. Senate is trying to wrap up its work on a number of bills before the holiday recess. President Bush's education bill passed the Senate overwhelmingly today. The bill calls for annual math and reading tests for (m) millions of students. Only ten senators voted against the bill--including Minnesota D-F-L Senators Paul Wellstone and Mark Dayton. While work on the education bill appears to be finished--the farm bill is stalled. Republicans refused for the second time in as many weeks to allow a vote on the bill. Republicans say the bill would stimulate excess production and hold down commodity prices. Democrats--including Senator Paul Wellstone--say they will keep trying to get approval before lawmakers head home for the year. Wellstone says the farm bill is not perfect but it should pass:
December 18, 2001 - MPR’s Tasya Rosenfeld talks with David Fey about affordable housing in Minneapolis. Mayor-elect R.T. Rybak today introduced his 90-day plan to increase affordable housing in Minneapolis. Rybak says he wants to change development codes and regulations to encourage renovation. He also hopes to use four million dollars of Neighborhood Redevelopment funds to pay for more housing. Rybak has chosen David Fey, a long-time affordable housing advocate to be his deputy mayor. Fey was the vice chairman of a task force which recommended in 1999 that the city council spend fifty million dollars to create more affordable housing. Fey says one of Rybak's approaches to the housing crisis is to reduce the existing sea of red tape.
December 19, 2001 - The State Department of Human Services predicts 2,700 families are going to be affected by the cut next July. Democrats want to suspend the cut for three years.
December 20, 2001 - MPR’s Laura McCallum reports on a legislative commission vote on the divisive issue of same-sex domestic partner benefits. The panel voted 7-to-5 to let the House and Senate decide for themselves whether to provide coverage for the same-sex partners of legislators and their staffs. The discussion foreshadows a larger debate in the upcoming session, with some lawmakers saying they'll vote to reject two union contracts that include the coverage.
December 20, 2001 - Saint Paul City Council members have approved a 2002 budget that does not cut services or raise property taxes. But to do that, the council had to dip into Saint Paul's reserve fund -- and that's causing some apprehension about how painful the budget process might be a year from now. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports...
December 21, 2001 - Outgoing Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton talks with Midday’s Gary Eichten about her work in the city, tenure as mayor, and the state of Minneapolis at the end of 2001. Sayles Belton also answers listener questions.
December 21, 2001 - Two Minnesota Congressmen have heard new details of how terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui raised suspicions at the Pan Am International flight Academy in Eagan. Congressmen Jim Oberstar and Martin Sabo met with representatives from the flight school in their Washington offices earlier this month. The flight school instructor who first called the FBI said he told agents he was concerned Moussaoui might want to use a jet as a weapon. Congressman Sabo says there were a number of things about Moussaoui that seemed out of the ordinary:
December 26, 2001 - MPR's Mark Zdechlik reports that Governor Jesse Ventura says Minnesotans will likely be more open to major governmental reform with the state facing a projected budget deficit of nearly two billion dollars. Ventura says he'll use his State of the State speech a week from tomorrow as something of a “Government 101” course to help Minnesotans learn how state taxes are spent.
December 26, 2001 - There's a good chance the DFL candidate for governor in 2002 will be a woman. Others may still enter the race, but for now, the DFL race is between two women - state Auditor Judi Dutcher and state Senator Becky Lourey. While women candidates may not seem unusual in the year 2002, it's worth noting that a woman has never been on the ballot for governor in Minnesota. The presence of Dutcher and Lourey in the race has many political observers, especially women, saying it's about time. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum has more...