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
January 6, 2003 - Republican Tim Pawlenty today (MONDAY) became the 38th person to hold the office of Minnesota governor. Pawlenty and the state's other constitutional officers were sworn in during a ceremony at the Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul. Governor Pawlenty inherits a projected four-and-a-half billion dollar budget deficit, and his closest advisor says he's prepared for the challenge. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports...
January 6, 2003 - Republican Tim Pawlenty took over as Minnesota's governor today at a noontime swearing-in ceremony in downtown St. Paul. He is the 38th person to hold the office. Pawlenty must find a way to eliminate a four and a half billion dollar budget shortfall over the next two and a half years while adhering to a campaign promise not to raise taxes. And he didn't shy away from the issue in his speech:
January 7, 2003 - Congress convened today (Tues) with a long list of newly elected lawmakers, including two freshman from Minnesota. Republican Norm Coleman officially took his place in the Senate, succeeding Democrat Paul Wellstone. Another Minnesota Republican, John Kline, was sworn into the House of Representatives, replacing Democrat Bill Luther. Coleman and Kline join a Congress set to immediately begin work toward rebuilding the nation's economy amid growing international tension and what appears to be the increasingly likelihood of war with Iraq. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports...
January 7, 2003 - Senator-elect Norm Coleman will be sworn-in later today in a ceremony in Washington, D.C.. Coleman, a Republican, takes the seat held by the late Democratic Senator Paul Wellstone who was killed in a plane crash just eleven days before the November election. Coleman went on to defeat Wellstone's replacement on the ballot Vice President Walter Mondale. As Senator, Coleman will be part of a new... and narrow... Republican majority in the U.S. Senate.
January 8, 2003 -
January 9, 2003 - Governor Tim Pawlenty assured a group of business leaders last night that he won't raise taxes to fix the state's four and a half billion dollar deficit. Speaking at a Minnesota Chamber of Commerce dinner, Pawlenty said business owners can't afford another tax increase. He said it's important for lawmakers to hold the line on taxes, lower the cost of health care and introduce tort reform. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports
January 9, 2003 -
January 10, 2003 -
January 13, 2003 - Minnesota lawmakers will gather at the Capitol today (MONDAY) for the first full week of the 2003 legislative session. The budget is likely to be a big focus in upcoming days. Governor Tim Pawlenty is expected to release his plan for dealing with the first phase of the budget deficit... a 356 million dollar projected shortfall for the current fiscal year, which ends in June. Laura McCallum is Minnesota Public Radio's Capitol Bureau Chief.
January 14, 2003 -