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
April 15, 2010 - Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is brushing off criticism of her voting record from an environmental group. The League of Conservation Voters says Bachmann achieved a two-percent rating -- nearly the lowest possible -- and the group plans to work against her re-election. Bachmann campaign director Gina Countryman says it's a fringe group that won't influence Minnesota voters.
May 12, 2010 - Tim Pawlenty is not the only Minnesota Governor to face a budget crisis. In 1980.... Republican Al Quie was the first governor to make unilateral budget cuts through the unallotment process. Quie held the state's top office during the difficult economic period from 1979 to 1983. MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke with Quie on Wednesday about the budget problems he dealt with in the '80s and about his take on the current negotiations.
May 17, 2010 - Twenty-one lawmakers say they won't seek re-election this year, including two who announced their retirements in the final hours of the session last night. DFL Representative Larry Haws of St. Cloud was first elected in 2005, and DFL senator Mee Moua of St. Paul won her seat in 2002. Moua's decision, coupled with the retirement of DFL State Representative Cy Thao, will leave the legislature without a Hmong lawmaker for the first time in a decade. Both are also immigrants, and Moua said she hoped her service could be an example.
May 18, 2010 - The day after Minnesota's 2010 Legislative session adjourned, Gov. Tim Pawlenty is in the MPR studio to answer questions about the budget, taxes and other major issues.
June 2, 2010 - Former Republican Governor Arne Carlson says he's embarking on a Paul Revere Tour to raise alarm about Minnesota's financial condition. Former Republican Governor Arne Carlson came up with the idea for a nonpartisan summit last fall of former and current lawmakers as a way for Minnesota to better understand what he describes as a pending "economic tsunami."
June 21, 2010 - Former St. Paul Mayor George Latimer joins Midday to talk about the state of political discourse today, and share his views on major issues in the news.
June 23, 2010 - On this Midday program, MPR’s Gary Eichten talks with Congressman Tim Walz, who represents Minnesota's 1st Congressional District. Topics include General Stanley McChrystal controversy, as well as the broader discussion on relationship between generals, diplomats, and the U.S. president. Walz also answers listener questions.
June 29, 2010 - MPR’s Laura Yuen profiles Mee Moua, the nation's first Hmong-American elected to a state legislature, who has decided not to run for re-election after serving eight years. Laura Yuen recently talks with Moua to find out what her departure means for the Hmong politics in Minnesota -- and what's next in life for her.
June 30, 2010 - Hear extended excerpts on questioning of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan by Minnesota’s U.S. Senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar, both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
July 6, 2010 - Senator Al Franken is in Southeast Asia where he says Laotian officials prevented him from seeing first-hand how 4,500 forcibly repatriated Hmong refugees there are living. Minnesota has one of the largest Hmong populations in the nation. Franken traveled to Laos to check on the refugees and their living conditions. Franken told reporters on a conference call that he did meet with about 150 refugees and got a helicopter tour but Franken says that's not enough.