September 12, 2006 - Interim police Chief Tim Dolan is Mayor R.T. Rybak's choice to lead the Minneapolis Police department. Dolan is a Minneapolis native and 23-year veteran of the force. Rybak says Dolan's experience with the city and with the department makes him the best choice to be the city's next top cop. MPR’s Brandt Williams report includes comments from both Rybak and Dolan.
September 13, 2006 - The Minnesota Twins lost to the Oakland A's at the Metrodome by a score of 1-0, but the Twins also suffered another loss that may prove more damaging in their pennant run. Pitching phenom Francisco Liriano may be lost for the rest of the season after he reinjured his throwing arm, leaving the game in the 3rd inning.
September 13, 2006 - MPR’s Tom Scheck reports that State Representative Keith Ellison has won the DFL nomination for Minnesota's Fifth Congressional seat. Ellison won a hard-fought primary contest against six other DFL candidates, including a former state senator and a former DFL Party chair. Ellison's victory makes him a heavy favorite to replace Congressman Martin Sabo, who is retiring from the seat. But Ellison's Republican opponent says he will continue to question Ellison's character, a campaign tactic that Ellison's DFL opponents used with little success.
September 13, 2006 - Toni Morrison, who has won both the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, spoke about her writing Sept. 5 at Macalester College in St. Paul. Her talk was part of the inaugural lecture series for the college's Institute for Global Citizenship.
September 14, 2006 - When Joe Helgerson talks about the Mississippi, he talks stories. They are stories about the power and the mystery of the river. The Minneapolis-based writer's new children's novel " Horns and Wrinkles" dwells on the Mississippi's magic.
September 14, 2006 - MPR’s Tom Crann interviews Claire Kirch on her thoughts of Garrison Keillor opening his own bookstore. Keillor was unavailable for comment about his new venture.
September 15, 2006 - MPR's Ambar Espinoza reports on New Immigrant Agriculture Project, a specialized project that helps immigrant farmers continue their agrarian lifestyle in this country. Almost 80 farmers (mostly Hmong, Latino and Somali) pay subsidized lease rates to rent crop land. The program leases acreage to farmers for three years, until they're eligible for loans to buy land.
September 15, 2006 - MPR’s Tom Scheck reports on the three major party candidates running for Congress in Minnesota's 5th Congressional District. DFL candidate Keith Ellison, Republican Alan Fine, and Independence Party member Tammy Lee met in their first debate since Tuesday's primary. Fine continued his criticism of Ellison for his past relationship with the Nation of Islam during the debate on Minnesota Public Radio News. Ellison said he's surprised by Fine's continued criticism and would prefer to focus on the issues. Lee stated the back and forth between the two candidates is an example of why the voters should send an independent to Washington.
September 18, 2006 - MPR’s Annie Baxter reports on residents and city officials working hard to clean up parts of the northern suburb of Rogers, after tornado level winds ripped through the town on September 16th.
September 18, 2006 - MPR’s Stephen Smith moderates a civil rights panel discussion with an author, an activist, a teacher and a former vice president of the United States at the Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis.