October 8, 2010 - Gov. Tim Pawlenty is standing by his decision to ignore a federal request for input on a key piece of health care reform. The Department of Health and Human Services had asked states for their recommendations on "insurance exchanges." These are online marketplaces where consumers can compare and buy health plans. Pawlenty opposes health reform. He said today (Friday) exchanges are big government interfering with the free market. But three years ago, Pawlenty advocated a similar idea. Elizabeth Stawicki reports: During his radio show today, Gov. Tim Pawlenty expanded on why he decided against sending in a Minnesota health department report about health insurance exchanges. He said the best insurance exchange is the free market:
October 9, 2010 - Gov. Tim Pawlenty repeated his opposition Friday to so-called "insurance exchanges," a key piece of health care reform. He said exchanges amount to government interfering with the free market. That's a reversal from 2007, when Pawlenty proposed his own insurance exchange program for Minnesota businesses. Pawlenty says his opposition to exchanges is the reason he declined to send the US Government a state response to questions about exchanges. Three prominent Minnesota health groups secured a copy of the response and sent it anyway. Former GOP senator Dave Durenberger, a health policy expert, says their move was understandable. Pawlenty says a 2008 state analysis of exchanges found they'd be ineffective at reining in costs.
October 12, 2010 - MPR’s Euan Kerr interviews Darryl Holter, a developer living in Los Angeles, who has returned to Minneapolis to stage a CD release concert at Palmer's Bar for his recording "West Bank Gone." Holter lived in the neighborhood in the late 1960's. At the time it was a musical hotspot attracting international attention.
October 12, 2010 - Audio clip of U.S. Representative Tim Walz defending his vote on the federal health care overhaul.
October 12, 2010 - MPR’s Elizabeth Baier reports on debate in Mankato between candidates battling in Minnesota's 1st District. DFL Congressman Tim Walz has two challengers in the 2010 election season, Republican Randy Demmer and Independence Party candidate Steven Wilson. The three candidates gathered to debate several key issues, including healthcare and debt.
October 13, 2010 - Staff at Minneapolis-based Coffee House Press are celebrating today after one of its titles "I Hotel" was nominated for a National Book Award for Fiction. The book by Karen Tei Yamashita tells the story of the Asian-American community in northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Coffee House founder and publisher Allan Kornblum, who signed the author about 20 years ago, says the nomination is a huge honor. This is really a thrill to have this form of recognition for a writer who we've stuck with and who has stuck with us, to watch her talent to continue to grow and see this form of recognition for really her magnum opus.
October 14, 2010 - Hear two authors and a film critic talk about vampires, zombies and werewolves in this interview from Midmorning, hosted by Kerri Miller.
October 14, 2010 - American RadioWorks' Stephen Smith and Kate Ellis join Midday’s Gary Eichten to talk about their new book, Say it Loud!: Great Speeches on Civil Rights and African American Identity.
October 15, 2010 - As part of a rebroadcast, Midday continues with a broadcast of playwright and humorist Kevin Kling, one of Minnesota's best-known storytellers, speaking at the Maplewood Library as part of the Club Book program. Along with several plays, Kling is the author of two collections of stories, The Dog Says How and Holiday Inn.
October 15, 2010 - Midday rebroadcasts playwright and humorist Kevin Kling, one of Minnesota's best-known storytellers, speaking at the Maplewood Library as part of the Club Book program. Along with several plays, Kling is the author of two collections of stories, The Dog Says How and Holiday Inn.