August 14, 2017 - In the lead up to the 2017 Minnesota State Fair, MPR’s Brian Bakst visits the fairgrounds before the gates even open, where judging for the fair's various contests is already in progress, with blue ribbons to be awarded for best crop art, cross-stitching, pie baking, pickling, and much more. Bakst gets a flavor of the competition in maple syrup and assorted jams.
August 18, 2017 - The Minneapolis City Council chambers erupted in applause and a standing ovation Friday morning, as Medaria Arradondo was appointed the city's first African American police chief. One of the dozens of supporters in the chamber today was civil rights legend Dr. Josie Johnson. MPR’s Brandt Williams asked Johnson what Arradondo's appointment signals to members of the city's African American community.
August 23, 2017 - MPR News host Tom Weber talks with Art Blakey, Minnesota State Fair police chief, as he prepares to retire. For 37 years, Blakey has overseen it all as chief of police on the fairgrounds.
August 23, 2017 - MPR’s Tim Nelson reports on a newly arrived attraction to the Minnesota State Fair….Great Big Wheel. The 36 six-seat gondola wheel promises to be a true spectacle on the fair's north end, especially at night. It replaces what used to be the fair's Machinery Hill.
August 29, 2017 - MPR’s Marianne Combs profiles J. Otis Powell‽, a well-respected local poet, playwright, and performer, who died on August 28th, 2017. Those who knew him say he was an uncompromising artist, a provocateur and — perhaps most importantly — a mentor to generations of other writers and performers.
September 11, 2017 - The APM Reports documentary “Shadow Class: College Dreamers in Trump's America” looks at the rescinding of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a policy that allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the United States after being brought to the country as children to receive a deferred action from deportation and become eligible for an employment in the U.S.
September 11, 2017 - The APM Reports documentary “Shadow Class: College Dreamers in Trump's America” looks at the rescinding of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a policy that allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the United States after being brought to the country as children to receive a deferred action from deportation and become eligible for an employment in the U.S.
September 13, 2017 - MPR’s Dan Kraker reflects on Minnesota’s worst mining disaster and the efforts to memorialize those lost in the tragedy with a park.
September 14, 2017 - An MPR News Presents broadcast of the APM Reports education documentary “Hard to Read - How American Schools Fail Kids with Dyslexia.” There are proven ways to help people with dyslexia learn to read, and a federal law that's supposed to ensure schools provide kids with help. But across the country, public schools are denying children proper treatment and often failing to identify them with dyslexia in the first place.
September 21, 2017 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer interviews April McCormick, a member of the Grand Portage Band, who worked closely with the Nature Conservancy on bringing Susie Island back under the band’s control.