May 30, 2006 - Pelican Rapids is like a lot of small towns in rural Minnesota. The community of 2,300 has changed over the years. The biggest change is the people. The region is attracting retirees and summer residents with lakeside cabins. There are also immigrants, who come for work at the West Central Turkey processing plant. More people can be good for a town. But in Pelican Rapids the influx of people has created a shortage of housing. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Reha reports.
June 5, 2006 - In Minnesota, summer is the season of roof work. But a glance at the crews overhead this time of year makes it clear most people doing that work are not from Minnesota. The residential roofing industry around the country now relies on low-priced labor by Mexican immigrants. Industry insiders say the roofing business would collapse without this migrant work force -- which includes immigrants who are in the U.S. legally and illegally. But as Minnesota Public Radio's Jeff Horwich reports, few people are happy with current state of things.
June 7, 2006 - MPR’s Perry Finelli interviews local poet who is a part of this year’s Poets on the Buses metro event. Poet reads a poem she will be performing.
June 12, 2006 - MPR’s Marisa Helms reports on the increasing importance and interest for Spanish langauge radio in the Twin Cities. Two 24-hour stations are going head to head for listeners…Radio Rey and La Invasora.
June 14, 2006 - Judge Gerald Heaney is retiring this summer after 40 years on the federal appeals court. His rulings in school desegregation cases influenced other judges around the country. He was also an advisor to a generation of leaders in the Democratic Party, including Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale. Mondale says Heaney didn't harbor any personal political ambitions; rather he wielded influence from the bench.
July 25, 2006 - MPR's Tom Scheck reports on the television ads of two candidates running for Minnesota's open U.S. Senate seat. Republican Congressman Mark Kennedy hit the airwaves today with a minute-long ad touting his background. His DFL opponent, Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar, focuses her ads more on her experience as a prosecutor.
July 28, 2006 - What would it cost to cover Minnesota's approximately 383-thousand uninsured people? On the low end, about $663 million dollars a year, state officials say. On the high end, the bill could jump to more than $850 million. The estimates come from a new background paper issued by the Minnesota Department of Health. The Governor's Healthcare Cabinet requested the numbers as it considers ways to develop healthcare coverage in the state. Minnesota Public Radio's Lorna Benson reports.
August 23, 2006 - American RadioWorks and Marketplace present the documentary “Rebuilding Biloxi: One Year after Katrina.” Hurricane Katrina devastated the lives of thousands of Mississippi Gulf Coast residents. Rebuilding Biloxi tells the stories of several families in the coastal community of Biloxi, Miss., and their struggle to survive and then recover from the storm.
September 21, 2006 - Amy Klobuchar's U.S. Senate campaign is looking for a new communications director after firing chief spokeswoman Tara McGuinness earlier this week. The DFLer's campaign issued a statement yesterday saying McGuinness was let go after she viewed an unreleased TV ad for Republican candidate Mark Kennedy that she may have accessed illegally. Kennedy's campaign has responded with questions, but not accusations. MPR’s Tom Scheck reports on situation, interviews blogger, and gets commentary from members of tech industry.
November 1, 2006 - In less than a week, voters in Minnesota's 5th district will elect a new representative to Congress for the first time in nearly three decades. MPR's Brandt Williams checks out all four campaigns.