November 2, 2009 - As part of MPR News series “Stress-Testing the Recovery,” MPR’s Bob Kelleher profiles Hibbing, an area in northeastern Minnesota which has the highest jobless rate of any city in the state.
November 3, 2009 - As part of MPR News series “Stress-Testing the Recovery,” MPR’s Tom Roberston profiles Bemidji, a city with the state’s third highest peak in unemployment.
November 4, 2009 - As part of MPR News series “Stress-Testing the Recovery,” MPR’s Elizabeth Baier profiles Albert Lea, where the pain of the manufacturing slump is acute. The state's important manufacturing sector has lost nearly 43,000 jobs since the start of the recession -- more than any other major industry.
November 5, 2009 - As part of MPR News series “Stress-Testing the Recovery,” MPR’s Annie Baxter profiles Brainerd, where the unemployment rate catapulted to 21 percent earlier in 2009 -- the highest spike among Minnesota's large cities.
January 11, 2010 - MPR’s Steven John interviews U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar about China’s use of cadmium in children's items. The chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning Asian manufacturers against the use of cadmium in children's items. That's after lab tests found that Chinese manufacturers were substituting the heavy metal in place of lead in cheap charm bracelets and pendants being sold in this country. Cadmium is known to cause cancer, and, like lead, it can hinder brain development in the children. Senator Amy Klobuchar led the fight to ban lead from toys manufactured in China. She's traveling in southern Minnesota today and we caught up with her.
March 10, 2010 - Later today the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee will discuss a bill that would tighten the rules on copper-nickel mines. The question has taken on some urgency, as a half-dozen companies are now making plans to open such mines in northeastern Minnesota. Stephanie Hemphill reports.
March 26, 2010 - On this Midday program, a collection of reports in which MPR News explores how changing our food culture could help cure obesity.
May 24, 2010 - MPR’s Annie Baxter reports on the lingering issues of high unemployment rate in Minnesota as the U.S. economy comes out of recession.
May 25, 2010 - MPR’s Annie Baxter reports on the negative impact that the economic downturn has had on various industries…and the hard choices it has left for those workers.
June 23, 2010 - There are six mining companies doing exploration work that could lead to mines near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness…and that's got a lot of people concerned. The companies are drilling deep holes, probing huge deposits of valuable copper, nickel, gold, platinum, and palladium. MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill visits the operation and has this report.