January 24, 2001 - MPR's Elizabeth Stawicki reports on that Minnesota's judiciary fared better than many other departments in Governor Jesse Ventura's budget plan. Still, the Governor's budget doesn't fully fund the state court system's major initiative for this legislative session, known as Crimnet. It is an integrated computer system that would allow law enforcement and courts from different jurisdictions to easily share information on criminals.
January 31, 2001 - Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Kathleen Blatz joins Midday’s Gary Eichten in the MPR studios to talk about the state of the judicial system in Minnesota. Focus of conversation is on how state court system is overwhelmed handling two million cases a year and the need for more funding. Justice Blatz also answers listener call-in questions.
February 19, 2001 - MPR's Andrew Haeg reports on a bill that would limit the governor and other constitutional officers from receiving money for outside work has passed its first major test. The House Governmental Operations Committee approved the bill, and will soon send it to a vote by the full House.
March 6, 2001 - Howard Orenstein, of Citizens for a Safer Minnesota; and Lynda Boudreau, Republican state representative, answer calls from listeners about gun laws.
April 25, 2001 - As part of Mainstreet Radio series Broken Trust: Civil Rights in Indian Country, MPR’s Tom Robertson reports on tribal sovereignty and the civil rights issues within reservation tribal courts.
May 17, 2001 - With the dedication of Mondale Hall at the University of Minnesota Law School, MPR’s Elizabeth Stawicki profiles Walter Mondale’s law career. Mondale has been most noted for his career in politics, virtually nothing has been written about his time at the University of Minnesota law school and how his education and contacts there shaped his future and ultimately the future of Minnesota and the nation. Segment includes numerous interviews.
May 17, 2001 - MPR’s Elizabeth Stawicki reports on dedication of Mondale Hall at University of Minnesota Law School, which naked its building complex after its most acclaimed alumnus, Walter Mondale. Former President Jimmy Carter spoke at the dedication and praised Mondale as a man of integrity.
June 7, 2001 - MPR presents a report entitled Postcard From A Lynching, which looks at the history of a 1920 murder of three Black men in Duluth by a local mob. It’s a history that many in Duluth tried to forget… but others fought to bring the horrific lynching to light in the community and bring dignity to the slain men. [Content Warning: some content, language, and statements used in this story may be triggering to listeners]
July 6, 2001 - Midday presents the American RadioWorks documentary “The Promise of Justice: Burning the Evidence,” which looks at war crimes in Kosovo. This is the story of a secret and grisly operation by Serbian security forces to destroy evidence of possible war crimes in an industrial furnace in northern Kosovo.
August 15, 2001 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer speaks with Michael Yang, director of the Immigrant and Refugee Policy Coalition of Minnesota, about ceremony at Bethel College's Benson Hall where 730 Hmong Veterans and widows from Laos will become U.S. Citizens.