April 1, 2004 - MPR’s Elizabeth Stawicki reports that members of minority bar associations, area law schools, and law firms will launch a website to dispel some of the myths about Minnesota that they say discourage people of color from moving here. The site will feature profiles of noted legal professionals of color and offer information about such things as where to live and shop.
May 1, 2004 - American RadioWorks presents “Thurgood Marshall Before the Court,” a documentary on the story of Thurgood Marshall's remarkable career before he joined the Supreme Court, when he was the nation's leading civil rights lawyer.
June 15, 2004 - As part of the Mainstreet Radio series “Meth in Minnesota,” MPR’s Gunderson reports on meth use by students of Minnesota’s schools.
June 25, 2004 - MPR’s Toni Randolph reports that the Hmong refugees who arrived in the Twin Cities earlier in week have begun enrolling their children in school. Seven children were among the 11 refugees who arrived on Monday. Their father brought two of them to the student placement center for the St. Paul public schools to begin the process.
August 20, 2004 - Minnesota is losing one of its lifelong public servants to the sandy beaches and highly selective public universities of Southern California. Sandra Gardebring has chaired the Metropolitan Council, headed up the Department of Human Services, served as commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, sat on the state Supreme Court and currently holds the post of vice president for university relations at the U of M. She has announced that she's leaving Minnesota's flagship university to take a similar position at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. She talks about her decision and her long and varied career in public service.
August 26, 2004 - Mainstreet Radio’s Bob Reha reports that while schools aren't open yet, report cards are being released nonetheless. The reports won't go to students, but to their schools.
September 7, 2004 -
September 27, 2004 - Any way you look at it, students of color aren't doing as well in school as their white classmates. The academic disparities among racial groups are known collectively as "the achievement gap." Each round of test scores puts the problem in sharp focus. It's a persistent, national problem. But recent reports have shown an especially wide gap in Minnesota. There's no single cause or a clear solution. Still, schools are under increased pressure to close the divide. All this week, Minnesota Public Radio is examining the issue. Reporter Tim Pugmire begins our series, The Education Achievement Gap: Minnesota's Embarrassment, with this overview.
September 28, 2004 - Students from around the world are finding it increasingly difficult to study in the United States. Colleges and universities in Minnesota, and throughout the country, have reported a slowdown in foreign student applications. Higher education officials say new anti-terror laws have made it much harder to get a student visa. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.
September 28, 2004 - All Thing’s Considered’s David Molpus interviews Pat Harvey, St. Paul School District Superintendent, about incoming Hmong students. School officials are asking the state for more time to enroll new Hmong students coming from a refugee camp in Thailand.