October 13, 2006 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson about his opposition to the U.S. Coast Guard conducting periodic training exercises on the Great Lakes to prepare for law enforcement and homeland security missions. The exercises have included live machine gun fire.
November 1, 2006 - The American RadioWorks documentary “Reports from a Warming Planet” takes you to parts of the planet where global warming is already making changes to life and landscape, and demonstrates how climate change is no longer restricted to scientific modeling about the future. It's happening now.
November 15, 2006 - Duluth has long been known as a union town. A new book tells the story of how and why. It's called "By the Ore Docks...A Working People's History of Duluth." Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports.
December 11, 2006 - Gene Merriam says he is voluntarily leaving his position as Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources. Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer talks with Dennis Anderson, a Star Tribune columnist, about Merriam’s tenure as commissioner. Anderson also discusses what he sees as needed next in the challenging role at the DNR.
December 20, 2006 - MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill reports on a new attraction on the Duluth waterfront…a huge wooden “crib.” It washed ashore after northeaster windstorms. City officials are trying to figure out what to do with it. The giant structure is an impressive reminder of Duluth's industrial past, but it could also present a liability problem.
December 22, 2006 - With Christmas lights adorning many Minnesota neighborhoods in some fashion, large or small, In the Loop’s Jeff Horwich reports on the varied costs of our holiday lighting obsession.
December 22, 2006 - A group opposing a proposed copper-nickel mine in northern Minnesota is going to court to prevent logging on a wetland associated with the project. Polymet Mining will destroy some wetlands to build the mine. State law requires they be replaced. The company says it will build new wetlands near Floodwood. But Len Anderson, with the Wetlands Action Group, says that land is already wetland.
December 26, 2006 - MPR’s Bob Kelleher reports that the level of Lake Superior recently hit an all time low - at least in recorded history. That's making trouble for boaters, and especially for the big ore freighters. An extended drought and a warming lake are reasons behind the drop in water level.
February 2, 2007 - Scientists more sure than ever that people cause global warming. A panel of leading scientists have concluded with 90% certainty that people are causing global warming. What can lawmakers and individuals do to about it? Guest Elizabeth Wilson, professor of energy and environmental policy and law at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs discusses the reports and climate change in general.
February 8, 2007 - About one hundred supporters and critics of a proposed copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota got together in Duluth last night to talk about the project. Polymet Mining Company is working on detailed studies about possible environmental impacts. They've got a long way to go, to convince some people the mine is a good idea. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports.