August 29, 2005 - MPR’s Tom Scheck reports on political repercussions of Hennepin County smoking ban. The Hennepin County smoking ban is becoming a big issue in the race for Minneapolis mayor. Bar and restaurant owners who feel the ban is hurting their business have helped convince Peter McLaughlin, Hennepin County Commissioner, to reconsider his support for the ban. McLaughlin is running against Mayor R.T. Rybak. Rybak says campaign contributions from the bar owners appear to have helped change McLaughlin's mind.
September 8, 2005 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann interviews Mary Harbeck, a nurse serving with the Minnesota Disaster Medical Assistance Team in Biloxi, Mississippi. The team is providing medical care in the hurricane-affected region amidst aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
September 20, 2005 - State supreme court justices, attorneys, and social workers from across the country convene in Bloomington for a national summit on how to improve America's child protection systems. Why are the systems perceived to be broken, and how might they be fixed?
October 10, 2005 - As part of the series “Polluted Waters - Costly Cleanup,” MPR’s Dan Gunderson reports on federal Clean Water Act and the pressure for Minnesota to fulfill those testing and clean up requirements.
October 11, 2005 - As part of the series “Polluted Waters - Costly Cleanup,” MPR’s Tim Post reports on upcoming Minnesota Pollution Control Agency draft list of the state's polluted waters in the next few weeks and the needs to address cleanup.
November 11, 2005 - Seven high school seniors are heading to China today (Friday) as part of Governor Pawlenty's ambitious, six-day, four-city trade mission. These hand-picked student ambassadors will produce daily reports about their experiences and the activities of the state delegation. A special Web site will offer lessons about China to students back home. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports...
November 28, 2005 - Thousands of Hmong residents in Minnesota are celebrating the Hmong New Year, and many are traveling to Laos and Thailand to celebrate with their families there. Some Hmong residents are asking their doctors if they should worry about the bird flu epidemic. So far, there's no vaccine for bird flu, but health care officials say there are ways for travelers to keep themselves safe from the virus.
December 14, 2005 - Joining us now for more about today's pandemic flu summit are two officials who will participate: U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt, and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. They discuss how people should should be getting ready for this pandemic flu, and what that entails.
December 22, 2005 - Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch has announced a series of legislative proposals to help Minnesotans guard against identity theft. The so-called 2006 Consumer Privacy Protection Package aims to close loopholes in the state's privacy laws. The measures seek to protect telephone and cell phone records and also allows Minnesota consumers to freeze access to their credit information. Minnesota Public Radio's Greta Cunningham has more.
January 11, 2006 - One of Minnesota's largest medical groups has announced it will lay-off a quarter of its mental health workers. HealthPartners plans to stop providing mental health therapy at its University Avenue clinic in Minneapolis, eliminating the jobs of 13 therapists in the process. Other major healthcare providers have made similar cuts in mental health treatment in recent years. The HealthPartners announcement also comes on the heels of a disturbing case in which a mentally-ill man killed his step-mother. The family says they had sought care for the man at Fairview Southdale Hospital but were advised to go to another hospital because there were no beds available. Our regular medical analyst Dr. Jon Hallberg says great strides have been made in the field of mental health treatments, but providers still don't give it the attention it deserves.