January 17, 2007 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann interviews Dr. Jon Hallberg, a physician in family medicine at the University of Minnesota, about health issues found in orchestral musicians. Hallberg travels with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra as the tour physician on their European tour.
January 23, 2007 - Later tonight, we'll bring you live coverage of President Bush's seventh State of the Union Address. In the speech, the President is expected to highlight a healthcare plan that would provide Americans with a tax deduction to help cover insurance costs. Some Democrats are already saying the President's plan doesn't do enough to help the nation's 47 million uninsured. Health economists like the University of Minnesota's Steve Parente have been talking about this plan for a while now. We asked him to help explain the anticipated proposal. Parente Directs the Medical Industry Leadership Institute at the Carlson School of Management.
February 5, 2007 - Union janitors and their employers reached a tentative contract averting a possible strike. The 4200 janitors had threatened to walk out unless the new contract included affordable family health care coverage. Union officials say most of their members don't have health insurance because it's too expensive. They say the new contract will make it easier for janitors to obtain healthcare for their families. Minnesota Public Radio's Brandt Williams reports.
February 6, 2007 - Governor Pawlenty is threatening to veto a bill on embryonic stem cell research that hasn't even gotten a hearing in the Legislature yet. The proposal would allow the University of Minnesota to use state funds for embryonic stem cell research. Pawlenty says he backs some forms of stem cell research but also wants some restrictions on the science. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.
March 7, 2007 - Minnesota 1st District Representative Tim Walz, a member of the House Veterans Affairs committee, reacts to revelations about the medical care of wounded soldiers in the wake of the Walter Reed Medical Center scandal.
April 4, 2007 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann interviews medical analyst Dr. Jon Hallberg about congestive heart failure, a common ailment…and a common cause of death. Dr. Hallberg explains the dangers of congestive heart failure, and its diagnosis and treatment.
April 9, 2007 - Minnesota 1st District U.S. Representative Tim Walz has made a name for himself in his first 100 days. Insiders say he's become an influential Democratic voice in Washington on veterans and the war in Iraq.
April 10, 2007 - MPR’s Tom Crann talks with Dr. Jon Hallberg about medical poetry and prose.
April 17, 2007 - MPR's Lorna Benson reports that public health officials have issued new fish consumption advisories after finding elevated levels of a 3M perfluorinated chemical in bluegills from a Minneapolis lake and in Mississippi River fish as far south as Winona.
May 8, 2007 - Jim Koppel, executive director of the Children's Defense Fund Minnesota, discusses 2007 Kids Count Data Book, an annual report that measures the health and well-being of children and their families. Minnesota saw the steepest increase in child poverty rates in the nation this year, up 63% from the year past. What is behind that troubling statistic?