October 22, 2004 - Mainstreet Radio's Cara Hetland reports that six people have been charged with crimes stemming from a Republican get-out-the-vote campaign. All but one were employed by the Republican party. The case raises questions about whether the ballots will count, and it's looking more and more like South Dakota's election could be decided in court.
November 1, 2004 - With Election Day approaching, MPR’s Tim Pugmire looks at the basic rules for voting. While experienced voters know where to go and what to do, others will enter the voting booth for the first time and may be unsure about what it takes to exercise their democratic right.
November 2, 2004 - On the eve of election, MPR’s Dan Olson reports on how challenges to voters will work in the state. While most Minnesotan's will vote without a hitch, it's almost certain that hundreds will be challenged on their right to cast a ballot.
November 23, 2004 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer talks with Bob Kelleher about hunter shootings in Wisconsin. A probable cause hearing is expected in Hayward Wisconsin for 36-year-old Chai Vang, the St. Paul resident accused of opening fire on a party of hunters from Rice Lake, Wisconsin on November 21st, 2004. Six people are now dead and two are recovering from their wounds.
November 23, 2004 - MPR’s Marisa Helms reports that Chai Vang remains a bit of a mystery to many in the Hmong community…and even to his neighbors. They say they've never met Vang, and rarely even spoke to him or saw him. Some wonder if the shootings could have been prevented if they had reached out more to Vang and his family.
November 23, 2004 - MPR’s Brandt Williams reports that court documents filed show the suspect in the six killings in Wisconsin, a 36-year-old Hmong immigrant, told authorities he was called racial slurs and fired upon before he says shot back. Hmong leaders in the Twin Cities gathered today to condemn the shootings and express sympathy for the victims. But some say racial tension between white and Hmong hunters is common.
November 25, 2004 - The shooting deaths of six hunters in northwestern Wisconsin has prompted a complex set of reactions - perhaps nowhere more than in the Twin Cities Hmong community. The alleged shooter, Chai Vang, is a Hmong immigrant who lives in St. Paul. When the first reports of the incident came out, local Hmong leaders cautioned against making Vang's ethnicity an issue.
November 29, 2004 - Chuck Quirmbach of Wisconsin Public Radio reports that formal charges may come for the St. Paul man accused of killing six hunters and wounding two others in Wisconsin. In Milwaukee, Chai Vang's defense lawyers talked about their hope for a fair trial in Wisconsin's Northwoods. They also brought forward Vang's eldest daughter to talk about her father.
December 29, 2004 - Mainstreet Radio's Tom Robertson reports that Federal agents at the U.S.-Canadian border crossing in International Falls have a new tool to enhance homeland security. Customs officials have begun using digital fingerprint technology to verify the identity of some foreign visitors.
February 8, 2005 - MPR’s Brandt Williams report that St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly confirms that as far as he knows his aide Sia Lo is the target of a federal corruption investigation. The mayor made the announcement in response to a Star Tribune article that named Lo.