War
April 10, 2003 - All Things Considered’s Lorna Benson interviews Peter Thompson about his views on the Iraq War. He spent three weeks in Iraq during December 2002 as part of a delegation from Chicago-based Voices in the Wilderness.
April 1, 2004 - “The Few Who Stayed: Defying Genocide in Rwanda,” an American RadioWorks documentary produced in cooperation with the PBS program FRONTLINE, profiles individuals that resisted the forces of genocide by presents their haunting stories.
August 24, 2004 - In April of 1971, John Kerry gave a speech before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations about war crimes that other soldiers serving in Vietnam allegedly committed. That testimony is the focus of a Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ad that claims Kerry "dishonored his country and more importantly the people he served with." On this Talk of Minnesota, Midday plays the ad alongside Kerry's testimony, and opens the phone lines to get listeners' reaction.
March 2, 2005 - Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports on how the Minnesota town of Appleton honors fallen soldiers. Funeral services for Sergeant Jesse Lhotka will be held in his hometown of Appleton. A roadside bomb killed Lhotka and two other Minnesota National Guard soldiers in Iraq. Lhotka is the most recent in a long line of Appleton residents to die in battle and reminders of the town's service are everywhere.
May 7, 2005 - MPR’s Dan Olson interviews Ric Jost, a disabled veteran who is competing in the 2005 National Veterans Wheelchair Games held in Minnesota. Jost shares how the games help build the self-confidence to cope with his disability. This is the 25th National Veterans Wheelchair Games, but the first held in Minnesota.
June 10, 2005 - Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports on the death of 1st Lieutenant Michael Fasnacht, who was killed by a roadside bomb Wednesday near Tikrit, Iraq. The Minnesota soldier is being praised today for his love of family and country.
December 6, 2005 - 2,600 Minnesota Army National Guard troops are in Camp Shelby training for deployment in Iraq. What is on the minds of Minnesota's military personnel? Midday explores that in report profiling the Minnesota Army National Guard's First Brigade Combat Team, followed by a conversation with MPR reporter Mark Zdechlik.
September 1, 2006 - The Department of Defense says 20-year-old Qixing Lee of Minneapolis died on Sunday, August 27th, near Taji, just north of Baghdad. He was among four soldiers in his unit who were killed when an improvised explosive device detonated near their Bradley Fighting Vehicle during combat operations.
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.
December 8, 2006 - “The McCarthy Tapes” takes the listener back to the 1968 campaign through audio recordings of the Eugene McCarthy archive, which documents a turbulent time in America's history. McCarthy’s political legacy will forever be defined by 1968, when McCarthy turned his opposition to the Vietnam War into a crusade for the presidency.