November 30, 1998 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman reports that Khoua Her, a St. Paul woman accused of killing her six children, changed her original plea to guilty of six counts of second degree murder. Her now faces a fifty-year prison term.
December 1, 1998 - MPR’s Karen Louise Boothe reports that Governor Arne Carlson has presented a plan to spend another $51 million on three "quality of life" initiatives. the proposal calls for aid for homeless children, more funding for the arts, and money to clean up and maintain Minnesota lakes.
December 8, 1998 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman talks with Ilean Her, director of the state’s Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans, about Hmong community leaders release of a proposal seeking state dollars to help Minnesota's South-East Asians population. Several recent tragedies in the Hmong community prompted the initiative which will be presented to the legislature. It calls for mental health, education, violence prevention, and self-sufficiency programs.
December 22, 1998 - Mainstreet Radio’s Kathryn Herzog on rural gang activity in Foley, Minnesota. Herzog interviews a school principal, a health consultant, and a group of students about the issue.
December 31, 1998 - An MPR Special report, presenting the big Minnesota news stories of 1998. Highlights include Governor election, Comfrey and St. Peter tornado, farm crisis, mergers, the Northwest strike and the big tobacco trial. Program ends with brief remembrance segments on various individuals that made news in the year.
January 6, 1999 - This January edition of Voices of Minnesota features MPR’s Dan Olson interviews with Dean Abrahamson, medical doctor and professor at University of Minnesota, and Eville Gorham, recently retired professor of ecology at University of Minnesota. Abrahamson discusses global warming, and its present and future impact on the Minnesota region. Gorham, who discovered the harmful influence of acid rain, discusses the past and current state of this pollution problem on the global environment.
January 21, 1999 - Christine Jax, Commissioner of the Department of Children, Families, and Learning; and Claudia Fuentes, of the Urban Coalition, discuss a proposal by state education officials to eliminate mandatory desegregation "race quotas" to change the racial balance in Minnesota's public schools. Jax and Fuentes also answer listener questions.
January 28, 1999 - Mark Yudof, President of University of Minnesota, talks about the future of the U and current issues.
January 29, 1999 - Ted Mondale, Metropolitan Council Chair discusses plans for metropolitan government. Topics include Governor Ventura's plans to close the Metropolitan Council. Mondale also answers listener questions.
February 2, 1999 - Pat Harrison, project director of the Minnesota Student Survey, discusses the findings of the latest survey about teen sex, drugs, smoking and alcohol. Harrison is with the Department of Human Services. Harrison also answers listener questions.