January 21, 2002 - On Martin Luther King Day, former Vice President Walter Mondale joins MPR’s Gary Eichten to talk about the civil rights movement, yesterday and today. Mondale also discusses a wide range of current events.
January 23, 2002 - A report entitled All Kids Count, shows that African American, American Indian, Asian American, and Latino youth in Minnesota are much more likely than white children to experience violence, live without health care insurance, and live in poverty. The report was compiled by the Children's Defense Fund and Minnesota Kids Count, a research organization that releases reports on the welfare of the state's youth.
February 8, 2002 - MPR’s Tim Post reports that St. Cloud will host its first film festival. A newly formed Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered and Allies group is sponsoring the free festival. The group hopes the series of films followed by discussions will educate the St. Cloud community about issues of sexuality. Festival organizers say it won't be an activist event, but they hope it will help change some opinions in St. Cloud.
February 12, 2002 - As part of the American RadioWorks project called "Radio Fights Jim Crow," MPR’s Brandt Williams talks with older African Americans in Minnesota about their memories of segregation in the feature “Up South.”
February 14, 2002 - MPR’s Marianne Combs profiles acclaimed playwright Lee Blessing's new play "Thief River," which portrays two gay men growing up in rural Minnesota who choose very different paths in life. Over the next fifty years they remain in contact; their experiences reflect the changing attitudes toward homosexuality in America.
March 12, 2002 - Ahmed Samatar, director of the International Studies Program at Macalester College and native of Somalia; and Omar Jamal, spokesman for the Somali Justice Advocate Center, discuss some of the challenges and problems facing Somalis in the Twin Cities.
March 14, 2002 - Minnesota Public Radio presents "Voices of Minnesota." In this month's edition, we'll hear two accounts of American Indian children growing up under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. Also, a heartwarming account about Chisholm's eight Valentini brothers - the most members of a Minnesota family to serve in World War II.
March 25, 2002 - MPR’s Art Hughes reports on push for bill focused on addressing mental health crisis incidents. The mayor of Minneapolis joined state lawmakers and mental health advocates at the Capitol to support a bill to make it easier for police officers to commit someone having a mental health crisis. They say the bill will help prevent tragedies. Two weeks ago, an apparently delusional Minneapolis man was shot and killed after confronting police with a machete. Some in the mental health field say with funds dwindling, there's no place to bring people in crisis. Report includes comments from Mindy Greiling, state representative and author of bill; R.T. Rybak, mayor of Minneapolis; Greg Hestness, Minneapolis deputy police chief; John Trepp, member of Friends of Barbara Schneider; and Sue Aberholden, executive director of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
March 29, 2002 - The March edition of MPR's "Voices of Minnesota" series, featuring Amal Yusuf of the Somalian Women's Association, Sister Gabrielle Herber and Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman.
April 1, 2002 - American RadioWorks’ John Biewen presents “Corrections, Inc.,” a documentary that examines the business and financial aspects of imprisonment, and how some of those with vested interests help to shape who gets locked up and for how long.