December 13, 2001 - As part of Mainstreet Radio’s “Our Town” project, Laurel Druley looks at what community means to long-time residents and new comers of Plainview, Minnesota.
December 20, 2001 - MPR’s Laura McCallum reports on a legislative commission vote on the divisive issue of same-sex domestic partner benefits. The panel voted 7-to-5 to let the House and Senate decide for themselves whether to provide coverage for the same-sex partners of legislators and their staffs. The discussion foreshadows a larger debate in the upcoming session, with some lawmakers saying they'll vote to reject two union contracts that include the coverage.
December 20, 2001 - Mainstreet Radios Bob Reha reports on 40 of Sudan's “Lost Boys” that now call Fargo home. They are refugees from years of civil war plaguing their North African country. An estimated two million people have died in the conflict. The Fargo Lost Boys trekked from Sudan through Ethiopia to Kenya. They now are facing the challenges of adapting to a new culture, all while dreaming of returning home.
December 27, 2001 - Like all American families, Hmong immigrants place hopes for the future on their youth, but school truancy remains a problem for some Asian American kids. MPR’s Kaomi Goetz looks into the issue and how some are addressing it.
January 1, 2002 - An American RadioWorks/Minnesota Public Radio/NPR News documentary project titled “Massacre at Cuska,” which looks into a mass killing during Kosovo War and it’s aftermath. In 1999, Serb death squads attacked the Albanian village of Cuska, and within hours, left 41 unarmed civilians dead.
January 18, 2002 - Ralph Nader, activist and former Green Party presidential candidate, is Gary Eichten's studio guest for this Midday program. Nader discusses his book Crashing the Party: How to Tell the Truth and Still Run for President. He also answer questions from MPR listeners.
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.”