July 22, 2013 - MPR’s Sasha Aslanian looks at discussions happening in different religious communities in the state after same-sex marriage became law. Religious institutions played a big role in the long, emotional and sometimes contentious debate Minnesotans had leading up to the Legislature's vote to legalize same-sex marriage. While churches are not required to perform same-sex weddings, Minnesota law against discrimination based on sexual orientation does apply to others who might play a role in wedding celebrations.
August 1, 2013 - MPR’s Sasha Aslanian reports on the first legally wed same-sex marriages performed just after midnight on August 1st, 2013. Report includes clips and interviews from ceremonies at Minneapolis City Hall.
August 9, 2013 - Is there room in the hyper-masculine hip-hop world for gay artists? Minneapolis rapper Kevin "Kaoz" Moore thinks so. MPR’s Nikki Tundel interviews Moore about being Black and gay in the rap music scene.
August 29, 2013 - MPR’s Annie Baxter looks at why advertisements featuring gay couples are still few and far between. Although many companies try to cater to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender customers, those efforts are generally not obvious to the general public.
September 12, 2013 - MPR’s Tim Post reports on a longtime teacher at a Catholic school in Fridley who says she was fired after she told other teachers she's in a same-sex relationship. It's the second high profile departure from Totino-Grace High School in recent months. The school's president resigned this summer after announcing he was in a same-sex relationship.
September 23, 2013 - Curtis Wehmeyer, a St. Paul priest, is serving a five year prison sentence for sexually abusing two children and possessing child pornography. When he was sentenced, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis expressed regret, but assured the public that it had acted immediately. An MPR News investigation has found that top leaders knew of the priest's sexual behavior for nearly a decade before he pleaded guilty and didn't tell parishioners.
November 15, 2013 - Daily Circuit host Tom Weber and MPR reporter Jennifer Vogel present an MPR Special “Rethinking a Company Town." The border town of International Falls lost 265 jobs at its mainstay paper mill on the Rainy River. It was an economic blow that is forcing the city to examine whether it can or should forge a future different from its past.
January 23, 2014 - MPR’s Tom Scheck reports on internal financial reports that show the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for years diverted millions of dollars away from its traditional work to deal with clergy misconduct.
February 20, 2014 - MPR’s Kerri Miller has a conversation with Lou Bellamy, co-artistic director of Penumbra Theatre, and Ifa Bayeza, playwright of The Ballad of Emmett Till, about the themes of the play and its relevance to current tragic events concerning young men of color.
May 12, 2014 - MPR’s Marianne Combs reports on new theater coalition focusing on an end to racial, ethnic stereotypes.