July 31, 2014 - On this episode of Minnesota Sounds and Voices, MPR’s Dan Olson talks with Chue Vang about his family’s experience fleeing Laos and coming to the U.S. as refugees. Today, he aims to honor the opportunities found in his adopted home and a late brother with a new scholarship for Hmong students.
August 22, 2014 - MPR’s Sasha Aslanian reports that a private hunting club in Little Falls, Minnesota, has agreed to pay for the wedding ceremony and reception of a same-sex couple it refused to accommodate.
September 9, 2014 - MPR’s Tim Nelson reports on the struggles at Dorothy Day Center, where homeless overflow the building and area outside of homeless shelter.
September 10, 2014 - Penumbra Theatre is hosting a conversation about events in Ferguson, Mo., where the killing of an unarmed young black man by a white police officer unleashed demonstrations and racial unrest.
September 11, 2014 - MPR’s Matt Septic reports on a public discussion at Penumbra Theatre about the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson.
September 18, 2014 - MPR’s Tom Crann interviews Peggy Flanagan, executive director of Children's Defense Fund Minnesota, about recent U.S. census numbers that stated 14 percent of the state's children are living in poverty. Flanagan discusses the definition of poverty, the racial disparity in the numbers between groups, and potential solutions to child poverty.
September 18, 2014 - The Daily Circuit presents a transgender panel discussion moderated by MPR’s Marrianne Combs. The group discuss that for many whose gender doesn’t conform to the traditional image of male or female, the barriers to success…and sometimes even to basic survival, are everywhere.
December 5, 2014 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann interviews U.S. Representative Tim Walz on the issue of veteran suicide, and the efforts in Washington D.C. to address it. Those efforts include legislation sponsored by Walz, called the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention Act. It's a bipartisan effort, with companion legislation in the Senate sponsored by John McCain.
December 11, 2014 - MPR’s Tom Scheck reports on the non-profit Community Action of Minneapolis and it’s CEO Bill Davis. Segment details the concerns over misspending of more than $1 million in energy funds from the state, political connections to organization, and the eventual closure of non-profit after Minnesota Department of Human Services investigation.
January 29, 2015 - MPR’s Lorna Benson profiles Dr. Keith Henry, who in 1985 opened the state's first HIV/AIDS clinic at a public hospital in St. Paul as AIDS and fear of AIDS patients gripped Minnesota and the world. Henry and others reflect on what has changed in the last 30 years in supporting those fighting the disease.