December 10, 1992 - Q&A period at "Ethics, Euthanasia and the Termination of Medical Treatment" conference, organized by the University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics. This followed speeches at conference by James Bopp, founder and president of the National Legal Center for the Medically Dependent and Disabled, and general counsel for the National Right to Life Committee; and George Annas, professor of law and medicine at Boston University.
December 10, 1992 - MPR’s Perry Finelli interviews American biologist David Mech about research on wolves and Wolves of the High Arctic, a continuation on published works he has done observing the life of the Arctic wolf.
December 11, 1992 - An MPR report, titled "Fighting for Family," brings an inside look at family preservation and at one family's struggle to stay together. What is the cost of keeping a troubled family together compared to the cost of splitting up the family? There are hundreds of thousands of children in this country living in foster homes away from their parents. Foster care has been part of the formula used to "fix" troubled families since the turn of the century. But is it the best method? Is it cost effective? What is the emotional price paid by family members forced to live apart from each other? These are questions being asked by social workers, judges and elected officials who must apportion money to pay for solutions to the growing number of neglect and abuse cases being reported each year. As an alternative to foster care, some people in the child welfare system are raising the banner for what is called family preservation. Its advocates say that family preservation holds great promise for families who want to remain together and work out their problems. Program is narrated by Vertamae Grosvenor Received First Place, National Sigma Delta Chi Award: Public Service category.
December 11, 1992 - MPR’s Liz Hannon interviews Ann Reed, Minnesota songwriter, singer, and guitarist. Reed shares her process of songwriting and performs songs “Hole in the Day” and “Too Much Trouble.”
December 11, 1992 - On this installment of Voices from the Heartland, Duluth writer Barton Sutter looks back on elections in his life. It is an emotional experience.
December 11, 1992 - MPR’s Chris Roberts profiles General Vang Pao, a major general in the Royal Lao Army and a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States. Segment includes interviews academics, supporters, critics, and General Vang Pao himself.
December 12, 1992 - Lucia was sainted, and adopted by the fishermen of Sicily as their patron saint. No one knows exactly how she became the queen of light in a little country far up in the North. Perhaps the Vikings brought the legend back with them. It seems fitting the the tune the old Sicilian folk song was used in Sweden as a traditional song of Lucia.
December 12, 1992 - Local commentator and writer Lawrence Sutin reflects on the joy of reading and how that joy now is in the experience of reading to his daughter.
December 15, 1992 - MPR’s Elizabeth Stawicki reports on Mound-Westonka High School’s decision to remove Pat Conroy’s The Lords of Discipline from the school’s curriculum. Report includes various interviews on various perspectives of the action, from those who deem it as censorship, to those who see it as protecting teenage readers.
December 15, 1992 - MPR’s Mike Edgerly reads a segment from The Lords of Discipline. The Pat Conroy novel was removed from the curriculum at Mound-Westonka High School.