October 11, 1996 - The only woman ever elected to Congress from Minnesota has died. Coya Knutson was 84 when died of kidney failure at an Edina nursing home yesterday. Knutson was elected to the Minnesota Legislature in 1950 and to Congress in 1954. Knutson was perhaps better known for LEAVING office than winning it. In 1958, when she was campaigning for re-election, her husband, Andy Knutson, wrote a letter saying he wanted his wife to come back home. The letter was picked up by newspapers, and was blamed for her narrow defeat. Gretchen Beito, of Theif River Falls wrote a book about Knutson's political career, called "Coya Come Home".
October 13, 1996 - It's a mystery, a love story and just a plain eerie tale. Siri Hustvedt's new book "The Enchantment of Lily Dahl" is set in Webster, Minnesota, a town that appears to be ordinary. Siri Hustvedt and her title character Lily Dahl share many things in common, both spent time as waitresses and both have lived in small Minnesota towns. Siri Hustvedt says her hometown of Northfield, Minnesota served as a model for the fictional town of Webster.
October 14, 1996 - On this Odd Jobs segment, MPR’s Tim Kelly interviews Neal Henry Lawrence, an 88-year-old monk from Saint John's Abbey in Collegeville, who's lived in Tokyo for almost four decades, and is a pioneer in the writing of Tanka in English.
October 15, 1996 - Midday looks at crime initiatives in the Minnesota Legislature with guests Democratic representative Wes Skoglund and Republican representative Rich Stanek. The two discuss various crime proposals, crime rates, and answer listener questions.
October 16, 1996 - Martin Sabo, U.S. representative for Minnesota's 5th District, reflects on colleague Jim Rice, who passed away after having a heart attack at the State Capitol.
October 17, 1996 - MPR’s Chris Roberts reports on growing political involvement in Hmong community. 20+ years after the first Hmong refugees arrived in Minnesota, Hmong voter ranks have grown steadily, and more are involved in politics than ever before.
October 18, 1996 - As part of Midday's "Meet the Candidates" series, guest Dean Barkley, Reform Party candidate for U.S. Senate, talks about his campaign, state of Reform Party, and answers questions from Minnesota Public Radio listeners.
October 18, 1996 - MPR’s Bill Wareham profiles Paul Wellstone’s arrival and subsequent education on being a U.S. Senator in Washington D.C. Wareham looks at Wellstone’s personal and political history. Interviews include fellow senator David Durenberger and numerous political supporters and activists.
October 18, 1996 - MPR’s Lorna Benson profiles Pua Xiong, a first-year resident who works at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul. Xiong describes how her quest for a medical degree has forced her to confront a multitude of cultural barriers.
October 21, 1996 - Less than a century ago, millions of acres of North America were covered with prairie, vast grasslands that were home to bison, wolves, and prairie chickens. Today, less than one tenth of one per cent of that prairie remains. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working on the Tallgrass Prairie Project, a plan to buy and protect some of what little prairie is left.