May 10, 2004 - Up until last Friday, most Twins baseball games were only broadcast on the team-owned Victory Sports One, a channel available to very few cable TV subscribers across the state. But a new eight-year contract with Fox Sports Net will put games back onto the regional Fox sports channel, available to many more viewers. The deal effectively ends the ambitious Victory Sports experiment.
May 11, 2004 - On this day in 1858, Minnesota became a state. As part of commemorative events at the Capitol today, Lieutennant Governor Carol Molneau will be presented with a new book about Henry Hastings Sibley. Sibley was Minnesota's first governor. He led the state during a time of big change, when tensions were rising between European settlers and Native Americans. Rhoda Gilman is the author of "Henry Hastings Sibley: Divided Heart." She says Sibley, who was born in Detroit, came to the Minnesota area when he was offered a new job with the American Fur Company.
May 11, 2004 - MPR’s Brandt Williams reports that the arrest of a Hmong St. Paul police officer is the latest development in an investigation into several incidents of violence involving Hmong and Lao residents. Federal law enforcement officials are trying to determine how several recent shootings and arson fires are linked.
May 13, 2004 - All Things Considered’s David Molpus talks with Mainstreet Radio’s Tom Robertson about how the town of Roseau is preparing for a flood event. The Roseau River has risen steadily following heavy rains this week. Governor Pawlenty will visit the Northwestern Minnesota town tonight as residents there fight to hold back floodwaters. Residents are hoping to avoid the disastrous flooding they experienced in 2002.
May 13, 2004 - Flyte Tyme, the hit producing Edina-based recording studio run by Jimmy Jam Harris and Terry Lewis, is relocating to Los Angeles. Roberts reports on how the news is being received in the Twin Cities, and the legacy Harris and Lewis are leaving.
May 13, 2004 - MPR’s Brandt Williams reports that the involvement of a Hmong police officer in a series of violent incidents is puzzling St. Paul law enforcement officials. Part of the mystery surrounds officer Tou Cha's explanation of why the shell casings found at the scene of a drive-by shooting matched his gun.
May 14, 2004 - Midday continues to broadcast live from the State Capitol. Host Gary Eichten and MPR's political editor Mike Mulcahy talk with key lawmakers at the MPR broadcast table. Guests include Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, DFL-Willmar; Governor Pawlenty's chief of staff, Dan McElroy; Senator Dick Cohen, DFL-St. Paul; Representative Jim Knoblach, R-St. Cloud; Representative Doug Stang, R-Cold Spring; and Senator Stevey Kelley, DFL-Hopkins.
May 14, 2004 - Mainstreet Radio's Tom Roberston reports that the floodwaters are starting to recede in the northwestern Minnesota town of Roseau. The Roseau River crested on May 14th at 25.3 feet, but then went down several inches from that level. That's welcome news for a town that was devastated by floodwaters just two years ago. Lessons learned from that flood helped keep the town mostly dry this time around.
May 14, 2004 - Midday broadcasts live from the Capitol rotunda on one of the last regular days of business for the state legislators. By law, the state legislature must adjourn in three days. Key legislators stop by the MPR broadcast table, including House Speaker Steve Sviggum, R-Kenyon; Senator Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis; Representative Phil Krinkie, R-St. Paul; Senator Keith Langseth, DFL-Glyndon; House Minority Leader Matt Entenza, DFL-St. Paul; and Representative Alice Seagren, R-Bloomington.
May 18, 2004 - MPR’s Chris Julin interviews three same-sex couples in Duluth about their thoughts on marriage. Gay men and lesbians don't speak with one voice on the subject. Some of them don't want to get married, and even those who do have different ideas about what marriage is.