October 25, 2004 - MPR’s Toni Randolph reports that English language classes are bursting at the seams in the Twin Cities. New arrivals to the United States have been packing the classes, eager to learn the primary language of their new homeland.
October 26, 2004 - In this installment of our occasional series "Every Vote Counts," Mainstreet Radio’s Cara Hetland reports on South Dakota's close race for the U.S. Senate. The margin for a victory could be just a few hundred votes, and Native American votes could be the deciding factor.
October 27, 2004 - A Michigan author has won this year's Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award with his book about the Great Lakes. Jerry Dennis grew up near the lakes and spent six weeks traveling through them as a crewmember on a tall-masted schooner. He's written a book that's both a personal adventure and a biography of the waters, telling stories of the fisherman, biologists, and environmentalists whose lives revolve around them. The book is called "the Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas." Jerry Dennis joins us now from Interlochen Public Radio, near his home in Michigan, to talk about it.
October 28, 2004 - A former Minneapolis police officer says a code of silence encourages unethical even criminal behavior among some cops. And, Michael Quinn says, the code of silence encourages good cops to say nothing to prevent the bad behavior of other police officers. Quinn has written a book titled, "Walking With the Devil, The Police Code of Silence." He says it has angered some former colleagues. But he and others say the problem is pervasive and tempts some police to take the law into their own hands. Quinn remembers he was two months into his job as a Minneapolis police rookie when he had his first encounter with the code of silence. It was 23 years ago. He and his training officer were walking the beat on Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis when the older officer said he had a job on the side while he was on duty. He told Quinn to come along and offered some of the cash. Quinn says he declined the money, and when he asked fellow officers what to do they told him to ignore it.
October 29, 2004 -
October 30, 2004 - Tomorrow is Halloween--the perfect time to curl up with a new spooky story. A man being swallowed alive by an Irish bog is the first scene in Minnesota author Erin Hart's new novel "Lake of Sorrows."
November 1, 2004 - With Election Day approaching, MPR’s Tim Pugmire looks at the basic rules for voting. While experienced voters know where to go and what to do, others will enter the voting booth for the first time and may be unsure about what it takes to exercise their democratic right.
November 2, 2004 - On the eve of election, MPR’s Dan Olson reports on how challenges to voters will work in the state. While most Minnesotan's will vote without a hitch, it's almost certain that hundreds will be challenged on their right to cast a ballot.
November 2, 2004 - Mainstreet Radio's Tom Robertson reports that a Minnesota poll shows most Minnesotans favor a gaming proposal from Governor Tim Pawlenty. The governor wants Indian tribes to share some of their gambling revenue with the state. The poll conducted last week also shows a majority of Minnesotans are opposed to an expansion of gambling in the state.
November 9, 2004 - Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports on a southern Minnesota landmark that has returned to its lofty pedestal in New Ulm. A crane lifted Hermann the German, all 32-feet of him, into place. The copper statue was taken down about a year and a half ago to repair more than one hundred years of wear.