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.
May 18, 2004 - Mainstreet Radio's Cara Hetland reports that The Weiner Memorial Hospital in Marshall is announcing it's merge with a regional health care system. For the last year the board has struggled between independence and the desire to grow. Officials have decided the benefits of joining with a larger system outweigh the loss of autonomy.
May 21, 2004 - MPR’s Laura McCallum profiles Cy Thao, a legislator and artist, who has an exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. "The Hmong Migration" is a series of fifty oil paintings by Thao, and represent the unfolding of 5,000 years of Hmong history. Thao said he feels an obligation to tell the Hmong story, and to preserve it for generations.
May 26, 2004 - On this Midday program, Minnesota Public Radio president Bill Kling is in the MPR studios to talk with host Gary Eichten about the station, the new MPR building, and topics on the minds of MPR listeners.