October 23, 2006 - Author Edna O'Brien left Ireland years ago, as a young woman but her first novel about two girls trying to escape life in the convent made her notorious in her homeland. Tonight O'Brien appears at the Fitzgerald Theater for Talking Volumes to discuss her long career and her newest book: "The Light of Evening" a story that reveals how unresolved her feelings still are about how and where she grew up.
October 25, 2006 - MPR’s Mark Zdechlik reports on a tighter than expected race in Minnesota's 1st Congressional District. Incumbent Republican candidate Gil Gutknecht is finding a strong opponent in DFL candidate Tim Walz.
November 1, 2006 - The American RadioWorks documentary “Reports from a Warming Planet” takes you to parts of the planet where global warming is already making changes to life and landscape, and demonstrates how climate change is no longer restricted to scientific modeling about the future. It's happening now.
November 1, 2006 - In less than a week, voters in Minnesota's 5th district will elect a new representative to Congress for the first time in nearly three decades. MPR's Brandt Williams checks out all four campaigns.
November 3, 2006 - MPR’s Chris Roberts reports on "Vestibular Sense," the Mixed Blood Theatre play that peaks into the life of a young man with autism in its latest production. The play raises questions about what autism is and whether it's a deficit or an attribute for someone who has it.
November 8, 2006 - MPR's Mark Steil reports on how Democrat Tim Walz spent his first day as 1st District congressman-elect with family and supporters in Mankato. Walz beat six-term Republican Gil Gutknecht in 2008’ election. Walz says he's in debt to a number of supporters, many of whom are enthusiastic high school and college students.
November 8, 2006 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann interviews Sam Hurd, a student at Mankato West High School West, who took a geography class with Tim Walz as his teacher. Hurd describes the experience, noting Walz as both ‘worldy’ and ‘normal guy.’
November 8, 2006 - In one of the state's biggest election upsets, Minnesota's 1st Congressional District has gone democratic, with first time candidate Tim Walz winning the race with 53% of the vote. He defeated Republican six-term incumbent Gil Gutknecht.
November 14, 2006 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Ilean Her, executive director of the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans, about a new census report that shows that while some minority groups are struggling economically, the Hmong community in Minnesota has made significant gains. Their per capita income jumped up fifty percent over the last five years.
November 17, 2006 - It’s been thirty years since Hmong began arriving in Minnesota. MPR's Toni Randolph interviews Leng Wong, one of the first arrivals that came in the mid-70s. That small initial group now is a community of more than 50-thousand strong.