April 1, 2008 - Midday remembers Ralph Rapson, the prolific architect and dean of the Architecture School at the University of Minnesota, who died on March 29th, 2008. Rapson may be best known for designing the first Guthrie Theater in downtown Minneapolis.
April 3, 2008 - MPR’s Karl Gehrke profiles classical clarinetist Bruce Cho, who plays the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with the Minnesota Orchestra as part of the Young People's Concerts. Gehrke interviews Cho, his music teacher, and a music colleague.
April 9, 2008 - MPR’s Art Hughes meets with Spencer Anderson and discusses his business endeavor and how he and his family are paying for his current education at University of Minnesota. Hughes also interviews financial officers for their take on student loans and the economy.
April 9, 2008 - MPR’s Perri Finelli talks with U.S. Congressman Tim Walz about a process underway in Washington that'll determine where billions of your tax dollars will be spent…called earmarking. That's where local projects get funding from the federal government. The number of earmarks has grown over the years.... and the projects have been criticized as pork.
April 9, 2008 - MPR’s Sea Stachura profiles 1st District Congressman Tim Walz as he prepares to run for re-election. The Republican Party thinks 1st District Congressman Tim Walz is one of the country's vulnerable freshman Democrats. One analyst says Walz has inoculated himself against a Republican challenger. But will it be enough this November?
April 10, 2008 - MPR’s Chris Roberts reports on release of “Walk it Off,” the sophmore album from Minneapolis band Tapes 'n Tapes. Roberts interviews band members Josh Grier and Eric Applewick about making the album.
April 17, 2008 - Pope Benedict XVI is visiting the United States for the first time as leader of the world's Roman Catholics. Midday explores the messages he plans to emphasize during his trip and the impact of his visit.
April 28, 2008 - One of Minnesota's best-known novelists, Louise Erdrich, discusses her book “A Plague of Doves,” a story that weaves together the murder of a family, a lynching of men innocent of the crime, and the tangled relationships of Ojibwe and whites living around the dying town of Pluto, North Dakota.
May 1, 2008 - May 1st is the traditional decision deadline for high school seniors to make their college decisions. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes talked with students at North High School in Minneapolis about how they made their decisions for college.
May 2, 2008 - Minnesota writer Leif Enger's new novel, "So Brave, Young and Handsome," is a tribute to the Western. An old cowboy seeks forgiveness from his estranged wife as he tries to shake a pursuing Pinkerton detective. And the book's narrator is a writer attempting to match the success of his first book. Enger's first novel, "Peace Like a River," was a best-seller.