December 22, 2009 - Singer-songwriter and steel guitarist Cam Waters died in Minneapolis, at the age of 51. MPR’s Tom Crann interviews one of Water’s musical friends, guitarist Dave "Dakota" Hull, who shares his reflections on the late musician.
December 24, 2009 - MPR’s Annie Baxter profiles the Peterson family as they prepare for a holiday season after a job loss.
December 27, 2009 - Krista Tippett speaks with Canadian philosopher and Catholic social innovator Jean Vanier. He founded the L'Arche movement, over 130 communities in 34 countries centered around people with mental disabilities. To many, Jean Vanier is simply one of the wise men in our world today. He has spent his life practically exploring the most basic, paradoxical teachings of Christianity-notions about power in humility, strength in weakness, and light in the darkness of human existence.
December 31, 2009 - As part of MPR's Youth Radio Series, Youth Radio reporter Mara Kumagai Fink reflects on an event that profoundly changed her family's life…the New Year's Day when her mom fell on a ski trail and was paralyzed from the neck down.
January 7, 2010 - MPR’s Rupa Shenoy reports on advocates push for more end-of-life rights for domestic partners. A 2009 bill that would have protected the rights of surviving members of domestic partnerships to make end-of-life decisions did not pass before the legislative session ended, but advocates hope state lawmakers will support it when they return to the capitol.
January 8, 2010 - Republican Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem and Republican House Minority Leader Kurt Zellers preview their priorities to solve the state's budget crisis and address key issues in the 2010 legislative session opening February 4th.
January 11, 2010 - MPR’s Tim Nelson reports on how the Karen have adopted Minnesota as their new home, 10 years after the first of the Karen escaped the oppressive regime that rules Myanmar, and began to immigrate to the Twin Cities.
January 14, 2010 - MPR’s Tom Crann interviews sports columnist Jim Klobucahar about the history on rivalry of Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys.
January 14, 2010 - Miep Gies, the woman who helped hide Anne Frank from the Nazis and later saved Anne's diary, died this week in Amsterdam. She was 100 years old. Midday features a remembrance of Gies, plus an excerpt from an interview with Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel.
January 15, 2010 - MPR’s Dan Olson profiles Twin Cities musician and educator Cyril Paul. A native of Trinidad, Paul has lived in Minnesota for more than 50 years performing the music of his homeland and also serving as a music resource person in schools and churches.