November 24, 2014 - MPR’s Curtis Gilbert reports on the cost and hassle of mattress disposal in Minneapolis, and how the city is looking for ways to best deal with recycling and costs.
December 5, 2014 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann interviews U.S. Representative Tim Walz on the issue of veteran suicide, and the efforts in Washington D.C. to address it. Those efforts include legislation sponsored by Walz, called the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention Act. It's a bipartisan effort, with companion legislation in the Senate sponsored by John McCain.
December 11, 2014 - MPR’s Tom Scheck reports on the non-profit Community Action of Minneapolis and it’s CEO Bill Davis. Segment details the concerns over misspending of more than $1 million in energy funds from the state, political connections to organization, and the eventual closure of non-profit after Minnesota Department of Human Services investigation.
December 26, 2014 - MPR's Cathy Wurzer hosts humorist and story-teller Kevin Kling and Matthew Sanford of Mind-Body Solutions on stage at the University of St. Thomas December 9, 2014 for a program about the healing power of storytelling.
January 9, 2015 - On this The Daily Circuit program, MPR’s Tom Weber talks with Lee Pao Xiong and Chia Youyee Vang about the history of the Hmong migration to the U.S…a history that some are unaware of 40 years after the first arrivals.
January 20, 2015 - Musician Billy Idol joins The Current’s Mary Lucia to talk about his book “Dancing with Myself,” his career, punk rock, and more.
January 29, 2015 - MPR’s Lorna Benson profiles Dr. Keith Henry, who in 1985 opened the state's first HIV/AIDS clinic at a public hospital in St. Paul as AIDS and fear of AIDS patients gripped Minnesota and the world. Henry and others reflect on what has changed in the last 30 years in supporting those fighting the disease.
January 30, 2015 - Anton Treuer grew up on the Leech Lake reservation with a deep interest in history and language. He writes in the introduction to one of his books on Native history: "The borderland I grew up in was more than an awkward physical nexus of races and communities." Today-a conversation about how that "nexus" still influences his work and writing.
February 2, 2015 - President Obama has signed the The Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act into law. All Things Considered’s Tom Crann speaks with U.S. Representative Tim Walz, who was present at the signing ceremony. Walz sponsored the act in the House.
February 11, 2015 - MPR’s Elizabeth Baier reports on Bethel Lutheran Church in Rochester, which offers prayers to go in the church parking lot. The church, and others like it, are looking at ways that allow ministers to reach people where it is convenient for them.