March 5, 2004 - St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly returned from Thailand where he visited Hmong refugees awaiting relocation to St. Paul and other U.S. cities. The State Department recently declared about 15,000 Hmong refugees eligible to apply for relocation to the U.S., with between 4,000-10,000 Hmong refugees arriving in Minnesota as early as June 2004. Fred de Sam Lazaro, correspondent for PBS's Newshour with Jim Lehrer based at Twin Cities Public Television, traveled with Kelly to Thailand and prepared this report.
March 8, 2004 - Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports on need for fundraisers for people who don't have insurance. Sometimes even those with insurance need help. It seems the higher medical costs rise the more fundraisers there are for people who can't pay all their bills. Dinners, raffles and auctions are a few of the ways people donate money.
March 9, 2004 - Midday presents a report and conversation regarding Minnesota lawmaker’s debate of a bill that could lead to a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The constitution would state: "Only the union of one man and one woman will be recognized as a marriage in Minnesota."
March 12, 2004 - Over the past year several Minnesota theaters have closed their doors. Others are struggling to stay open, but the outlook is bleak. Artists say they're victims of what they call "the perfect storm."
March 15, 2004 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Bill Banfield, St. Thomas music professor, about the induction of Prince Rogers Nelson into the Rock Hall of Fame. Banfield breaks down many of the elements that make Prince a musical genius in the composition and performance.
March 16, 2004 - Governor Tim Pawlenty announced his stadium plans, with the governor's stadium advisory commission recommending the state build new ballparks for both the Minnesota Twins and the Vikings. Midday presents report and holds a discussion on plan and takes listener calls.
March 18, 2004 - Mainstreet Radio’s Annie Baxter reports on a Long Prairie radio program that is reaching out to the town's burgeoning Hispanic population.
March 22, 2004 - MPR’s William Wilcoxen reports on Victory Sports One, the Twins' new network. Nearly two-thirds of the Twins' games will be televised on the new network that is currently unavailable to most Minnesotans. Wilcoxen looks at the standoff between the Twins' new network and the region's leading cable and satellite providers.
March 24, 2004 - MPR’s Chris Roberts interviews Honeydogs founder and songwriter Adam Levy about bands’ CD “10,000 Years," a concept album which tells a futuristic story while examining society's ills. Levy says the main inspiration came from his day job. He's a social worker in St. Paul.
March 25, 2004 - Midday presents excerpts from debate on bill to amend the constitution to define marriage. On March 24th, the Minnesota State House voted on a proposal that would let voters decide if the Minnesota constitution should ban same-sex marriage. The vote was 88-44 in favor of proposal.