October 29, 2004 - Minneapolis police and members of a community relations group are cooperating in the investigation of the shooting death of a Minneapolis teenager by a police officer. However, the two continue to offer different accounts of what happened. Police say 15-year-old Courtney Williams held a pellet gun that resembled a real gun and refused to drop it when commanded to do so by a police officer. They say Williams stopped and turned toward the officer with the gun when the officer fired two shots. But members of the council say another boy possessed the pellet gun and threw it on the ground as he ran from police officers. Despite the different accounts, community group member Spike Moss says the relationship between his group and the department is sound.
November 1, 2004 - With Election Day approaching, MPR’s Tim Pugmire looks at the basic rules for voting. While experienced voters know where to go and what to do, others will enter the voting booth for the first time and may be unsure about what it takes to exercise their democratic right.
November 2, 2004 - On the eve of election, MPR’s Dan Olson reports on how challenges to voters will work in the state. While most Minnesotan's will vote without a hitch, it's almost certain that hundreds will be challenged on their right to cast a ballot.
November 2, 2004 - Mainstreet Radio's Tom Robertson reports that a Minnesota poll shows most Minnesotans favor a gaming proposal from Governor Tim Pawlenty. The governor wants Indian tribes to share some of their gambling revenue with the state. The poll conducted last week also shows a majority of Minnesotans are opposed to an expansion of gambling in the state.
November 9, 2004 - Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports on a southern Minnesota landmark that has returned to its lofty pedestal in New Ulm. A crane lifted Hermann the German, all 32-feet of him, into place. The copper statue was taken down about a year and a half ago to repair more than one hundred years of wear.
November 11, 2004 - MPR's Brandt Williams reports that Minnesota Twins pitcher Johan Santana has been named the 2004 American League Cy Young award winner. The honor is given each year by the Baseball Writers association of America to the most statistically dominant pitchers in both Major League Baseball divisions. Santana, a 25-year-old left hander, recorded the most strikeouts of any pitcher in the American league, the lowest earned run average and the second highest number of victories.
November 15, 2004 - St. Paul school district officials say they're ready to add more bilingual classrooms to accommodate the latest wave of new immigrants.
November 15, 2004 - MPR’s Tim Pugmire reports that St. Paul School District officials say 600 Hmong refugee students have enrolled since the beginning of the school year, and hundreds more could still arrive in the coming weeks.
November 15, 2004 - St. Paul school district officials say their strategy for accommodating a wave of new immigrant students has worked smoothly for the first two months of the school year. The district established Transitional Language Centers at three elementary schools in response to the influx of Hmong families from a Thailand refugee camp. An International Academy was set up for older students. Valeria Silva, director of St. Paul's English Language Learner programs, says the slow, steady arrival of students has helped the schools adapt.
November 16, 2004 - Former Gov. Elmer Andersen, who served Minnesota in so many ways throughout his 95 years, finally left the state forever on Monday night. We hear excerpts from a 2000 interview with Andersen and the editor of his memoir, the Star Tribune's Lori Sturdevant, plus a 2001 speech Andersen delivered to the Minnesota State Senate.