MPR News editor-at-large and retired host Gary Eichten has worn many hats during his 40-plus-year career at Minnesota Public Radio, including news director, special events producer and station manager. He has served as host for Minnesota Public Radio's live, special events news coverage, and has hosted all of the major news programs on Minnesota Public Radio, including Midday, which he hosted for more than 20 years.
A graduate of St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, Eichten began his career at Minnesota Public Radio as a student announcer at KSJR (Minnesota Public Radio's first station). Among the honors Eichten has received during his career is the Corporation for Public Broadcasting award for best local news program. He also assisted in the development of two Peabody award-winning documentaries. In 2007, he was inducted into the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting's Hall of Fame. Eichten has also been awarded the prestigious 2011 Graven Award by the Premack Public Affairs Journalism Awards Board for his contribution to excellence in the journalism profession.
April 5, 2004 - The Minnesota Twins are aiming for a third straight division title, and they're confident another one can be had. Host Gary Eichten and Howard Sinker, sports commentator and state news editor for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, discuss the outlook for the Minnesota baseball team on the opening day of the season.
April 2, 2004 - Highlights from Thursday night's show with Minnesota humorist and playwright Kevin Kling hosting an April fool's evening of mixed monologues, music and mayhem.
April 2, 2004 - On this Midday program Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, and Sen. Michele Bachmann, R-Stillwater, discuss the gay marriage issue in Minnesota. Bachmann supports a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, and Dibble opposes it. Listeners call in with questions.
March 26, 2004 - Host Gary Eichten and Suzanna Sherry, law professor at Vanderbilt University, discuss "judicial activism," and how judges decide what is constitutional.
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.
March 16, 2004 - Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced his stadium plans Monday afternoon. The governor's stadium advisory commission recommended the state build new ballparks for both the Minnesota Twins and the Vikings.
March 15, 2004 - Legislators have a full range of issues to deal with again this spring. Topics include the bonding bill, the state budget deficit, and a raft of proposed constitutional amendments such as the gay marriage amendment. Not to mention the fallout from the transit strike, health care, education, criminal sentencing, and the stadium. Gary Eichten. House Speaker Steve Sviggum, and Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson discuss issues before the Minnesota State Legislature.
March 12, 2004 - Paul Gruchow, the award-winning Minnesota writer, died Feb. 22 of a presumed drug overdose. He was honored Friday at a memorial reading organized by his publisher, Minneapolis-based Milkweed Editions. His books include Boundary Waters: The Grace of the Wild, winner of a 1998 Minnesota Book Award's Flanagan Prize; The Necessity of Empty Places; and Grass Roots: The Universe of Home, winner of a 1996 Minnesota Book Award.
March 11, 2004 - A literary view with Bill Holm. Music is the subject when Minnesota author Bill Holm takes the stage at the College of St. Benedict. In books and essays like "Box Elder Bug Variations" and "Playing the Black Piano", Holm has often explored the places where language and music intersect. The Wednesday evening event is at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph.
March 11, 2004 - Music is the subject when Minnesota author Bill Holm takes the stage at the College of St. Benedict. In books and essays like "Box Elder Bug Variations" and "Playing the Black Piano", Holm has often explored the places where language and music intersect. The Wednesday evening event is at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph.