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.
August 21, 2003 - MPR’s Gary Eichten interviews Amy Klobuchar, Hennepin County District Attorney, and Susan Gaertner, Ramsey County District Attorney, at the Minnesota State Fair. Topics include current events and major issues of fighting and preventing crime in the Twin Cities and Minnesota. Klobuchar and Gaertner also answer audience questions.
August 13, 2003 - On this Midday, a remembrance of former U.S. Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks, who died in a rollover accident in Forest Lake. Interviews featured include Lou Nanne, Kathleen Ridder, Glen Sonmor, Wendell Anderson, and John Harrington. Program also includes call-in commentary.
August 7, 2003 - Tuesday night marked the first shift for 12 state troopers who've come to Minneapolis to help the city's police force handle a spike in violent crime. Minneapolis Police Chief Robert Olson joins to discuss.
August 5, 2003 - MPR’s Gary Eichten interviews Don Samuels, Minneapolis City Council member, about crime control and “National Night Out.” Samuels has worked to fight crime and violence in the city and says he's pleased Governor Tim Pawlenty will deploy 12 members of the State Patrol's Special Response Team to Minneapolis to help combat a spike in violence. The announcement follows several shootings in the city, including the critical wounding of a 19-month-old girl in North Minneapolis.
July 28, 2003 - We discuss the history, attraction, and future of the Great Lakes. We'll cover the natural history of the lakes and the people who live there, as well as the forests along the water. Jerry Dennis, naturalist and author of "The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas".
July 18, 2003 - Acclaimed writer and Minnesota native, Patricia Hampl, is perhaps best known for her memoirs. She focused on reading and writing memoirs and the importance of auto-biographies to help us understand the past in a recent speech at the Minnesota Historical Society. Her books include "The Summer House", "2 for 5", and "Virgin Time." Hampl has a new book coming out next year called "The Silken Chamber." She's also working on two new books--a collection of short stories and a new memoir, about her mother and father. It's called "My Mother's Daughter."
July 16, 2003 - We hear northern Minnesota wildlife biologist Bill Berg talk about the state's critters, and we hear from University of Minnesota professor Anne Pusey about her work with Jane Goodall and chimpanzees in Africa. This is the latest in the series of interviews from Minnesota Public Radio's Voices of Minnesota series.
June 27, 2003 - We continue to talk with Laura Hillenbrand, author of Seabiscut: An American Legend. Program contains pledge drive segments.
June 27, 2003 - With his smallish stature, knobby knees, and slightly crooked forelegs, he looked more like a cow pony than a thoroughbred. But looks aren't everything; his quality, an admirer once wrote, "was mostly in his heart." Gary Eichten talks with Laura Hillenbrand, about the story of the horse who became a cultural icon in Seabiscuit: An American Legend. Program contains pledge drive segments.
June 26, 2003 - Minnesota is often praised for its unusually vibrant arts and culture scene and during this hour. We hear a Voices of Minnesota interview with writer and publisher Emilie Buchwald, the winner of last year's McKnight Foundation Distinguished Artist award. Buchwald was a founder of Milkweed Editions, the influential literary press based in Minneapolis. But now, after decades in the business, Emilie Buchwald is retiring as publisher of Milkweed Editions and she is being honored at a reception Thursday at Open Book in Minneapolis, the literary arts building that she helped bring into being.