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.
December 24, 1999 - Rabbi Harold Kushner's speech on how to make a difference with the rest of your life. Rabbi Kushner was in the Twin Cities this fall to give a lecture on What to Do With the Rest of Your Life. Rabbi Kushner is the author of the best seller, Why Bad Things Happen to Good People. He is also in wide demand as a lecturer and this fall, he spoke at the Academy for Faith Exploration, an educational outreach program sponsered by the Wayzata Community Church.
December 21, 1999 - A look at Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and how it's shaped our view of Christmas and charity. Features a 1940 version of A Christmas Carol featuring Lionel Barrymore as Ebenezer Scrooge. Our review of A Christmas Carol was written and produced by John Rabe, with assistance from Kara Fiegenschuh. It included selections from To Charles, With Love, a special production created and produced by Bridget Carpenter, the NEA-PCG playwright in residence of the Guthrie Theatre. We heard My Carol by Doris Baizley, read by Sue Scott; and excerpts of Octoclaus by Eric Ehn, read by Dan Gorenstein; and A Christmas Golem by David Grimm, read by Steve Yoakam.
December 8, 1999 - Historian and baseball fan Doris Kearns Goodwin will talk about presidents, sports, and family in her speech, "Walking with Our Daughters into the 20th Century."
December 8, 1999 - Midday holds a conversation on homelessness in Minnesota with Sue Watlov Phillips of Elim Transitional Housing and legislative chair of the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless; and with Herb Frey, program director for the Alliance of the Streets.
December 2, 1999 - Live special broadcast from the University of St. Thomas in downtown Minneapolis: The MPR Civic Journalism Initiative presents a Summit on "Minnesota in the Dot.Com Age." Keynote speaker is Minnesota native Ann Winblad, co-founder of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners in California. All the major business magazines call her part of the "Cyber Elite."
December 2, 1999 - Special Live broadcast from the University of St. Thomas in downtown Minneapolis: The MPR Civic Journalism Initiative presents a Summit on "Minnesota in the Dot.Com Age." Where do we stand and where are we headed? Speakers include Ross DeVol of the Milken Institute, Randolph Court of the Progressive Policy Institute, and Jay Hare of PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
December 1, 1999 - Governor Jesse Ventura addresses the Minnesota Meeting. Ventura's spseech was about his support for a unicameral legislature and answer questions from the Minnesota audience and a national Internet audience. Minnesota Meeting is a non-profit corporation which hosts a wide range of public speakers. It is managed by the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
November 25, 1999 - A Thanksgiving Day special, "Giving Thanks: A Celebration of Fall, Food and Gratitude." Produced by MPR's John Birge, it includes a rare recording of actor Charles Laughton, essays by Bill Moyers, Donald Hall and Garrison Keillor, and the music of Aaron Copeland, Vivaldi and more.
November 19, 1999 - Part of MPR's "The Surveillance Society" series, a Live broadcast of the Minnesota Meeting, featuring a speech by Amitai Etzioni titled, "Privacy & The Internet Age: Why Less Privacy is Good for Us - and You." Etzioni is author the "The LImits of Privacy" and "The Spirit of Community: The Reinvention of American Society"
November 19, 1999 - A compilation of the special reports from the MPR "The Surveillance Society" series.