December 8, 1998 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman talks with Ilean Her, director of the state’s Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans, about Hmong community leaders release of a proposal seeking state dollars to help Minnesota's South-East Asians population. Several recent tragedies in the Hmong community prompted the initiative which will be presented to the legislature. It calls for mental health, education, violence prevention, and self-sufficiency programs.
November 30, 1998 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman reports that Khoua Her, a St. Paul woman accused of killing her six children, changed her original plea to guilty of six counts of second degree murder. Her now faces a fifty-year prison term.
November 27, 1998 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman reports on thousands of people gathering in St. Paul’s RiverCentre to celebrate the Hmong New Year. It's a time of cultural and commercial significance as people visit friends and family, browse Hmong merchandise, and watch performances of both traditional and modern dances. Nyman speaks with various participants at the event.
November 19, 1998 - Cyrano. Only one word, but a big name... and a big nose. Cyrano, the swashbuckling, swordfighting poet, devastated while his object of desire swoons over the dashing looks and borrowed words of a young cadet. It's one of the world's great stories. And tonight, Theater de la Jeune Lune in Minneapolis opens it's two and half month run of Cyrano de Bergerac, and attempts to show it's still relevant. Minnesota Public Radio's Lynette Nyman has this report. It's all Roxanne's fault. Okay. No. Not really. But she might as well be held responsible for some of Cyrano's pain and suffering. He can't tell her how much he loves her because he's embarrassed by his nose, which is the talk of Paris, at least behind his back. I
November 9, 1998 - Since last October, a special St. Paul police team has been using a video camera when answering domestic abuse calls. The aim is to record victims' statements to help the city prosecute domestic abuse cases...especially if the victim later recants statements made to the police. But some are concerned the video tapes could hurt victims more than they help. Minnesota Public Radio's Lynette Nyman reports. It's called the "domestic assault video squad"...one camera and two police officers. One tapes while the other interviews the victim. The idea is to document the victim's statement while it's fresh... some minutes after the incident when emotions are still running high.
November 5, 1998 - There has been a lot of head scratching among the Jesse-Ventura-pilloried "experts" about how the reform Party Candidate came to be Minnesota's Governor elect--- particularly in the face of two party-machine-groomed opponents. The Ventura victory has been described as a protest by disenfranchised voters: but Minnesota Public RAdio's Lynette Nyman reports it could be more complicated than that.... The common wisdom is the Jesse Ventura voter is like an Edina Woman named Mary, who called in to an MPR post-election show. Mary said she was undecided till the end....but then placed her faith in Jesse. 1:06:08 I wanted to make a statement....
October 12, 1998 - Recovery from a natural disaster takes time. Months and years can go by before life seems normal again. Minnesota Public Radio's Lynette Nyman returned to Saint Peter to see how people are doing just six months after the tornado disaster. She met with Saint Peter resident and business owner Nancy Jordett . Nancy Jordett is busy these days. She's rebuilding her life. Her home has a new roof. Her business...more than six months after the storm, is still in the basement of an employee's home. Her family? She says they're fine, but she says summer was a challenge.
September 18, 1998 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman reports that some Twin Cities Hmong leaders are calling for a strengthening of their traditional clan-based system of justice. They say this is one way of making sure there are no further tragedies, such as the recent killing of six children. Some others in the community are concerned the clan system lacks enforcement and equality, especially with the growing generation and gender gaps within the Hmong community.
September 11, 1998 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman reports that hundreds of people attended the start of a four-day funeral service for six St. Paul children killed, apparently by their mother, in their home. The mourners, mostly from the Hmong community, expressed their grief and disbelief over the tragedy.
September 8, 1998 - A Saint Paul woman was charged with the murder of her six children in Ramsey County court today. (TUESDAY) Khoua Her has been in custody at Regions Hospital in Saint Paul. Today Her, a petit woman with black hair tinted red, walked into the arraignment courtroom wearing a hospital gown. A translator told her what was happening. Ramsey county prosecutors charged Her with six-counts of second degree murder in the death of her six children. Prosecutors requested bail be set at 1-(M)-million dollars. Ramsey County Public Defender Bruce Wenger objected...asking for a 25-thousand dollar bail.