January 15, 2010 - There's a memorial service at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. today for former Pioneer Press executive editor Deborah Howell. She was hit by a car and killed in New Zealand earlier this month. Howell led the paper to two Pulitzer Prizes in the 1980s. She later went on to Washington and was most recently the ombudsman for the Washington Post. New York Times columnist David Carr says Howell cut her teeth in the tough, male-dominated newspaper business at an early age
September 29, 2009 - America faces difficult choice in Afghanistan, to send more troops there or not. The U.S. has been in Afghanistan nearly eight years, and yet the situation there is increasingly unstable. With debate brewing over further troop increase, Midday’s Gary Eichten talks with U.S. Representative Tim Walz about the path that lies ahead. Walz also answers listener questions.
August 19, 2009 - On this Midday program, MPR’s Gary Eichten talks with U.S. Representative Tim Walz, who represents Minnesota's 1st Congressional District. Walz is holding a town meeting on health care reform in Mankato. In advance of that meeting, he joins Midday to talk about healthcare reform and other issues facing Congress.
August 3, 2009 - A leader in both football and teaching, former Vikings offensive guard Randall McDaniel joins Midday to talk about his upcoming induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and about being an educator in Minnesota. McDaniel also answers listener questions.
June 19, 2009 - As friends and colleagues mark the 25th anniversary of Joan Growe's 19-ballot DFL endorsement for the U.S. Senate in 1984, Growe joins Midday to talk about her career in politics. Growe also answers listener questions.
September 18, 2007 - In north Minneapolis the Lowry Avenue bridge over the Mississippi River is being closed during daylight hours this week for detailed inspections. The Minnesota Department of Transportation is checking the bridge for structural deficiencies. Hennepin County bridge engineer Jake Bronder says the bridge, which is called a "fracture critical" span, has only two main load-bearing members. And if one of the two were to fail, he says, the entire bridge could fall. So far, Bronder says, no problems have been found with the bridge and he doesn't expect state inspectors to close it down. Bronder says the bridge gets regular inspections, but in the wake of the 35W bridge collapse, Governor Pawlenty ordered MnDOt to take a closer look at all "fracture critical" bridges.
April 17, 2005 - The winners of the 17th annual Minnesota Book Awards include a Macalester College anthropology professor and a former investigative reporter whose father was a bank robber. Minnesota Public Radio's Phil Picardi has more.
August 18, 2003 - Though the Democratic presidential nominating convention isn't until next summer, several of the nine candidates vying for George Bushs' job have been making Minnesota a must-stop-state on the campaign trail. Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich Helms reports.
June 7, 2002 - The June edition of MPR's Voices of Minnesota series, featuring Alexander Braginsky of the ePiano competition, and St. Olaf Choir Director Anton Armstrong. MPR’s Dan Olson presents profiles and interviews of the two artists.