August 23, 2017 - MPR News host Tom Weber talks with Art Blakey, Minnesota State Fair police chief, as he prepares to retire. For 37 years, Blakey has overseen it all as chief of police on the fairgrounds.
January 19, 2017 - This MPR News with Tom Weber feature takes a look back to January 20th, 1977, when Minnesota’s Walter Mondale was sworn in as the Vice President of the United States. Segment includes interview excerpts, descriptions of Inauguration Day, and audio of the complete swearing in of Mondale.
December 20, 2016 - MPR News with Tom Weber presents a program on The Dakota Access oil pipeline, which winds hundreds of miles from the oil fields of North Dakota to a pipeline hub in southern Illinois. In 2016, it was almost entirely built — except for a section under Lake Oahe, a Missouri River reservoir just south of Bismarck, N.D. Members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and a coalition of other groups camped out near the site of the river crossing in an effort to stop pipeline construction.
August 11, 2016 - MPR’s Tom Weber interviews Sean Christenson, Willmar's city engineer, about how the city is dealing with historic deluge on August 10th, 2016…one he considers a 1,000-year rainfall event. This extreme rainfall event pounded parts of central and southeastern Minnesota. The highest total of 9.74 inches was recorded just east of Willmar. The storms created two 6-inch rainfall areas combined to cover just over 1,000 square miles, making 2016 a rare year with two "mega" rain events in Minnesota (a larger event hit northern and central Minnesota on July 11-12, 2016).
April 26, 2016 - MPR’s Tom Weber highlights state legislators paying tribute to Prince after his death on April 21st, 2016. Segment includes audio of state representatives Peggy Flanagan and Mike Freiberg performing “Purple Rain” on the floor of the Minnesota House.
April 21, 2016 - MPR’s Tom Weber talks with Minority Leader in the House Representative Erin Murphy, a representative of St. Paul; and Peggy Flanagan, representative of St. Louis Park. The two legislators discuss how members of the DFL party are critiquing how well candidates of color have, or haven't, found success in gaining their party's endorsement at local conventions.
January 22, 2016 - A profile of Robert Treuer, who died at the age of 89. Treuer was a writer, activist, and a tree farmer near Bemidji. The story of his life intersects with some of the most important themes of world and regional history in the 20th century. Program presents MPR’s Dan Olson interviewing Robert Treuer, as part of our "Voices of Minnesota" series.
November 13, 2015 - MPR’s Tom Weber presents a rebroadcast of a documentary from 2014 MPR Special reporting project on climate change. It collects stories on extreme weather, warming trends, species adaptation, jet and streams.
October 1, 2015 - MPR’s Tom Weber interviews retiring Supreme Court Justice Alan Page. Discussion includes his childhood interest of law and football as a child.
September 30, 2015 - MPR’s Marianne Comb interviews writer and performer Roger Guenveur Smith about his play “Rodney King.” The one-man show, "Rodney King," is performed at Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul.