May 5, 2009 - MPR’s Kate Smith is joined by Sandy Baum, Liz Pulliam Weston, and Steven Roy Goodman to discuss if higher education is really worth the cost.
May 18, 2009 - University of Minnesota and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System Colleges expect big tuition increases.
May 19, 2009 - MPR’s Tom Scheck reports that the number of people on the state's payroll has grown even though thousands of government employees have retired since Governor Tim Pawlenty ordered a hiring freeze at state agencies.
June 5, 2009 - MPR’s Sanden Totten reports that while legalized gay marriage is a topic of some states, many in the gay and lesbian community have another issue on their mind - what to do when they get old.
June 18, 2009 - Hard economic times put pressure on many parents hoping to save money to help their kids pay for college. The trends of parents saving or not for their children’s are mixed in Minnesota.
June 26, 2009 - MPR’s Kerri Miller meets with career counselor Lindsey Pollak and CollegeRecruiter.com founder Steven Rothberg to talk about the struggle recent college graduates are facing with entering into the job market.
June 26, 2009 - MPR’s Annie Baxter reports on ways that recession can be even tougher for low-income families.
July 7, 2009 - Minnesota colleges hope to use early retirement as a way to help balance their budgets. Higher education officials say offering retirement incentives to older employees is a better option than laying off younger workers. But some wonder if early retirement has much appeal in these tough economic times. Tim Post reports.
November 2, 2009 - As part of MPR News series “Stress-Testing the Recovery,” MPR’s Bob Kelleher profiles Hibbing, an area in northeastern Minnesota which has the highest jobless rate of any city in the state.
November 3, 2009 - As part of MPR News series “Stress-Testing the Recovery,” MPR’s Tom Roberston profiles Bemidji, a city with the state’s third highest peak in unemployment.