Minnesota plays a unique role in the arena of health, with impactful political/cultural moments, and important contributions from institutions such as Mayo Clinic, Hazelden, UCare, among others. Over the decades, MPR News and American RadioWorks have produced a breadth of reports and programming specifically dedicated to the subject of health. This collection includes interviews, debates, speeches, and documentaries that provide greater detail to the many facets of healthcare, from both a local and national perspective.
September 2, 1987 - Jim Schaefer, director of the Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health, discusses community approaches to preventing drug and alcohol abuse. Topics include drunk driving, alcohol sales to minors, and informal social control. Schaefer also answers listener questions.
October 5, 1987 - Dr. Scott Strickland, physician at Park Nicollet Clinic and Catherine Jordan, member of the Minnesota AIDS Awareness Project, discuss AIDS Awareness Month. Other topics include young people at risk, blood as transmitter, and misinformation. Strickland and Jordan also answer listener questions.
October 28, 1987 - Mainstreet Radio-Brainerd’s Rachel Reabe profiles Four Winds Lodge Treatment Center, a culturally based Native American chemical dependency treat program. Reabe highlights the annual sobriety powwow through various sounds and interviews.
December 31, 1987 - Colonel Roger Ledding, chief of the Minnesota State Patrol, discusses the upcoming New Year’s Eve, drunk driving, speeding, and other highway safety matters. Colonel Ledding also answers listener questions.
January 4, 1988 - Dr. Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics at the University of Minnesota, discusses the ethical issues surrounding recent advances in medicine. Caplan also answers listener questions.
February 8, 1988 - Mainstreet Radio’s John Biewen follows along doctor Alan Fleischmann in Caledonia, a town in southeastern Minnesota. Fleischmann practices small town medicine and makes house calls, something many in community feel are all too important.
March 12, 1988 - On this Sportfolio program, Greg Cylkowski, local Greg Cylkowski, discusses the many aspects of the psychology of sports. Cylkowski also answers listener questions.
March 31, 1988 - MPR’s Kate Moos interviews AIDS Jacqui Banaszynski about her work “Aids in the Heartland,” which won her the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. Banaszynski and her photographer, Jean Pieri followed two gay Minnesota farmers - Dick Hanson and his partner, Bert Henningson - one of whom had contracted AIDS.
May 10, 1988 - Mainstreet Radio's Rachel Reabe profiles a senior variety act in Brainerd, called “Geritol Frolics.” Reabe speaks with a dancer and group’s theatre director.
August 20, 1988 - Laura Oatman, public health engineer at the Minnesota Health Department; and William Angell, extension housing specialist from the University of Minnesota, discuss radon issues in homes. Oatman and Angell discuss the science, health, construction, modification, and real estate aspects regarding radon gas. Both guests also answer listener questions.