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.
December 2, 1998 - Governor Arne Carlson has a little more than a month left in his term, and already tributes to his thirty years in public office are under way. The first took place in Minneapolis last night NARRATION: It wasn't a "retirement party"; it was a "salute" -- a salute featuring more than twelve hundred Carlson fans and kicked off by the University of Minnesota Marching Band. It was, for Governor Carlson, a chance to reflect on his term in office and wha
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.
December 11, 1998 - U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone has all but announced he's running for President. The two-term Democrat says he's going to make the final decision over the holidays -- after he gets a chance to discuss it with his family. But in a speech to supporters and financial backers last night (THURS), Wellstone made it sound as though he's already embarked on the campaign trail. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports:
December 17, 1998 - A new housing development in Minneapolis' Phillips neighborhood will convert several landmark mansions into condominiums. Residents say the project is not gentrification that will push poor people out but instead is the beginning of a long awaited turn-around for the inner city neighborhood. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports. The wrecking ball has taken many of the mansions along Park avenue in the Phillips neighborhood. But a few remain, and Lutheran Social Services spokesman Bill Vanderwall says three near their headquarters building will become condominiums. The units will sell for $90,000 to $145,000. Vanderwalle says the housing and other projects in the works will change the face of the city's poorest neighborhood.
December 24, 1998 - Mainstreet Radio's Gretchen Lehmann reports on Wings of Mercy, a program based in St. Cloud that assists with the challenges of rural Minnesotans in finding medical care. A group of amateur pilots volunteer their time to fly rural low-income patients to hospitals in larger cities...and they do all their work for free.
December 24, 1998 - Foreign medical students in the U-S face a unique visa restriction requiring that they return to their home country for two years after their training. Immigration officials say the restriction helps improve health care around the world by returning highly-skilled physicians to their native countries. But one Rochester woman says the rigid rules will force her family---with two U-S citizens--to live abroad. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.
December 24, 1998 - Minnesota's older teenagers are supposed to be hitting the books, at least if they want to legally ride a snowmobile. A new law requires all teenagers to pass a safety course before operating a snowmobile on public land. But few of the older teens have signed up for training, and public safety officials fear many are unaware of the law, or intend to ignore it. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports ..... The snowmobile season got off to a slow start this winter.... SFX: (vroom - ratta tat ratta tatta tatta - vroom) For two days in November at the annual Snowcross races just outside Duluth
December 30, 1998 - Minnesota's tobacco trial will go down as one of the nation's biggest legal stories of the year. Twin Cities lawyers took on what's historically been a tough industry to battle and secured nearly seven-billion dollars for the State and Blue Cross Blue Shield Minnesota. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki looks back at the trial of the year.
December 31, 1998 - ATC State Attorney General-Elect Mike Hatch doesn't take office until next week. But like other constitutional officers--he's been making his way through the transition with a very different style of management than his predecessor--Attorney General Skip Humphrey. Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports.
February 2, 1999 - Pat Harrison, project director of the Minnesota Student Survey, discusses the findings of the latest survey about teen sex, drugs, smoking and alcohol. Harrison is with the Department of Human Services. Harrison also answers listener questions.