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.
August 10, 2000 - The University of Minnesota's organ transplant team has published an article examining a new transplant procedure. Researchers at the U of M created a protocol allowing strangers to donate one of their two kidneys to a transplant patient. In the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers discuss the ethical and medical implications of such a procedure. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
August 10, 2000 - The child poverty rate in Minnesota has shot up by 85-percent since 1979, according to a new report from the National Center for Children in Poverty. That's 122-thousand more kids, despite an unprecedented economic boom throughout most of the nineties. Diane Benjamin is an advocate for children and the Executive Director of the Children's Defense Fund-Minnesota. She thinks that the Center's numbers exaggerate the problem:
August 14, 2000 - The lawyer who led Minnesota's successful lawsuit against big tobacco is tackling what some may see as an even bigger challenge - Minnesota's US Senate race. Mike Ciresi hopes to win a competitive four-way DFL Senate primary, and go on to beat Republican incumbent Rod Grams. Ciresi has money, a creative ad campaign, a good grasp of the issues and some big name support. But he's never run for office before, and must convince DFL primary voters that he's the best Democrat to take on Grams. In the third in our series of candidate profiles, Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum looks at the career and campaign of Mike Ciresi...
August 15, 2000 - Anthrax has killed 56 cattle and four horses in North Dakota since late July, and in Clay County, Minnesota, officials say the bacterial disease has infected livestock there for the first time in 100 years. Anthrax occurs in nearly all species worldwide. Jim Collins, doctor of veterinary medicine and Director of the Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, says it is very deadly and kills animals quickly. The bacteria releases toxins that destroy the infected animals' cells.
August 16, 2000 - Both Republicans and Democrats are aggressively courting African American voters this year, from the national conventions to outreach efforts in Minnesota's central cities. The Minnesota Republican Party formed a black Republican coalition this year, and D-F-L'ers are working hard to register African American voters. But it's clear from several recent events that bridging the gap between politicians and urban voters is no easy task. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports...
August 17, 2000 - Vice-President Al Gore will take center stage stage tonight -- just minutes after running mate Joseph Lieberman called on the party to unite around the ticket. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.
August 17, 2000 - The athletes may get all the attention at the Olympic games. But behind the scenes, a 47-member U-S Olympic medical staff makes sure they are physically up to the challenge. Winning a spot on the medical team is no easy task... applicants must spend years volunteering with the U-S Olympic committee and then go through an intense evaluation process... and they must be willing to work for free. Park Nicollet chiropractor Andrew Klein passed the test and will head to Sydney with the team in mid-September. He says the pressure of preparing Olympic athletes for the biggest competition of their careers doesn't bother him:
August 17, 2000 - The Democratic National Convention wraps up tonight when Vice-President Al Gore formally accepts his party's nomination for President. Throughout the week, Democrats have been treading a fine line between the party's more liberal elements and the need to appeal to centrists and independent voters. Some of that tension was on display last night during vice-presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman's remarks. Earlier today, Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton attended a closed meeting with Senator Lieberman. And Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo joins us now from the convention center in Los Angeles. Michael, what was on the agenda?
August 18, 2000 - About 10-thousand Al Gore supporters showed up in LaCrosse, Wisconsin this morning, where the Democratic presidential nominee and his running mate Joseph Lieberman embarked on a four-day riverboat trip to kick off the post-convention phase of their campaign. The candidates spiced their speeches with Midwestern references in their bid to both keep up the momentum from the convention, and to bolster lagging support in states that Democrats used to be able to rely on. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes has the first of two reports from LaCrosse.
August 21, 2000 - The University of Minnesota is launching an effort to commercialize promising University technologies by bridging the gap between entrepreneurs and academia. Amid worries that Minnesota has fallen behind in the high tech, information based economy, many observers say the University must play a central role in keeping Minnesota competitive. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin reports.