December 22, 2000 - Mark Seeley, climatologist and meteorologist at the University of Minnesota, talks about the weather trends of the past year and predictions for the year to come.
August 14, 2001 - Mainstreet Public Radio's Tim Post reports on the “AVM Runestone,” a new stone find in Kensington. Members of the Kensington Runestone Research Team found a stone with what some say are runic carvings on its surface. The stone was found near where the original Kensington Runestone was unearthed over one hundred years ago.
August 24, 2001 - MPR’s Chris Julin reports on the public premiere of an underwater fishcam placed into the depths of Lake Superior. The camera provides a glimpse into the activity going on beneath the lake surface.
August 30, 2001 - MPR’s Tom Scheck reports that officials with the Minnesota State Fair have implemented some additional safety measures in the livestock and poultry barns to ensure the health of the animals and fairgoers. Each year, thousands of people walk through the animal barns. Fair officials want to make sure that no illnesses are spread through that interaction.
September 28, 2001 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer talks with climatologist Mark Seeley, who provides insights on the value of warm dirt. Summer severe weather topics are also discussed.
February 19, 2002 - MPR’s Jeff Horwich reports how the use of technology is helping to make planting crops a precise science. Instead of kicking back during the winter, many farmers are now keeping busy…at the computer. They’re using global positioning systems to do what’s called "precision agriculture," which uses satellite coordinates to help map their fields.
April 17, 2002 - Future Tenses’ Jon Gordon interviews Alex Ignatiev about why computers are such a pain to turn on and off. Firing up a computer, or rebooting it after a crash, takes longer than we'd like. But it could be a lot quicker if new technology from the University of Houston is a hit in the marketplace. Already, the school has licensed the technology to Sharp Electronics.
April 17, 2002 - As part of Severe Weather Awareness Week in Minnesota, Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Bill Hughes, a SKYWARN spotter and a spotter instructor. Hughes says spotters cannot be replaced by technology.
June 17, 2002 - MPR’s Eugen Cha reports on efforts by Minnetonka-based company Cargill and the University of Minnesota to turn corn into plastic. It may give the state a lead in an emerging area of biotech, where the finished products are not medicines, or even crops, but industrial materials like plastic.
September 2, 2002 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Dr. Chip Bolman about the fifty-year anniversary of first open heart surgery. The world's first successful open-heart surgery was performed at the University of Minnesota. A team led by Doctor F. John Lewis operated on a five-year-old girl who was born with a hole in her heart. The girl survived and grew up to have two kids of her own. Since then, advances in medicine and medical technology have revolutionized the treatment available to people with heart trouble.