April 14, 2020 - MPR News Presents airs “Under a Watchful Eye,” an APM Reports & The Hechinger Report documentary that looks at colleges using big data to track students in an effort to boost graduation rates, but it comes at a cost.
September 11, 2017 - The APM Reports documentary “Shadow Class: College Dreamers in Trump's America” looks at the rescinding of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a policy that allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the United States after being brought to the country as children to receive a deferred action from deportation and become eligible for an employment in the U.S.
December 20, 2016 - MPR News with Tom Weber presents a program on The Dakota Access oil pipeline, which winds hundreds of miles from the oil fields of North Dakota to a pipeline hub in southern Illinois. In 2016, it was almost entirely built — except for a section under Lake Oahe, a Missouri River reservoir just south of Bismarck, N.D. Members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and a coalition of other groups camped out near the site of the river crossing in an effort to stop pipeline construction.
September 10, 2014 - Midday presents an American RadioWorks documentary titled “Greater Expectations: The Challenge of the Common Core,” which looks at how the United States is in the midst of a huge education reform. The Common Core State Standards are a new set of expectations for what students should learn each year in school.
December 20, 2012 - On this Daily Circuit segment, MPR’s Mark Zdechlik interviews U.S. Representative Tim Walz, who says he thinks Congress could act relatively soon on legislation aimed at preventing gun violence following the horrific school shooting in Connecticut. Walz, a gun owner, hopes there will be an attempt to solve gun issue and find balance between personal liberties and safety.
May 29, 2012 - President Obama speaks on awarding musician and Minnesota native Bob Dylan the Medal of Freedom.
December 7, 2010 - As part of MPR's Youth Radio Series, Youth Radio reporter Brenda tells what it's like to live in the United States illegally.
October 6, 2010 - Midday presents an American RadioWorks documentary titled “Testing Teachers.” Studies show that students with the best teachers learn three times as much as students with the worst teachers. Politicians and education reformers are calling for big changes in how teachers are trained and evaluated - and in the way teachers are hired and fired too.
February 18, 2009 - In its latest effort to stem the financial crisis, the Obama administration announced the details of a $75 billion plan to help struggling homeowners. The plan is more ambitious than initially expected - and more expensive. It aims to aid borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are currently worth, and borrowers who are on the verge of foreclosure. Afterwards, Ben Bernanke speaks at the National Press Club live here on Midday with Gary Eichten
January 8, 2009 - MPR’s Tom Crann interviews R.T. Rybak, Mayor of Minneapolis about President-elect Obama economic speech. In his speech today, President-elect Obama also recognized the budget problems local governments are facing these days. Here in Minnesota, the Governor and the legislature are working to close a 4.8-billion-dollar budget shortfall. And, that has meant less aid money for cities and counties. The president-elect tried to offer local leaders some words of hope.