December 10, 2007 - Decorah, Iowa is a town less than 20 miles from the Minnesota border. It is the home of Luther College and the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, which is the largest museum in the country devoted to a single immigrant ethnic group. With the Iowa caucus less than a month away, Cathy Wurzer looks into the history of this small Mid-western town.
December 6, 2007 - Dominic Papatola, Morning Edition arts commentator and St. Paul Pioneer Press theater critic, talks about the state of midsize theaters in the Twin Cities and the differing outlooks.
November 28, 2007 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer interviews author Carrol Henderson about his book “"Oology and Ralph's Talking Eggs” and bird history/conservation in North America. The book details new discoveries that have come from researching a collection of about 4,000 bird eggs gathered by an Iowa farmer named Ralph Handsaker.
November 19, 2007 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer interviews nature photographer Craig Blacklock about his art and devotion to the pristine landscapes of Lake Superior. Blacklock is using his book "Minnesota's North Shore" to educate Minnesotans about development around Lake Superior. Blacklock says those landscapes could easily be ruined by irresponsible land development. The photographer says he's devoted to the area because the raw nature of the big lake captures his imagination.
October 15, 2007 - Preliminary work to rebuild the I-35W bridge in downtown Minneapolis is underway this week, but it will be a long time before Minnesotans get over the tragic collapse that occurred Aug. 1. Most of us only saw the photographs and the videos, and heard the voices on the radio. But there are also the approximately 180 people who were actually on the bridge when it crumbled into the Mississippi River. Thirteen of them died and dozens were injured. Midday features MPR's Cathy Wurzer's interviews with two of the survivors. Lindsey Petterson and Erica Gwillim survived the collapse of the 35W bridge on Aug. 1 but were both injured in the accident.
October 12, 2007 - Some survivors of the 35W bridge collapse say they feel frustrated and forgotten. Kim Brown, who was on the bridge when it collapsed back in August, has sent a strongly worded letter to state and federal lawmakers, asking for the government help to pay bills and get survivors back on their feet. Another survivor, Lindsay Peterson, whose car plunged into the river, says she has mounting medical bills.
October 9, 2007 - The new bridge's design was unveiled yesterday. Tom Fisher, Dean of the University Minnesota's College of Design, comments.
September 28, 2007 - In response to the 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis the state of Wisconsin will begin installing sensors that detect areas of strain on some 14 bridges in the state. The bridges are of similar design to one that collapsed in Minneapolis and many of the bridges that will be monitored are on the border areas of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Finn Hubbard is Wisconsin's chief bridge engineer. He says the sensors are being installed on an experimental basis to get an idea of the kinds of stress the Badger State's bridges are under.
September 19, 2007 - This afternoon we'll find out which of several construction companies will be given the assignment to build a new I-35W bridge. Bids will be opened and examined by officials with MNDoT. Spokesman Kevin Gutnecht says this is not the typical way that bridge designs are chosen.
August 24, 2007 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer chats with climatologist Mark Seeley about the record rainfall in southeastern Minnesota and the drought conditions along the North Shore.