December 21, 2009 - MPR’s Dan Olson reports on concertina clubs, concertina jam sessions and even concertina makers found across the state. Olson speaks with numerous players who carry on the musical tradition.
November 16, 2009 - On the 30th anniversary in the United States' post-Vietnam War experience, MPR’s Dan Olson takes a look back. 1979 was the year that the U.S., led by Vice President Walter Mondale, convinced world leaders to come to the rescue of more than a million so-called "boat people."
April 21, 2009 - Two girls, Sabina Zimering and Lucy Smith, hid from the Nazis in Poland during World War II. They survived the Holocaust and live in Minnesota today. Zimering wrote her story in the book, "Hiding in the Open." Both women were interviewed by MPR's Dan Olson for the Voices of Minnesota series.
December 25, 2008 - Midday features three stories of the Christmas season. Garrison Keillor has a special Christmas Day edition of "the News from Lake Wobegon," MPR's Dan Olson reads the famous 1897 New York Sun letter, "Is there a Santa Claus?," and Truman Capote reads "A Christmas Memory."
December 5, 2008 - Midday presents a "Voices of Minnesota" interview with Dave Tilman and Deborah Swackhamer. The two University of Minnesota professors discuss climate change and other environmental issues.
September 30, 2008 - his episode of MPR's Voices of Minnesota features conversations with Art Aufderheide and Clarke Chambers, two detectives of sorts. Aufderheide is world famous for his study of mummies and the diseases that killed them. Chambers is a historian and the founder of a one-of-a-kind archive of social welfare history in this country.
August 1, 2008 - A Midday MPR Special coverage program of memorial service, one year after I-35W bridge collapse. From the Basilica of St. Mary in downtown Minneapolis, Tim Pawlenty, governor of Minnesota; R. T. Rybak, mayor of Minneapolis; Sally Dyck, United Methodist Church Bishop and president of the Minnesota Council of Churches; and Father John Bauer, co-pastor of Basilica of St. Mary speak in observance of the one-year anniversary of the I-35W bridge collapse. Hour long service also includes songs, prayers and reflection.
July 30, 2008 - Midday remembers Harrison Bud Tordoff, who died last week, with a special rebroadcast from MPR's "Voices of Minnesota" series. Tordoff was known as the man who saved the peregrine falcons in Minnesota. Before becoming an acclaimed ornithologist, Harrison Tordoff was a decorated fighter pilot during World War II. Also part of this series is an interview with Minnesota nature photographer Jim Brandenburg.
June 11, 2008 - In this special music edition from MPR’s Voices of Minnesota series, the spotlight shines on Minnesota gospel singer Tom Tipton and Celtic music performer Laura MacKenzie, both musicians who have become famous beyond Minnesota's borders.
May 28, 2008 - University Avenue, the proposed route of the Central Corridor light rail line, has a colorful past that is still evolving. Four MPR reporters look at the past and the future of Minneapolis-St. Paul’s University Avenue. Story titles include “The view from Prospect Park,” “The Car Culture,” “An Entertainment Destination,” and “Immigrants Always Welcome.”