MPR News editor-at-large and retired host Gary Eichten has worn many hats during his 40-plus-year career at Minnesota Public Radio, including news director, special events producer and station manager. He has served as host for Minnesota Public Radio's live, special events news coverage, and has hosted all of the major news programs on Minnesota Public Radio, including Midday, which he hosted for more than 20 years.
A graduate of St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, Eichten began his career at Minnesota Public Radio as a student announcer at KSJR (Minnesota Public Radio's first station). Among the honors Eichten has received during his career is the Corporation for Public Broadcasting award for best local news program. He also assisted in the development of two Peabody award-winning documentaries. In 2007, he was inducted into the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting's Hall of Fame. Eichten has also been awarded the prestigious 2011 Graven Award by the Premack Public Affairs Journalism Awards Board for his contribution to excellence in the journalism profession.
May 21, 2003 - Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, Anna Quindlen, in a speech given Tuesday at a luncheon sponsored by the Minnesota Women's Campaign Fund. The event was the group's 21st Annual Celebration of Women's Leadership in Minnesota Government.
May 15, 2003 - Renowned writer and University of Minnesota Regent's professor Patricia Hampl delivers a speech entitled The Inside Story: How Autobiography Can Change Your Life - and World History. The literary memoir has grown in popularity and cultural influence over the past few decades, invading territory once held by historians and novels. Hampl discusses the power of the first-person narrative. The event, the 2003 Lindbergh Lecture, took place at the Minnesota History Center on Tuesday.
May 6, 2003 - Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Caro gave Monday's Distinguished Carlson Lecture at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute. He is the author of a multi-volume biography of Lyndon Johnson, the most recent book is Master of the Senate, which won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize.
May 2, 2003 - Samantha Power, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and executive director at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government spoke Wednesday at the University of Minnesota. Power says the United States should do more to try to stop genocide throughout the world. Her recent book is "A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide". The event was arranged by The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and the College of Liberal Arts.
April 25, 2003 - A speech given Wednesday by historian Howard Zinn, at the University of St. Thomas, about the war in Iraq.
March 25, 2003 - MPR’s Gary Eichten interviews former DFL Senator Eugene McCarthy discusses his world views and the current situation in U.S.-Iraq War.
March 19, 2003 - Playwright John Guare talks with Guthrie Theater Artistic Director, Joe Dowling, about his writing, life, and play "Six Degrees of Separation" at the Guthrie Theater March 1st through April 6th.
March 11, 2003 - James Fallows, author and international correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly discusses the long-term repercussions of the United State's military and political involvement in Iraq.
February 27, 2003 - Midday’s Gary Eichten talks with former Major League Baseball pitcher Bert Blyleven about the potential success for the Minnesota Twins in the 2003 MLB season. Program also includes call-in from listeners.
January 17, 2003 - Many state agencies are looking for ways to trim their budgets in light of Gov. Pawlenty's proposal for fixing the $356 million shortfall this fiscal year. One of those agencies is the Metropolitan Council, which takes a $2.6 million cut in the governor's plan. The Met Council is the planning agency for the seven-county metro area. The council is now under new leadership.