November 20, 2002 - Minnesota interim Senator Dean Barkley says he accomplished all he wanted to during his short time in Congress. Barkley won funding for a 10-million dollar community center expansion that will serve as a living memorial to the late Senator Paul Wellstone. He also negotiated for the state to receive a continuation of its welfare waiver, and helped pass the Homeland Security Bill. The Senate will officially adjourn on Friday, but the work of the 107th Congress is complete. Political analyst Steven Smith says he thinks overall Barkley's done a pretty good job. Steven Smith is director of the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis.
November 19, 2002 - Senator-elect Norm Coleman says passing a new prescription drug plan for seniors will be one of his top priorities in Congress next year. Coleman talked about his short and long term legislative plans this morning on MPR's Midday program with Gary Eichten. He told Eichten he wants to make sure he gets a seat on the Senate Agriculture Committee:
November 12, 2002 - Vice President Dick Cheney swore-in Minnesota interim Senator Dean Barkley this afternoon on the floor of the Senate. Barkley's first Senate floor speech eulogized the man whose term he was appointed to fill - Senator Paul Wellstone. The senator died in a plane crash late last month. Republicans and Democrats spent much of the remainder of the day remembering Wellstone. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik is in Washington this week and joins me now. Mark, what did Barkley have to say about Wellstone? To lead to cut, Mark will say : ...said Wellstone carried on Minnesota's tradition of populist politicians:
October 28, 2002 - (to follow zman) Senator Wellstone's death was front page news around the country this weekend. But political analyst Steven Schier says the media coverage isn't likey to have a big effect on political races outside of Minnesota:
October 25, 2002 - From his surprising victory in 1990, his re-election in 1996, his brief exploration of a run for Presidency and his pursuit of a third term, Wellstone was a passionate voice in Minnesota politics. We leave you with some moments from the Minnesota Public Radio archive, beginning with his quirky ads to introduce himself to Minnesota voters during his 1990 campaign.
September 15, 2002 - On this American RadioWorks special radio report, “Nature's Revenge - Louisiana's Vanishing Wetlands” looks at a region of the United States that is crumbling and sinking into the sea. Scientists say it's causing one of the worst and least-publicized environmental disasters in America's history. As Daniel Zwerdling reports for NPR News and ARW, there's a moral to this story: when humans try to outwit nature, it can strike back with a vengeance.
September 9, 2002 - It should come as no surprise that people have been using September 11th as a reason to ask Congress for everything from a bailout for the airlines to the return of the tax-deductible three-martini lunch. But as Christy George reports from Oregon Public Broadcasting, opponents of the environmental movement have invoked 911 more often than most this past year:
August 7, 2002 - Pasadena, California may conjure up an image of suburban smog and sprawl these days, but the unique physical and social landscape of the city has been a lure since the beginning of the 20th century. Citrus groves provided employment for thousands, and it was the perfect setting for resorts for the wealthy. Writer David Ebershoff told Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Crann that it was also the perfect setting for his latest novel, named for his hometown, "Pasadena."
June 11, 2002 - American RadioWorks presents a documentary short “Kay Fulton’s Diary.” Fulton began this intimate diary of a sister who loses a brother to terrorism in the weeks leading up to the subesquent execution of terrorist.
June 1, 2002 - An American RadioWorks special report presents the documentary “Fast Food and Animal Rights: McDonald's New Farm,” which looks at how McDonald’s has launched the first campaign of its kind to pressure slaughterhouses that provide their meat to dispatch the animals more humanely…and executives say they couldn't have done it without Temple Grandin.