July 17, 2012 - MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill presents a special science report on deformed frogs in Minnesota, first found in 1995. Even seventeen years later, scientists still have not completely solved the mystery of what caused frogs to develop deformities.
December 18, 2010 - Betsy Daub, from environmental group Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, criticizes lawsuit filed by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce against the Pollution Control Agency. Daub says it's an attempt to weaken environmental protections. The Chamber says a state rule governing sulfate pollution in wild rice waters is out of date and is not based on good science.
December 2, 2010 - MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill reports that Congress has passed a bill designed to prevent importation of Asian carp. Minnesota U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar co-sponsored the bill.
November 8, 2010 - MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill looks into a microscopic organism in Lake Superior that lives peacefully on the rocky shore. But this same algae is causing big problems in some other streams around the world, notably in New Zealand and New England. It's a bit of a mystery that a handful of scientists are racing to solve.
August 28, 2010 - Minnesota 8th District Congressman James Oberstar was in Hoyt Lakes today to push for faster completion of the environmental review for a proposed copper-nickel mine. Stephanie Hemphill reports.
June 30, 2010 - Hear extended excerpts on questioning of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan by Minnesota Senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar, both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. This if followed by a segment on the late judge Gerald Heaney (January 29, 1918-June 22,2010), in his own words. Presented is MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill's 2006 "Voices of Minnesota" interview with Gerald Heaney about his 40-year career on the federal appeals court, his role in the DFL party, and his heroism as an Army Ranger on D-Day in World War II. Heaney died this month at the age of 92. The late Judge Gerald Heaney heard some 3,000 cases during his 4 decades on the federal bench as a U.S. Appeals Court Judge.
June 23, 2010 - MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill reports on Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness suing to stop construction of a cell phone tower near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
June 23, 2010 - There are six mining companies doing exploration work that could lead to mines near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness…and that's got a lot of people concerned. The companies are drilling deep holes, probing huge deposits of valuable copper, nickel, gold, platinum, and palladium. MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill visits the operation and has this report.
June 23, 2010 - Jason Zabokrtsky, a guide and outfitter, comments on his concerns over potential pollution from copper-nickel mining close to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
April 15, 2010 - Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is brushing off criticism of her voting record from an environmental group. The League of Conservation Voters says Bachmann achieved a two-percent rating -- nearly the lowest possible -- and the group plans to work against her re-election. Bachmann campaign director Gina Countryman says it's a fringe group that won't influence Minnesota voters.