Public Insight Network

Inform Our Coverage

• 
  What story would you want us to tell?
  The business and practice of news is changing rapidly. And what deserves attention from journalists can also change. Look in your own backyard and describe a story that deserves more attention.
• 
  Will the new mammogram guidelines work for you?
  New federal guidelines recommend women older than 50 get mammogram screening for breast cancer every two years - a major change. How will this recommendation change your mammogram habits?
• 
  Who's getting tickets?
  Even though ticket-buying software has been outlawed in Minnesota, people looking to get tickets to see their favorite musicians are still having trouble. How have your recent ticket-buying experiences been?
• 
  Would you leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America?
  Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Renewal) is beginning work on a new church body for those choosing to leave the ELCA because of its decision to allow pastors to be in committed same sex relationships. How would a new church affect you?
• 
  I'll believe the recession's over when...
  Finish that statement and help us at MPR News understand what it'll take to convince you we're in a recovery. Or if you feel like your economy's recovering, tell us why.

See Your Influence

What's your most pressing health care need?
We sent a query to people across the country asking them to tell us about their most pressing health care need. More than 500 Americans responded. Their stories, many of which are mapped below, provide a compelling picture of how people are coping with the failures of this country's patchwork health care system.
More about the responses >>
Add your story to our map.

Read some of the responses we've received below:

My First Recession

For young people, recessions can be formative experiences, marking them for the rest of their lives. As part of a special project, MPR News partnered with the Neighborhood House and local artists to help teens tell the stories of their first recession. more >>
Share your story

In the News - Recent Stories

• The East Coast guide to commuting

• Stress-testing the recovery: Following up

• Stress-testing the recovery

• Brainerd: When is a recovery a recovery?

• Bemidji: A tale of two economies

In the Network - Featured Sources

• 
  Moorhead: Grappling with paying for school
  Amanda Bagne explains that the quality of schools were a reason her family chose to live in Moorhead - and how the tax levy failure might change things. Other Public Insight sources in Moorhead joined Bagne to discuss the funding of schools in a "virtual" forum (Read transcript below).
• 
  Dealing with the "donut hole"
  Sally Burns of Eden Prairie tries to figure out how to avoid the gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage. She gives insight into this benefit as we approach historic health care reform.
• 
  Network pharmacist shares Tamiflu recipe
  Gary Carlson of St. Paul said his pharmacy is making liquid Tamiflu for kids. That lead to a story documenting how he and other pharmacists are boosting the nation's short supply of flu antiviral -- an unexpectedly tedious process.
• Recession drives adult children back home
  Network sources talk about how the housing crunch and the economy have pushed some people to move in with their parents, like Dawn Mikkelson of Stillwater. The above video features Carol Lostetter who talks about what it's like having her son and his family move in with her.
• 
  What Health Care Reform Means For The Uninsured
  Affording needed medical visits becomes much harder for those without work. Anne Johnson of Corona, California, spoke to American Public Media and ProPublica about how she has put off needed visits to a cardiologist. "Right now I have no idea what type of condition I'm in."
• 
  Work centers still seeing high volume of jobseekers
  Catina Davis spoke to the worries of many unemployed Minnesotans when she told her story of job loss and job search. She's one of thousands of Minnesotans exhausting their unemployment benefits.
• 
  Small business owners talk about dealing with the recession?
  Fifteen small business owners came to MPR's studios to talk about coping with the recession. The forum wound up being a primer for surviving a recession - and how small business owners adapt to the changing economic times.

Questions?

Interactives

Budget Hero™ Can you create a sustainable government?

Consumer Consequences What if everyone consumed as you do?

Commentary

• In small towns, H1N1 threatens health of businesses, too
• Looking for a sound bite to explain a mass murder?