Most memorable stories from 2007

December 17, 2007

Some stories are big stories, some are memorable, some are both. Over the course of a year, Minnesota Public Radio's reporters, producers and hosts talk to hundreds of people from all walks of life. Some make a bigger impression than others. Some stories involve a behind-the-scenes challenge. MPR journalists each selected a story or show that was the most memorable.

  • Papa Nacho tells a storyStudents use drama to talk about being immigrants
    Some fourth graders at a St. Paul elementary school are taking a creative approach to the hot topic of immigration, performing a play they conceived and wrote about what it means to be an immigrant.June 4, 2007
  • The bus ride to schoolA preschool that meets basic needs
    Lifetrack Resources runs two St. Paul preschools for toddlers. The program's 65 children come from low-income households. Some early education researchers question how much it can do to combat the intractable problems at-risk preschoolers face.February 20, 2007
  • Tools of the tradeThe art of death
    Looking good when you're dead isn't easy. Luckily there are people out there who can help.May 21, 2007
  • Minnesota's largest high schoolThe answer is not that simple
    Every school day, as many as 300,000 Minnesota teenagers stream through the doors of one of the state's 450 high schools. These buildings are their gateways to either college or the workforce, and the rest of their lives. Is high school preparing them for the world that awaits?April 23, 2007
  • Into the darknessMelody Gilbert's trip "Into the Darkness"
    St. Paul film director Melody Gilbert has spent the last four years crawling through sewers, climbing abandoned buildings and occasionally dodging the police. It's all to gather material for her new documentary called "Urban Explorers: Into the Darkness."March 16, 2007
  • The New San MarcoThe New San Marco gives Duluth alcoholics a helping hand
    A new building for homeless people who are struggling with alcoholism hasjust opened in Duluth. Organizers hope the San Marco will not only improve the lives of the people who live there, but make downtown business owners happier too.July 4, 2007
  • The new bossNew health commissioner inherits troubled department
    Sanne Magnan will be inheriting a Health Department that has some current and past employees demoralized and distressed.September 27, 2007
  • Woodbury drinking fountainHealth Department delayed disclosure of further 3M chemical contamination
    Minnesota Public Radio News has learned that Minnesota Department of Health officials were warned about the problem posed by the chemical almost two years before residents were notified.April 1, 2007
  • A survivor's storyBush surveys collapsed Minnesota bridge, pledges to help cut red tape in rebuilding
    "Our message to the Twin Cities is we want to get this bridge rebuilt as quick as possible," Bush said after visiting with rescue workers and people who watched the bridge crumble. "We understand that this is a main artery of life here."August 4, 2007
  • John G. and Minnie Gluek houseNew life for the Gluek house
    The John G. and Minnie Gluek house is being sold for only the second time. Its new owners will move into a home that has been virtually untouched since its construction in 1902.March 16, 2007
  • Sgt. 1st Class Jesse AlbrechtWestern Wisconsin native killed in Iraq
    Sgt. 1st Class Jesse Albrecht, born in River Falls and raised in Hager City, was killed Thursday when an bomb detonated near his vehicle in Iraq.May 22, 2007
  • Iraq veterans and families explain the toll of war
    A group of Iraq war veterans and their family members gathered at Minnesota Public Radio Tuesday to discuss the toll the war has taken on their lives, the difficulties they face when they return home and what the rest of us can do to help them.Midday, March 28, 2007
  • Buried signA storm to remember
    The second major winter storm in a week shut down roads, schools, businesses all across Minnesota Friday. A blizzard warning remains in effect this hour for parts of southern Minnesota, mainly because of blowing snow.March 2, 2007
  • A tree of eaglesSouth Dakota bald eagles make a comeback
    The bald eagle will soon lose its endangered species status. The birds have made a remarkable comeback especially in the upper Midwest. South Dakota now has more than 50 nesting pairs and there are more than 9,000 nests across the country.February 8, 2007
  • Scene from "Harvey"Theater for All
    Minnesota is full of people who have kept a life on the stage alive through their community theater. In fact, Minnesota is one of the best states for community theater in the nation. Minnesota Public Radio takes a look at the enduring appeal of community theaters, why they are so strong in Minnesota, and what those theaters give back to their communities.December 20, 2007
  • Reflections of 1988Carleton College professor draws from his own past to teach students about Burma conflict
    At Carleton College, a visiting professor's life as a teenage political fugitive and refugee becomes a teaching tool.October 18, 2007
  • MusicA song shows the way to a new home
    The personal story of a Somali man who left war-torn Mogadishu with his family for a new life in Minnesota has been adapted for a new song, commissioned by the Minnesota Chorale. It's part of the chorale's collaboration with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity.May 18, 2007
  • More than a millionBridge collapse survivors push for compensation fund
    The Aug. 1 collapse of the I-35W bridge killed 13 people and injured about 100 more. The victims want help for medical bills, economic losses and pain and suffering.October 25, 2007
  • From the PD to the slaughterhouseCar caper leads to self-serve slaughterhouse
    A story of true crime that begins in a parking lot and ends in a do-it-yourself slaughterhouse.June 17, 2007
  • Waiting"Everything's gone"
    Dozens of anxious cabin owners are waiting for the Ham Lake fire to die down so they can head back to their property, and see how their homes in the woods have faired. One cabin owner is biding her time at a resort along the Gunflint Trail.May 8, 2007
  • Antone familyAlcohol exposure affects generations on Indian reservations
    The incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome, or FAS, among American Indians is 30 times higher than among whites. Indians in Minnesota say fetal alcohol damage is causing huge problems. Some say it's the No. 1 problem facing Indian communities.October 22, 2007
  • People checking out the iceLake Superior heats up
    Scientists explore why Lake Superior is warming quicker than air around itFebruary 23, 2007
  • Maya AngelouA conversation with Maya Angelou
    Noted poet and writer Maya Angelou says she has a "love-hate relationship" with writing, despite her long and distinguished career. She talks with MPR's Kerri Miller.October 16, 2007
  • Matt Wilson on the keysSongs from Scratch
    There's something magical about a great song, whether it's Stravinsky or Springsteen. But where do great songs come from? How do they go from words and melodies to something more? To find out, we gave three local bands two weeks to take one set of lyrics and put it to music.August 1, 2007
  • Inside Dorothy DayGetting By and Getting Out: In The Loop from Dorothy Day
    In The Loop took the show a few blocks down the road to the Dorothy Day Center, a homeless shelter in downtown St. Paul. With musicians, poets, and many voices from that community, we explore the challenge of getting by on the streets and the ultimate goal of getting out.December 21, 2007
  • Together in eternityA visit to Pompeii
    A rare display of Pompeii's artifacts is now in the Twin Cities at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul.June 29, 2007
  • Lincoln memorialAn honest look at America's Lincoln obsession
    While following the people who collect, sell, honor -- and impersonate -- the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Ferguson discovered how eager we are to see ourselves in the 16th president.June 25, 2007
  • Video shootHow video cameras could bring societal change
    In many societies, it's taboo for women to speak out about domestic abuse, rape, and forced marriage. But the Minneapolis-based American Refugee Committee's new video project may change that.October 12, 2007

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