War in Iraq

The U.S. military has everything from radar imaging to unmanned aerial vehicles. Yet the Pentagon is still struggling to replace body armor that has failed to protect American troops from lethal attacks by insurgents. What does it take to prevail in today's conflicts? And if high-priced technology doesn't win wars, is it worth the cost to the country? ( 08/26/2005)

State Senator Becky Lourey talks with host Gary Eichten about losing her son in the war in Iraq. ( 08/23/2005)

About 2,600 Minnesota National Guard members are preparing to be deployed to the Middle East. The action, announced Tuesday by Gov. Pawlenty and Guard officials, is the largest overseas deployment of Minnesota National Guard soldiers since World War II. (08/16/2005)

A Winona native died after being injured in a suicide bombing in Baghdad, his brother said Thursday. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Benson, 40, was injured on Aug. 2 when his Humvee was struck by a bomb. He died Wednesday in a military hospital. (08/11/2005)

A Marine from Minnesota was killed in Iraq Saturday. Sgt. Bryan James Opskar, 32, grew up in Princeton. Officials with the Marine's Minneapolis office say Opskar died when a roadside bomb exploded. Opskar is being remembered as a leader and a team player. (07/25/2005)

A roadside bomb near Tikrit killed a Minnesota Army Lieutenant Wednesday. Michael Fasnacht arrived in Iraq about five months ago. (06/10/2005)

About 1,000 people joined State Sen. Becky Lourey and her family Friday afternoon for a memorial for Lourey's son Matt, an Army helicopter pilot who died last week in Iraq. A public service was held at a high school near Askov. (06/03/2005)

Helicopter pilot Matthew Lourey, son of state Sen. Becky Lourey, has been killed in Iraq, a Senate spokesman said. Chief Warrant Officer Matthew Lourey, 41, was assigned to fly Kiowa Warrior helicopters with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division. He died Thursday during his second tour in Iraq, said Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson. (05/27/2005)

A U.S. Marine pilot who grew up in Woodbury, Minnesota, was one of the two men killed in Iraq when their jets crashed, the man's family announced. Capt. Kelly C. Hinz, 30, was killed in the crash over south-central Iraq Monday. (05/05/2005)

North Dakota National Guard soldiers are raising money to bring an Iraqi family to Fargo. The guard members say they're repaying a debt to an Iraqi man who was killed because he helped them. (04/29/2005)

A journalist who has reported from war zones in the Middle East and Europe writes about the experiences of ordinary Iraqis in the months before Saddam Hussein was overthrown. ( 04/18/2005)

A high school film project has stirred new conversations about war in Cloquet, a small town already touched by the loss of a young soldier. (04/03/2005)

A young soldier from Rochester died in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Iraq Wednesday. Spec. Travis Bruce was the first person from Rochester killed in the war, and the 20th Minnesotan fatality since the conflict began two years ago. (03/25/2005)

The year 2003 was monumental for Sarah Griesse. She had her first child and married her college sweetheart. In November, she was called to active duty by the South Dakota National Guard. A few months later she was in Iraq. Now after more than a year away, Sarah Griesse has to learn all over again how to be a wife and a mother. (03/21/2005)

A new documentary offers a behind-the-scenes look at the war in Iraq. The director of the film Gunner Palace profiles the young American soldiers whose barracks are the bombed-out palace of Uday Hussein. ( 03/14/2005)