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MPR News with Angela Davis
Angela Davis, Samantha Matsumoto and Maja Beckstrom

Checking in with essential workers

woman, left, on a school bus. woman, right, wearing a mask and gown
Mary Fosvick Fosvick, left, is a school bus driver for Kottkes’ Bus Service and drives several routes for the Anoka-Hennepin School District. Joann Palmer, right, has been an environmental service employee at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park for 30 years.
Courtesy photos

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During the early months of the COVID 19 pandemic, many of us worked from home to prevent the spread of the virus. Some of us still are.

But essential workers — including health care, transportation and grocery store employees  — continued to go to work in person. In 2020, MPR News host Angela Davis hosted a series of interviews with essential workers to hear about their working lives during the pandemic. 

Now, with vaccines widely available, we’re in a new phase of the pandemic. But essential workers still face challenges in their jobs. 

Angela Davis checks in with essential workers to hear about their work, how they are doing and what they want the public to know about their jobs. 

Guests: 

  • Mary Fosvick drives a school bus for Kottkes' Bus Service which contracts with the Anoka-Hennepin School District.

  • Joann Palmer is an environmental service worker at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park. She was previously interviewed on MPR News with Angela Davis in April 2020.

  • Adam Evenstad is a union representative from the UFCW Local 1189 Duluth office. UFCW Local 1189 represents front-line workers including retail and grocery workers, health care workers and packinghouse workers.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.