We asked MPR News reporters what stories they consider their most memorable and worth listening to and reading about as we close out 2024.

Here are the stories and their reflections:

Let it wave: Minnesota’s new flag takes flight

I can’t think of another story that I have covered in my career that has generated so much interest — and feedback — as I experienced covering the Minnesota emblem redesign process.

Over the course of several months as the redesign commission met, I heard from folks who deeply loved designs that came forward and from others who had such strong negative feelings about them. Not to mention the group that felt strongly about not wanting to make a change at all.

It was meaningful to me to be a part of the state's history on Statehood Day as one of just a few people to climb onto the Capitol roof and see the old banner come down for the last time — and just as the sun started to rise — watch the new design hoisted up for the first time.

— Dana Ferguson, senior politics reporter

Read Dana’s story: Minnesota’s new flag takes flight

How rethinking design could reduce the need for road salt

I’ve been writing for years about the problem of chloride, mostly from road salt, polluting Minnesota waters. It takes only a small amount of chloride to permanently pollute a lake or stream, and Minnesotans use tons of the stuff every winter to melt snow and ice on streets, roads, sidewalks and parking lots. Getting people to voluntarily reduce their salt use has made a moderate difference, but oversalting persists.

When I heard about a movement to redesign roads, buildings and other places so they don’t get as icy and don’t need as much salt, I was intrigued. This strategy has a lot of potential to save money, protect waterways and reduce infrastructure damage.

Since the story aired, more Minnesota cities are now considering low-salt design, including Rochester and Willmar.

— Kirsti Marohn, correspondent

Read Kirsti’s story: How rethinking design could reduce the need for road salt

‘I’m glad it’s home’: A family heirloom links back to Bemidji’s founding and Indigenous history

The story about the return of Shaynowishkung’s rifle is endearing to me because at its root it’s about kindness. How something simple, done in the moment, for the good of others, can be so powerful that it echoes through time.

It came about purely by happenstance while I was covering a different story about certain medical services ending on the White Earth Nation. After our interview, the tribe’s health director, Dr. Carson Gardner, told me about the rifle.

He said his cousin Newell would be traveling over 1,000 miles from Montana to return the rifle to its rightful home in Bemidji within the next few days. I knew what I had to do. And I’m proud to have shared that journey with our audience.

— Mathew Holding Eagle III, reporter

Read Mathew’s story: A family heirloom links back to Bemidji’s founding and Indigenous history

‘I wanted to see stories about our experience’: For 25 years Mizna has helped artists make cultural connections

As a journalist, one of my core goals is to highlight positive stories from communities that are often only heard from during times of tragedy. I wanted this story to feel like an invitation — a warm, Arab-hospitality welcome that draws readers and listeners into a world they may not be familiar with. This is the essence of Mizna’s mission.

After the events of Sept. 11, Arabs and Muslims found themselves increasingly subjected to racism in their neighborhoods and workplaces. Co-founder Kathy Haddad recognized the urgent need to create a space where Arabs could tell their own stories. In response, Mizna organized a series of public readings, one of which was titled ‘Beyond Belly Dancers, Bombers, and Billionaires: Arabs and Muslims Out Loud.’

I felt compelled to share the crucial role Mizna has played in Minnesota’s Arab, Southwest Asian, and North African (SWANA) community for 25 years. The organization also publishes a biannual print literary and art journal, ‘Mizna,’ and ‘Mizna Online,’ which reflects on the current realities of the SWANA region and beyond.”

— Sarah Thamer, senior reporter

Read Sarah’s story: For 25 years Mizna has helped artists make cultural connections

The man who put the ‘snap’ in Honeycrisp is stepping aside

I got into journalism because I love talking to people who have done amazing things, lived fascinating lives or have an outlook on life that makes you stop and reexamine things.

Jim Luby checks so many of those boxes — the fruit he helped breed is eaten all over, he’s traveled the world for his job and his passion for it all is palpable. The best part of being a reporter is that I get to spend time with people like Luby talking about the passions, work or interests that guide their lives. I glimpse their world, and try to understand this state a bit more through a stranger’s eyes.

On top of all that, my friend and colleague Kerem Yücel and I spent a beautiful morning walking the University of Minnesota’s farmland out in the west metro. Kerem, as always, took wonderful photos, asked great questions and made the story even better.

Normally I don’t love the sound of chewing in my stories, but this story seemed the moment to make an exception.

— Peter Cox, correspondent

Read Peter’s story: The man who put the ‘snap’ in Honeycrisp is stepping aside

‘This is who Robynne is’: A father’s struggle to accept his daughter is gay

Talking Sense is MPR News’ election year project that explains the political moment we are in and how we are finding our way through it. When I first pitched the idea, I envisioned a lot of people in conversation over the toughest issues that divide us — people who love each other dearly, but have found it hard to maintain connection in our current political and cultural climate.

By June, Talking Sense stories had mostly focused on stories about political division. But we hadn’t tackled the range of emotions some families face when one member comes out as gay. So when I met Robynne Curlee and her dad John, I knew their story would be an important addition to our work so far.

I’ll never forget these two: They serenaded me with music at John’s home, they treated me to coffee and homemade blueberry muffins.

But the greatest gift they gave me — and MPR’s audience — was a candid and emotional conversation about how they repaired their relationship after Robynne told her dad she was gay.

It wasn’t easy for either of them. But during the process, they both evolved.

John and Robynne are beautiful examples of how, when we center relationships over rhetoric and politics, it’s a whole lot easier to stay connected.

— Catharine Richert, correspondent

Read Catharine’s pick: A father’s struggle to accept his daughter is gay

Arbor Day tradition aims to put trees in ground while easing political tensions at Capitol

While I’m new to Minnesota this year, I’m not new to reporting on politics. I was pleased to come on board at MPR News as Talking Sense was just getting launched. I was tickled to learn about a tradition here in Minnesota meant to ease political tensions at the Capitol by sharing trees among lawmakers on Arbor Day.

The story gave me a good reason to get out of the statehouse to visit Rick Hansen’s hobby farm outside Harmony, talk with lawmakers of both major parties (past and present) and record some birds singing. Plus, it was fitting for me to do the story since Arbor Day was started in my home state of Nebraska.

 — Clay Masters, senior politics reporter

Read Clay’s story: Arbor Day tradition aims to put trees in ground while easing political tensions at Capitol

Touched by cancer, Minnesota’s ‘Dragon Divas’ find power paddling as one

In 2024 I did my first radio story for MPR News, which introduced me to a whole other sector of journalism I was missing out on.

Radio reporting is all about sound, moments that you can’t always capture through traditional web-based articles. Covering the Dragon Divas was a story that emphasized how enriching and important sound can be to me. I suited up in a pink life jacket and climbed in the dragon boat with the other divas, balancing my mobile audio kit and terrified of dropping it in the water. From the paddles on the water to the emotional silence after finishing a race, I sat with my headphones on and absorbed it all.

Afterwards I conducted interviews with several women who shared their breast cancer stories with me. As you can guess, it isn’t something that is always easy to talk about but it was one of those moments in journalism you always remember — my sources trusted me to share their stories and be vulnerable. It was the biggest honor.

— Sam Stroozas, digital producer

Read Sam’s story: Touched by cancer, Minnesota’s ‘Dragon Divas’ find power paddling as one

‘I chose community’: Stone Arch Bridge musician reflects on the magic of the Minneapolis landmark

I was going for a walk one Saturday in April, when I heard Clawhammer Mike playing his banjo at the end of the Stone Arch Bridge. I had to stop and listen to his music — and then ask him about it. He was just that good!

He said it was the last day he was busking at his favorite spot before that half of the bridge closed for construction, and he was headed out soon. My audio gear was at a friend’s apartment a ways away, so I (dramatically) ran there and back in order to get his music on tape and formally interview him before he left.

It was one of those interviews that made me feel particularly grateful to be a radio reporter, because the job involves meeting inspiring people, having lovely conversations and, in this instance, savoring good music.

— Cari Spencer, reporter

Read Cari’s story: Stone Arch Bridge musician reflects on the magic of the Minneapolis landmark

A Minnesota principal banned cellphones from her school — and it worked

“I started reporting this story to explain and illustrate a decision the state Legislature made regarding cellphones in schools. I thought it would be a pretty straightforward, but the interviews I had with students surprised me. All the kids I talked to for this story had such nuanced and self-aware relationships with social media and their phones. I expected them to be fully against cellphone bans, but they expressed ambivalence or concern about the way they interacted with their phones as well as frustration that adults didn’t understand the important ways in which they used their phones.

“I didn’t think the story would get much attention from MPR’s audience, but people really responded to it.

“I’m interested to see how cellphone bans in schools evolve and whether they’re able to teach digital citizenship in more nuanced and helpful ways.”

— Elizabeth Shockman, senior education reporter

Read Elizabeth’s story: A Minnesota principal banned cellphones from her school — and it worked

Breaking ground for better care: Minneapolis VA strives to create safer space for women veterans

I went to the VA Healthcare System in Minneapolis to cover the groundbreaking of a new women’s clinic. After the event, I talked with women veterans and their joyful energy was palpable. Every woman mentioned one specific feature about the new clinic: the building would have its own entrance.  

Veterans that I interviewed for this story shared their experiences with being harassed at VA facilities and their experiences with sexual trauma during their military service. 

To hear their deeply personal stories requires a balancing act as a journalist. My job was to write sensitively and accurately while also holding to account the system they say is causing them harm. 

Reporting this story reminded me that if we listen well and give people space to share their experiences, we can compassionately and ethically produce journalism with dignity and respect.”

— Erica Zurek, senior health reporter

Read Erica’s story: Breaking ground for better care: Minneapolis VA strives to create safer space for women veterans

I don’t speak Spanish. I asked my dad, am I Latina enough?

As a biracial Minnesotan, from a multicultural family, who is white-presenting, I have spent years thinking about my cultural identity. Add in another layer of not speaking a parent’s heritage language, and there is a lot to sort out!

I didn’t plan for my father and me to be characters in this story. Journalists love reporting other people’s stories, and sometimes it’s uncomfortable to share our own. But as I started to learn about the role of language in identity, I realized my dad and I were a good example of the topic, and it might be fun to interview him.

I originally worked on this story for Hispanic Heritage History Month, and it was an honor to hear from so many listeners and loved ones who could relate.

— Jessica Bari, senior producer

Read Jessica’s story: I don’t speak Spanish. I asked my dad, am I Latina enough?

After four-year hiatus, underground mine tours resume at Soudan State Park

I love how this story transports listeners into a fascinating piece of the state’s history, and shows how that heritage still resonates with people in northeast Minnesota today, including workers at the state park whose ancestors worked in the mines.

And I really appreciated how tour guide Karel Winkelaar talked to the schoolkids on the tour about the miners who worked deep in the mine in the late 1800s. They were immigrants, who came to the U.S. in search of a better life for their families, and who were willing to work long, often dangerous hours to do that— much like the immigrants of today.”

— Dan Kraker, correspondent

Read Dan’s story: After four-year hiatus, underground mine tours resume at Soudan State Park

The story of a poet’s heart: How a collection of poetry survived its author’s death

It’s not often we get a chance, working in a newsroom, to tell a love story.  

I never met Saara, who passed away before I heard her story, but I knew right away that I wanted the opportunity to tell it. Her collection of poetry is stunning and deserving of attention in its own right, and the fact that her husband (with Saara’s permission) continued to send her work out for publication struck me right in my writer’s heart.

It takes a brutal amount of persistence to bring a published book into the world, particularly a book of poetry, which has smaller and narrower publishing avenues than other genres. Here is a story of a couple who did it together.

Death from cancer at age 48 is a tragedy, and no number of silver linings or books published can mitigate that. I do think it was beautiful timing that, in a world where creatives so rarely get to know the effects of their work, she was able in the last week of her life to know that her book had gone into a second run — and into the hands of readers. ‘Chamber After Chamber’ is now in its 4th print run. Eric Doise continues to give readings from the book.”

— Emily Bright, weekend newscaster and host of Art Hounds

Read Emily’s story: How a collection of poetry survived its author’s death

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