In the Upper Midwest, farming maintains a wholesome glow. Red barns, picket fences and photos of kittens weaving among jugs of frothy milk loom large in our collective psyche. But reality is more stark. Farm bankruptcies are up. Thousands of farms have simply closed. Farm debt is at an all-time high. Add in a trade war, severe weather and tanking crop prices, and it’s not hard to understand why health workers are worried about a spike in suicide and depression. At the same time, new farmers...

The Upper Midwest is patriotic. But how that word is defined varies, depending on where you are standing and to whom you are talking. Thursday on Flyover 2020, we delve into the concept of patriotism and the role that the urban/rural divide plays in how the value is expressed – and how people vote. Guests: Francesco Duina, sociology professor at Bates College in Maine and author of the book “Broke and Patriotic: Why Poor Americans Love Their Country” Arlie Hochschild, sociology professor...

When Maya Angelou stepped to the podium on a cold January day in 1993, she became the first African-American and the first woman to offer an inaugural poem. And what a poem it was. “On the Pulse of Morning” garnered immediate praise for its sweeping portrait of American history and wisdom. Elizabeth Alexander remembers that moment – and contrasts it with her own time on the same stage – on MPR News with Kerri Miller, in the first installment of an occasional series, “They Believed.” At this...

The Upper Midwest is one of the most unpredictable places in politics right now. Voters in more than 50 counties in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan flipped from President Obama in 2012 to President Trump in 2016. And so-called identity politics played a role in that, for better or worse. Today on Flyover 2020, we talk about how both political parties try to activate specific segments of voters – and whether that practice is leaving us even more fractured. We also talk with...

It’s a surprise to many: Rural America is more politically diverse, more educated and more economically optimistic than stereotypes lead us to believe. Maybe most encouraging to the Upper Midwest: Many small towns are reversing the so-called brain drain and showing a brain gain. Young people who left their hometowns to go to college are increasingly likely to move back in their 30s and 40s, bringing with them college degrees, new businesses and families. On this episode, we look at the...

We close our week-long series of conversations about the Mississippi River with a townhall event from deep in Louisiana's Mississippi River delta. Our Voices from the Bayou special wraps up our journey with a community conversation on solutions to the problems faced by people in the river's watershed. From the Larose Civic Center in Louisiana, Kerri Miller speaks to a gathering of engineers, educators, shrimpers, tribal leaders and others about their ideas, programs and progress for improving...

This episode brings us to New Orleans to explore the way the river divides people and the way a changing climate exacerbates that problem. Our guests are Happy Johnson, chief resilience officer, Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement & Development and co-founder of the Team Happy Foundation; Heather Stone, oral historian and assistant professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette; and Tegan Wentland, interim news director and reporter for WWNO in New Orleans.

What happens here in the fields and farms of Iowa and the rest of the Midwest has an effect on the Mississippi River and its watershed all way down to the Gulf of Mexico. But the country needs the crops that Iowa produces. How do we find the right balance?

What happens here in the fields and farms of Iowa and the rest of the Midwest has an effect on the Mississippi River and its watershed all way down to the Gulf of Mexico. But the country needs the crops that Iowa produces. How do we find the right balance?

In many towns and cities along the river, there are clashes over levees, diversion plans. dredging drainage and development. Are we listening to more than just the interests with the loudest voices and most money? Are government decision-makers hearing from enough individuals? Kerri Miller digs into these questions with two guests: Roger Wolf, director of environment program and services at the Iowa Soybean Association, and Carrie Jennings, research and policy director at the Freshwater...

n many towns and cities along the river, there are clashes over levees, diversion plans. dredging drainage and development. Are we listening to more than just the interests with the loudest voices and most money? Are government decision-makers hearing from enough individuals? Kerri Miller digs into these questions with two guests: Roger Wolf, director of environment program and services at the Iowa Soybean Association, and Carrie Jennings, research and policy director at the Freshwater Society.

The Mississippi River snakes over 2,000 miles from the United States' northern border to its southern coast. But the waterway's imprint is felt far beyond its shores. As we kick off Flyover: Down the Mississippi River, we discuss the historical and cultural impact of the river — from the towns that were founded on its banks to the businesses that it bolstered and the music that it inspired. Boyce Upholt, a writer and editor, and Winona LaDuke, the director of Honor the Earth, describe how the...

The Mississippi River snakes over 2,000 miles from the United States' northern border to its southern coast. But the waterway's imprint is felt far beyond its shores. As we kick off Flyover: Down the Mississippi River, we discuss the historical and cultural impact of the river -- from the towns that were founded on its banks to the businesses that it bolstered and the music that it inspired. Boyce Upholt, a writer and editor, and Winona LaDuke, the director of Honor the Earth, describe how...

MPR News host Kerri Miller moderated a discussion with a group of mayors who are all faced with the urgency of delivering clean water to their communities in the face of tight city budgets and aging infrastructure and a climate that's changing. The talk was part of the One Water Summit in Minneapolis.

MPR News host Kerri Miller moderated a discussion with a group of mayors who are all faced with the urgency of delivering clean water to their communities in the face of tight city budgets and aging infrastructure and a climate that's changing. The talk was part of the One Water Summit in Minneapolis.

Kerri Miller returns as host of Flyover this summer for a week of call-in shows about what the Mississippi River means to the people who live near it. We aim to connect radio listeners in the middle of America with the stories of this one shared resource. We've never done something like this before, and we need your help to make it work. Tune in for the conversations, then call in with your stories. We want to know how you live, work and play in the vast swath of America that needs -- and...

Kerri Miller returns as host of Flyover this summer for a week of call-in shows about what the Mississippi River means to the people who live near it. We aim to connect radio listeners in the middle of America with the stories of this one shared resource. We've never done something like this before, and we need your help to make it work. Tune in for the conversations, then call in with your stories. We want to know how you live, work and play in the vast swath of America that needs -- and...

As the wave of allegations over sexual misconduct in politics, entertainment, media and music continue, Americans are confronting tough questions about power, gender and identity. This show will examine what we're learning about the pervasiveness of sexual harassment in everyday life and whether the #MeToo moment can usher in lasting change.

As the wave of allegations over sexual misconduct in politics, entertainment, media and music continue, Americans are confronting tough questions about power, gender and identity. This show will examine what we're learning about the pervasiveness of sexual harassment in everyday life and whether the #MeToo moment can usher in lasting change.