Weekend America Voices
Nancy Mullane
Recent Stories
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MPR's Fantasy Olympic Games
To track the progress of Minnesota's athletes competing at the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, we've created a friendly competition between the Morning Edition and All Things Considered programs, which we call MPR's Fantasy Olympic Games.
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Sheriff's Calls
In Northern California's West Marin County, you can find all of this weekend's events listed in the local newspaper, the Point Reyes Light. But what most people turn to first in that paper is a weekly column called Sheriff's Calls. It highlights some of the more nefarious happenings in West Marin. Recently, Reporter Nancy Mullane got a behind the scenes look at how the column gets made each week.
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Coming Back, Fitting In
Unlike the Civil War veteran, who had to trudge across muddy fields and back roads for weeks or even months before getting home, today's soldiers are put on a jet in Baghdad one day and are back home at Wal-Mart the next. Some military experts say the transition from combat to civilian life is too fast. And veterans say when they do get back they're strangers in their own country.
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Victims Visiting Prison
Everyone knows it's not easy to forgive someone and move on, especially if the offense was criminal. A program in Northern California helps people who have been the victim of a crime find forgiveness through dialogue. And who they talk to is kind of surprising.
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A Bake Sale Behind Bars
No one goes to prison for the food. But there's an exception to the drab cafeteria stuff usually served up. They're called Saturday food sales. On these days, inmates raise money for programs by selling restaurant food to fellow prisoners--like a bake sale behind bars.
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An Indian Sacrament Behind Prison Walls
At San Quentin State Prison in California, there's a place of worship for everyone -- a Protestant chapel, a Jewish synagogue, a Catholic church, a mosque and what's called the San Quentin Indian Reservation, where many of the American Indian inmates go every Saturday for a traditional sweat ceremony.
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Saving Duck Eggs, Saving the Land
A family farm in California's Sacramento River Valley is the nation's largest source of organic rice. It's also a showcase of sustainable agriculture. The Lundbergs say it's just common sense -- you save some wild ducks eggs, and you end up saving the land.
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New Life for Leftover Paint
If you live in the San Francisco Bay area, you can donate your old cans of latex paint to a good cause: It's shipped overseas and given away to poorer communities to brighten up their world. Nancy Mullane reports.
