Through conversations with family members and close friends, Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer remembers the lives of Minnesotans who have touched their communities in ways big and small.
Benson served as a Republican in the state Senate from 1980 until 1994, and most recently was the executive director of the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation. He also owned a cattle and horse ranch in Lanesboro, and played professional football for nine years.
Henry Lippold was the spark behind UW-Eau Claire's broadcast journalism program, and for thirty years, he trained scores of young reporters, anchors and producers. He died recently at the age of 89.
Flanagan was a newspaperwoman at a time when few women worked at newspapers, and her career was as long as her interests were broad. She died Monday at the age of 94.
Meshbesher gained fame in the '70s for his defense in the infamous Glensheen murders trial and remained one of Minnesota's most recognizable criminal defense attorneys. His family said he suffered from Alzheimer's disease.
Adam Johnson was known as a brilliant neuroscientist. He was also a dedicated professor of psychology and neuroscience at Bethel University.
The longtime activist, who once ran for lieutenant governor on the Green Party's ticket, died earlier this month.
Martha Sawyer Allen was a formidable and fearless reporter. She died last month after a long career covering religion at the Star Tribune, where she helped found the award-winning Faith and Values section.
There's an app that pings you several times a day with reminders of your own mortality. The takeaway: Life is short, so live well. But is there such a thing as dying well? Author and palliative care physician Ira Byock thinks so.
In the early 1950s, she became one of the few female announcers on the air when she was hired by Stillwater radio station WSHB. She hosted a number of programs on that station including "Story Time."
Lillian Francis Lazenberry Martin was many things: a career woman, a mother of six, a civic leader and a prolific writer. And yet, "somehow she still found ways to give of herself to other people," said her granddaughter.
Camille Scheel lived her life with inspiration, energy, and joy, despite living it with breast cancer. Scheel passed away last month at 48 years old.
The singer was diagnoses with the disease in late 2010.
Todd Waters lived a full life. Actually, he lived two full lives.
Minnesota radio legend Bill Diehl passed away yesterday at the age of 91 years-old.
Dr. Joseph Garamella revolutionized heart surgery and helped save innumerable lives. He became a surgeon in the 1950s, when the most basic principles of open heart surgery were still being worked out.
PattiRai Rudolph died recently at the age of 63. PattiRai or "P-Rai," as she was called, worked at a lot of different stations doing a lot of different things from dispatching news crews at KSTP-TV to spinning records in Hibbing to doing the news at MPR.
Charles "Patrick" Cadigan passed away recently at the age of 81. He and co-host Rik Jordan talked about anything that was "TOMA" or "top-of-mind awareness" in the Duluth-Superior area.
It's rare when someone can truly be called a pioneer, but Koryne Horbal was certainly that.
MPR's voice of documentaries, Mark Heistad, died last week from esophageal cancer.
Dr. Olaf Millert came to the United States after fleeing his native Estonia during the Soviet occupation following World War II. After studying in South Dakota, he went to found the psychology department at St. Olaf College.