September 3, 1999 - MPR’s Dan Gunderson reports on the International Plowing Competition in Rollag, Minnesota. Farmers from 30 states are competing for the national plowing title. The event is part of the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion.
September 9, 1999 - MPR’s Michael Choo reports on a new Hmong-language radio program that premiered on WMIN Radio Rey in St. Paul. The variety show features Hmong music and news from both Laos and the Twin Cities region. Backers of the show say the estimated 75-thousand Hmong living in the metro area represent an under-served market with significant economic potential.
September 27, 1999 - To close out the millennium, Minnesota Public Radio's All Things Considered presents a look back at Minnesota life in 1900 via a 12-part series, entitled “A Minnesota Century.” This segment is the the story of a woman who had mixed success as a novelist but eventually found her voice in the character of Betsy, whose antics and adventures mirrored Maud's real-life childhood in Mankato at the turn of the century.
September 27, 1999 - Ron Offutt, aka Sultan of Spuds & the Lord of the Fries, grows more potatoes than anyone else in the world, and the potatoes are perfect for French fries. But his success has a price. Growing the perfect French fry has an environmental downside, as people in small towns near Offutt's potato farms have learned to their dismay.
September 28, 1999 - Ron Offutt, aka Sultan of Spuds & the Lord of the Fries, grows more potatoes than anyone else in the world. The potatoes are perfect for French fries for fast food chains like McDonald's and frozen French fry processors like JR Simplot and Ore Ida. But Offutt’s success has a downside. Many people who live near Offutt's potato farms worry about the pesticides sprayed on his fields.....but they soon find they're up against a system much bigger than they are.
October 5, 1999 - MPR’s Mark Steil reports on the complicated nature of grain storage during the fall harvest, especially with the boom in genetically modified crops.
October 13, 1999 - Mainstreet Radio's Leif Enger shipped aboard a Bulgarian tramp freighter as it departed for Italy with a load of North Dakota wheat. Enger presents an understanding of sailor life aboard.
October 28, 1999 - To close out the millennium, Minnesota Public Radio's All Things Considered presents a look back at Minnesota life in 1900 via a 12-part series, entitled “A Minnesota Century.” This segment is the the story the notorious outlaw Cole Younger.
November 2, 1999 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman reports on the 5th National Hmong Conference being held in downtown Minneapolis, where social service advocates look to prevent violence by keeping Hmong kids out of gangs. They say parents are the key and want to them more involved in their kids lives. But for some Hmong teens, independence from families is the attraction of a gang --especially for girls.
November 3, 1999 - People from countries along Africa's north east coast make up one of Minnesota's fastest growing populations. Most are from Somalia, but a small percentage is from Ethiopia. The newcomers depend on Ethiopians who've been here for a while for traditional goods and services. One place they often go first is a grocery store on Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis.