Voices of Minnesota, a long-running MPR series, highlights the many interesting voices that make up the people and history of Minnesota. It has appeared on Mid-Morning, MPR, Midday, and News Feature broadcasts in short form, and part of Midday hour programming in long form. Over the years, MPR’s Dan Olson, Gary Eichten, and numerous others, produced hundreds of fascinating interviews from the land of 10,000 Lakes.
January 6, 1997 - Hour 2 of Midmorning, a Voices of Minnesota with the Director of St. Paul's Ordway Musical Theatre, Kevin McCollum. The current production is "Rent". Fiction writer Rick Moody who has written "The Ring of Brightest Angels Around Heaven," a collection of short stories about strange and perverted people. The title story is set in the East Village of New York and populated by on-the-edge young people. His previous books are "The Ice Storm" and "Garden State."
January 13, 1997 - A Voices of Minnesota interview with Tom Webber, Director of Planned Parenthood of Minnesota and South Dakota. Webber discusses his work on women's reproductive health issues. Also, a recorded interview with Margaret Atwood, author of "Alias Grace".
January 27, 1997 - VOICES OF MINNESOTA interview with Rick Stafford for Monday, Jan 27, l997. Stafford says he is a political peon - willing to take on any task for his party. His willingness won him the job of chair of the DFL party in l993 - a job he held for over two years. The openly gay Stafford has the AIDS virus and health problems caused him to leave the job in l995. Today on our Voices of Minnesota interview we will will hear from the 44-year-old political activist. Stafford grew up in the southern Minnesota town of New Richland, and graduated from Mankato State University. For ten years he owned the West Concord newspaper. Stafford told Minnesota Public Radio's Karen Louise Boothe a childhood physical disability and the death of his father when Stafford was six taught him lifelong lessons.
February 4, 1997 - A short reflection on Dan Olson’s Voices of Minnesota series, as part of Minnesota Public Radio's 30th Anniversary Celebration.
February 10, 1997 - Minnesota storyteller, playwright and actor Kevin Kling says his storytelling is from personal experience. The stories use humor because Kling says humor is a solvent that helps us accept the difficulty of our lives. In our Voices of Minnesota interview, Kevin Kling talks about storytelling. Riding the 21A bus line between St. Paul and Minneapolis was the source for one of Kling's best known works. "Fear and Loving" is a new collection of Kling stories about growing up. He was recently on stage at the Jungle Theatre in Minneapolis playing one of the leads in "Waiting for Godot". Kling was born in Missouri and grew up in the Twin Cities suburbs of Brooklyn Center and Maple Grove. Minnesota Public Radio's John Rabe talked with Kling about his work.
February 10, 1997 - Storyteller and playwright Kevin Kling talks with MPR'S John Rabe about life in Minnesota as material for his work.
February 17, 1997 - A Voices of Minnesota with the perseverance of two families in facing racial discrimination. Barbara Cyrus tells of her family's move to escape discrimination in the south only to encounter it in the north. Then, Archie Givens Junior tells how his father's commitment to education led him to donate African American art and literature to the University of Minnesota.
February 26, 1997 - As part of Minnesota Public Radio's Voices of Minnesota series, a presentation of excerpts from an interview with George Latimer, former St. Paul mayor.
March 3, 1997 - Hour 2 of Midmorning features a Voices of Minnesota segment with Doug Wood. Arne Fogel samples a new four-volume compact disc set of Louis Armstrong music entitled, "Louis Armstrong: the Complete RCA/Victor Label Recordings." Also included is Odd Jobs - lie detector.
April 7, 1997 - As part of Minnesota Public Radio’s Voice of Minnesota series, MPR’s Gary Eichten interviews George Latimer, former St. Paul mayor. Latimer talks about his life and work, beginning in the early 1940's in Schenectady, New York, where Latimer grew up as a shopkeeper's son. He would become, and still remains, one of Minnesota's most popular politicians.