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.
July 16, 2003 - We hear northern Minnesota wildlife biologist Bill Berg talk about the state's critters, and we hear from University of Minnesota professor Anne Pusey about her work with Jane Goodall and chimpanzees in Africa. This is the latest in the series of interviews from Minnesota Public Radio's Voices of Minnesota series.
November 28, 2003 - Midday presents two Voices of Minnesota conversations with Minnesota fishermen. Howard Sivertson and Walter Sve share recollections of growing up in fishing families on the North Shore of Lake Superior. It's a way of life that's practically disappeared.
December 11, 2003 - A remembrance of the late Gisela Konopka, U of M professor, an expert on helping troubled kids. The internationally known University of Minnesota professor of social work died Tuesday (12/09/2003). She was born in Berlin, Germany, and was a resistance fighter during World War II. She was interviewed in 1995 for MPR's Voices of Minnesota series.
December 11, 2003 - A remembrance of the late Gisela Konopka. The internationally known University of Minnesota professor of social work died Tuesday. She was born in Berlin, Germany, and was a resistance fighter during World War II. She was interviewed in 1995 for MPR's Voices of Minnesota series.
February 26, 2004 - Hour 2 of Midday: Robert Janssen is one of Minnesota's best known birders. The 71-year-old Chanhassen resident is an author and co-author of several books about birds, including Birds In Minnesota. Janssen is the former president of the Minnesota Ornithologists Union. He talked recently with Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson.
April 5, 2004 - A Voices of Minnesota broadcast with two businessmen. Edger Hetteen is one of the inventors of the snowmobile, and at 83 he's still developing new products for his northern Minnesota company. Banker Jim Campbell is the retired chief executive officer of Wells Fargo Bank Minnesota and now co-chair of a major Twin Cities study group made up of other CEO's.
April 16, 2004 - Hour 2 of Midday: A Voices of Minnesota broadcast with two remarkable women. Sabina Zimering, a Polish Jew, survived the Holocaust during World War II while literally working under the noses of the Gestapo. She wrote a book about her experiences, and now it's a play at the Great American History Theatre in St. Paul. Also, Hyun Sook Han, who survived the Japanese occupation of Korea during World War II and lived through the Korean War as well. She's a retired children's home society social worker, and she'll be honored on April 29th and May 1st for her work.
August 5, 2004 - The August edition of MPR's Voices of Minnesota series delves into the lives of wolves and ospreys. The program features Mark Martell of Audubon Minnesota and Peggy Callahan of the Wildlife Science Center at Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area.
September 13, 2004 - In this edition of "Voices of Minnesota," we pay a visit to two of the state's foremost artists: actor and Jungle Theater founder Bain Boehlke and Ragamala Dance Theater founder Ranee Ramaswamy. They talk about growing up, one in Warroad and the other in India. These days Boehlke and Ramaswamy create their art just a few blocks apart from one another in Minneapolis' Lyndale Lake neighborhood.
November 24, 2004 - Voices of Minnesota pays a visit to two prominent Catholic leaders in the state: Father Larry Snyder, the new head of Catholic Charities USA, and Sister Andrea Lee, president of College of St. Catherine in St. Paul.