October 11, 1996 - The only woman ever elected to Congress from Minnesota has died. Coya Knutson was 84 when died of kidney failure at an Edina nursing home yesterday. Knutson was elected to the Minnesota Legislature in 1950 and to Congress in 1954. Knutson was perhaps better known for LEAVING office than winning it. In 1958, when she was campaigning for re-election, her husband, Andy Knutson, wrote a letter saying he wanted his wife to come back home. The letter was picked up by newspapers, and was blamed for her narrow defeat. Gretchen Beito, of Theif River Falls wrote a book about Knutson's political career, called "Coya Come Home".
October 11, 1996 - The dream of many writers is to be able to blast off a draft of a book, send it to a publisher, who decides to rush it into print backed by a huge publicity campaign. Of course, the reality is usually very different, with would-be authors having to develop a thick skin to handle repeated rejection. It's a story familiar to Megan Brown of St Cloud, who after a huge struggle is now awaiting the release of her second book. What is amazing about Megan is her age- she's just nine years old. This weekend Megan will be featured nationwide on the Nickelodeon Cable Channel's "Nick News".
October 13, 1996 -
October 13, 1996 - It's a mystery, a love story and just a plain eerie tale. Siri Hustvedt's new book "The Enchantment of Lily Dahl" is set in Webster, Minnesota, a town that appears to be ordinary. Siri Hustvedt and her title character Lily Dahl share many things in common, both spent time as waitresses and both have lived in small Minnesota towns. Siri Hustvedt says her hometown of Northfield, Minnesota served as a model for the fictional town of Webster.
October 14, 1996 -
October 14, 1996 - On this Odd Jobs segment, MPR’s Tim Kelly interviews Neal Henry Lawrence, an 88-year-old monk from Saint John's Abbey in Collegeville, who's lived in Tokyo for almost four decades, and is a pioneer in the writing of Tanka in English.
October 15, 1996 - Midday looks at crime initiatives in the Minnesota Legislature with guests Democratic representative Wes Skoglund and Republican representative Rich Stanek. The two discuss various crime proposals, crime rates, and answer listener questions.
October 16, 1996 - Martin Sabo, U.S. representative for Minnesota's 5th District, reflects on colleague Jim Rice, who passed away after having a heart attack at the State Capitol.
October 17, 1996 - MPR’s Chris Roberts reports on growing political involvement in Hmong community. 20+ years after the first Hmong refugees arrived in Minnesota, Hmong voter ranks have grown steadily, and more are involved in politics than ever before.
October 18, 1996 - As part of Midday's "Meet the Candidates" series, guest Dean Barkley, Reform Party candidate for U.S. Senate, talks about his campaign, state of Reform Party, and answers questions from Minnesota Public Radio listeners.