September 25, 2001 - MPR’s Dan Olson profiles choral director Dale Warland, a recipient of the McKnight Distinguished Artist Award. The Minnesota-based conductor, arranger, and composer is founder of the Dale Warland Singers. He traces his musical roots to his Iowa childhood and a charismatic church choir director.
September 25, 2001 - Great religious minds reflect on tragedies surrounding September 11, 2001. As America moves beyond raw emotion and religious sentiment, this program explores theological and spiritual reflection for the long haul. Host Journalist-theologian Krista Tippett has gathered provocative reflections across a broad spectrum of faith, woven together with evocative sound and music. Guests: Richard Mouw, Christian philosopher and president of Fuller Theological Seminary. Joan Dehzad, Episcopal deacon and executive director of the Institute of New Americans. Rabbi Barry Cytron, director of the Jay Phillips Center for Jewish-Christian Learning.Patricia Hampl, poet and author of A Romantic Education and Virgin Time. Linda Loving, pastor at the House of Hope Presbyterian Church, St. Paul, Minnesota. Dan Grigassy, Franciscan friar and professor of liturgy, Washington Theological Union. Cynthia Eriksson, clinical psychologist at the Headington Program in International Trauma.
September 26, 2001 - Mainstreet Radio's Laurel Druley reports on the looming government workers strike. State agency officials say they have contingency plans in place to compensate for the void a strike could leave.
September 26, 2001 - Every ten years the Legislature has to redraw political districts based on population changes reported in the census. By next November, all the legislative, congressional and municipal districts will be different. Lawmakers are already working on plans they hope Governor Ventura will approve, but as DFL'ers, Republicans and, for the first time, an Independence Party governor argue over plans that will maximize their partisan political power, there's already talk a court will end up drawing the final districts. It's sometimes hard for the public to follow the complicated process of redistricting, but it poses important questions for communities around Minnesota. In few places are the issues as clear as they are in St. Cloud. Minnesota Public Radio's Jeff Horwich has this Mainstreet report.
September 27, 2001 - MPR's Laurel Druley reports that Governor Ventura told the citizens of Rochester he supports President Bush's plan to call up National Guard troops to tighten security at airports across the nation. His comments came as the Governor spent the day in Rochester talking with state employees.
September 27, 2001 - President Bush visited Chicago's O'Hare Airport today where he urged Americans to get back in the air. Seeking to soothe a nation left anxious about air travel, the President outlined a broad strategy for tightening aviation security, including temporarily sending National Guard troops to major airports. Governor Jesse Ventura announced he would move quickly to dispatch Minnesota troops to the Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport. Democratic Senator Mark Dayton sent a letter to Bush earlier this week suggesting the National Guard idea. He says he's not sure if the President took his advice OR if he had already planned on using the troops at airports, but Dayton says he's pleased with Bush's decision.
September 28, 2001 - U.S. Senator Mark Dayton answers listener questions about the terrorist attacks against the United States.
October 1, 2001 - The state employee strike is already having an impact. Several agencies, like the Health Department and the Department of Agriculture, are scaling back their inspection services. Some Minnesotans are finding it especially difficult to receive vehicle licensing services. Minnesota Public Radio's Brandt Williams reports:
October 1, 2001 - Minnesota Public Radio's Patty Marsicano reports on the thousands of state employees who went on strike after rejecting the state's latest contract offer. A last-minute mediation session produced no agreement between the state's two largest unions and state administration.
October 1, 2001 - ctress Jessica Lange and playwright Sam Shepard will host a special concert next month to raise money to help build a monastery and cultural center for Minnesota's Tibetan community. The November 12th event will include performances by musicians Jackson Browne, Greg Brown, T. Bone Burnett, Sam Phillips and Guy Davis. Writers Louise Erdrich and Richard Ford will also participate. Lange says she has been interested in the study of Buddhism for a long time and has studied with local monks. She says after bouncing around from one classroom to another, she decided to help the monks find a permanent home.