March 2, 2006 - MPR’s Sea Stachura reports on life on the road for fiddle player Becky Buller. A St. James, Minnesota native, Buller is touring with bluegrass group Liberty Pike.
March 2, 2006 - The main character in Minneapolis author Lorna Landvik's latest book "Oh My Stars" is dealing with a lot of misfortune. Violet Mathers is growing up in rural Kentucky during the Great Depression. She's been abandoned by her mother, mistreated by her father and lost her arm in a factory accident. Violet decides to leave Kentucky and boards a bus bound for San Francisco. But a bus crash along the journey strands her in North Dakota. There Violet blooms among a group of caring midwesterners and her life is changed.
March 3, 2006 - MPR’s Chris Roberts reports on Minneapolis-based composer and multi-instrumentalist Douglas Ewart, who places his focus on the creation of sustainable music. Roberts interviews Ewart and others about the sounds and designs behind Ewart’s instruments and performances.
March 3, 2006 - MPR’s Tom Scheck reports on first U.S. Senate debate. Taxes, health care and national security were among the key issues addressed by three candidates running for Minnesota's open U.S. Senate seat. The seat has been viewed as one of the more competitive seats in the nation ever since Mark Dayton announced his decision not to run for reelection. Republican Mark Kennedy and DFLers Amy Klobuchar and Ford Bell all hope to replace the DFL incumbent and put their differences on display in the debate sponsored by the North Metro Chamber of Commerce.
March 3, 2006 - MPR’s Toni Randolph report that about 400 members of the Hmong community turned out for a town hall meeting in St. Paul to get an update on what's happened since hundreds of Hmong graves were desecrated in Thailand last fall. Many people attending the meeting also sent letters to the United Nations to protest the unearthing and dismemberment of their deceased loved ones.
March 6, 2006 - Former Minnesota Twin Kirby Puckett is listed in critical condition in an Arizona hospital after suffering a stroke. For fans and former teammates of the Hall of Fame outfielder, the news was received with shock and sadness.
March 7, 2006 - MPR’s Brandt Williams visits a Metrodome memorial site for former Minnesota Twin centerfielder Kirby Puckett, who passed away on March 6, 2006. Williams interviews several fans mourning the loss of fame baseball player.
March 7, 2006 - Along with the fans, Kirby Puckett's many former teammates are mourning his unexpected death. One of them is Roy Smalley. He played three seasons with Puckett ending with 1987, when the Twins won their first World Series. Roy Smalley remembers that season well, and agrees with the accounts that credit Puckett with leading the Twins to its first championship.
March 7, 2006 - MPR’s William Wilcoxen presents a remembrance of former Minnesota Twins star Kirby Puckett, who died at 45, after suffering a stroke at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona. As one of the most popular athletes in Minnesota history, Baseball Hall of Famer Puckett played a dozen years for the Minnesota Twins, leading the team to two World Series championships and winning over fans and teammates with his enthusiastic, fun-loving style of play.
March 8, 2006 - MPR’s Karl Gehrke reports that the University of Minnesota School of Music and the SPCO are collaborating on a festival exploring Elliot Carter's confounding work. On first hearing, Carter's music sounds chaotic. It doesn't fit into preconceived notions of what "classical" music should sound like. There's no single, steady rhythmic pulse or recurring melodic themes to grab onto.