January 26, 2009 - Another local author in a good mood today is Susan Marie Swanson. She's the author of this year's Caldecott Award-winning best *picture book*. It's called the "The House in the Night" and the winning illustrations in it were done by Beth Krommes.
January 29, 2009 - As part of a weekly NewsCut focus, MPR’s Bob Collins embarks on a set of college tours to see how the tough economy is impacting young people. In this segment, Collins visits Minneapolis Community and Technical College in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
January 30, 2009 - Many collectors will tell you that books are works of art. Not just for their words, but as objects of art. Many artists at some point in their careers have made books. The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis is celebrating the book as an art form with it's exhibition "Text/Messages." It features books created by Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali and Kara Walker, among others.
February 3, 2009 - A rare, original oral history of Indian life has surfaced in the Twin Cities. It's one of the oldest known examples of it's kind. In 1910, Lakota Chief Martin White Horse dictated stories about his community, located on a reservation in South Dakota. After the oral history, called a winter count, was typed up, the transcript went into storage. There it lay for decades, forgotten about. The descendants of the white woman who typed up the document rediscovered it last summer, and opened up a window to the history of the Lakota and to their own family.
February 3, 2009 - abin fever season is upon us - the time of year when Minnesotans will do almost anything to kill the monotony. We'll join gyms. We'll take classes. But if someone invites you to join their book club, commentator Peter Smith says don't do it. No matter how tedious late winter gets.
February 3, 2009 - A nearly century-old oral history of a band of Lakota Indians in South Dakota has been found in the Twin Cities. It's one of the oldest examples of a tradition known as the winter count.
February 4, 2009 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer talks with St. Paul Pioneer Press theater critic and self-described poetry rube Dominic Papatola about the state of poetry in Minnesota. They also discuss Graywolf Press book of poetry by Elizabeth Alexander, who recited one of her works at the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
February 9, 2009 - MPR’s Dan Gunderson visits a few hardy souls in Twin Valley playing a softball game with a decidedly Minnesota twist. The Moonshiners Snowmobile Club team use their snowmobiles to "run" around the bases.
February 12, 2009 - As part of a weekly NewsCut focus, MPR’s Bob Collins embarks on a set of college tours to see how the tough economy is impacting young people. In this segment, Collins visits the Worthington Campus of Minneapolis Community and Technical College in Worthington, Minnesota.
February 12, 2009 - The Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul, the largest professional African American theater in the country, announced its trimming budget by almost a quarter and pushing a major production into next year as a result of the economic downturn. Penumbra recently completed a three-million-dollar fundraising campaign. Artistic director Lou Bellamy says the cuts are preventative measures to protect what the company has built in recent years.