April 18, 1997 - Ska, the root of reggae, is out of the shadows again with the announcement that Chelsea Clinton favors a ska band. Beyond the beltway, there's a ska fest going on tonight in the Twin Cities. It's Ska Fest '97, featuring FluxSkaPacitor, The Siren Six!, and Let's Go Bowling. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts brought in rock historian Jim DeRogatis and Siren Six! saxophonist John Reinick for a short history lesson in Ska.
April 19, 1997 - Living in an artists loft may be your secret dream...this weekend you'll get the chance to see if the reality lives up to your expectations. Over 160 artists are opening their lofts and displaying their work as part of this weekend's ST. PAUL ART CRAWL. Craig Thiesen is a photographer living in the Northern Warehouse. He says even as a young artist he always dreamed of living in a Lowertown loft. He says loft living may not be as exotic as people think.
April 25, 1997 - Mainstreet Radio’s Catherine Winter talks with northern Minnesota painter Liz Sivertson about her work and what forms her creative inspiration. They preview and exhibition of paintings by Sivertson: colorful, whimsical pictures she did for the children's book “North Country Spring.”
April 28, 1997 - David Parker started with an interest in child labor in the United States, tracking kids in the many jobs they do here, from State Fair booths to fast food restaurants. But as photographer and physician, Parker found his focus shifting overseas, and he's compiled a photo essay documenting the far worse conditions for working kids in the Third World. Children reportedly make up 11-percent of the workforce in some Asian countries, 17-percent in Africa, and maybe 25-percent in Latin America. David Parker is a photographer and physician with the Minnesota Health Department. His photos of child labor have been displayed at the U.S.Capitol and Department of Labor, and will be published this summer in a book called "Stolen Dreams".
May 5, 1997 - As part of the “Voices of Minnesota" series, this program features two interviews on personal stories of overcoming life struggles. MPR’s Laura McCallum speaks with Stanley Sahlstrom, retired educator. Sahlstrom focused his adult life in support of agriculture. MPR’s Dan Olson speaks with Giovanna "Mama D" D'Agostino, a philanthropist and restaurateur. Program ends with a call-in segment with Kathleen Maloney, the new executive director of the Minnesota Alliance for Arts in Education.
May 6, 1997 - Midday presents a broadcast of columnist and author Ellen Goodman speaking on the changing role of women at the second annual Women Ventures Conference held in downtown Minneapolis.
May 8, 1997 - MPR’s John Rabe talks with Larry Schoenberg, son of composer son of composer Arnold Schoenberg. The two discuss Arnold Schoenberg’s evolving compositions and The Minnesota Orchestra performance of Schoenberg’s piece “Guerre-Lieder.”
May 9, 1997 - Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton gives a preview of her appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman." Letterman brought in the mayor, Kirby Puckett, and residents of Minneapolis as part of a running thematic series on his show of highlighting various cities across the country.
May 12, 1997 - MPR’s John Biewen profiles local composer Randall Davidson and the work of connecting artist with communities. For Davidson, that includes projects involving Hmong community and life stories of St. Paul public housing residents.
May 14, 1997 - For the first time in it's 20-year history, St. Paul's Penumbra Theatre Company will perform August Wilson’s Fences on the stage of the region's best known theater, the Guthrie, in Minneapolis.