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.
May 15, 1997 - The next three Fridays, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis is screening 23 regionally-produced films and videos in the 1997 Film and Video Showcase. This year, there were double the number of submissions from the local filmmakers. One of those is Peter Syvertsen (SEE-vert-sen), who made a 17-minute film called "26 Summer Street", based on a William Carlos Williams short story. Peter Syvertsen (SEE-vert-sen)'s "26 Summer Street" shows May 16th, in the third and final Friday night of the Walker's 1997 Film and Video Showcase. The showcase of short movies actually begins tomorrow night, and includes Chuck Smith's "Once Again", Hayden Groom's "Family Tree", and Mary Ahmann's "The Last Goodbye". Sun 28-MAY 19:29:01 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11/2001
May 19, 1997 - A Voices of Minnesota interview with retiring Augsburg College president, Charles Anderson. Also Israeli novelist Abraham B. Yehoshua is in the Twin Cities to speak on the topic of "Israeli Identity in a Time of Peace" and "Modern Democracy and the Novel". He has won numerous awards for his writing and is an activist in the Israeli Peace Movement, working for a compromise with the Palestinians.
May 22, 1997 - Mainstreet Radio’s Catherine Winter presents a profile of the band, Conga Se Menne. The group from Upper Peninsula of Michigan utilizes some bongos, steel drums, and a tropical beat. They call their music Finnish reggae. The reggae beat is surprisingly similar to the Finnish schottish and soca is not far from a polka.
May 26, 1997 - A Voices of Minnesota interview with Joe Gomer, one of the Tuskegee Airman during World War II. Also Walter Benjamin of Hamline University, author of "War & Reflection." He looks back on his experiences as a member of the Navy in World War II and the ongoing meaning it has in his life.