April 20, 2004 - It's unlikely that very many people in Somalia have read the novels of Nuruddin Farah, partly because Somalia remains largely an oral society, but also because Farah was exiled from the country after writing about African dictatorships in a trilogy of novels. Farah is increasingly read outside of Somalia though, and many call him the best writer Africa has produced. He's in the Twin Cities to talk about "Links" his latest work that draws on modern Somalia's history of terror, clan violence, decimated cities, corruption, and conflicting family relations. Despite that list of negatives in his country's everyday life, Farah says he writes to "keep Somalia alive" in the minds of other immigrants, and in the eyes of the world.
April 30, 2004 - In recent years, Minnesotans have placed increased emphasis on multiculturalism. Still, there's one group that often feels lost in the deluge of diversity. Deaf advocates say Minnesota's non-hearing community is three times as large as some other communities, but they say few people recognize its significant contributions to the culture. As Minnesota's Public Radio's Nikki Tundel found out, an exhibit at St. Paul's aND gallery is hoping to change that.
May 6, 2004 - MPR’s Chris Roberts profiles Coach Said Not To, a Minneapolis rock foursome that deliberately tries to defy categorization. Roberts interviews members Lee Violet and Eva Mohn about the thinking person's rock band.
May 13, 2004 - Flyte Tyme, the hit producing Edina-based recording studio run by Jimmy Jam Harris and Terry Lewis, is relocating to Los Angeles. Roberts reports on how the news is being received in the Twin Cities, and the legacy Harris and Lewis are leaving.
May 21, 2004 - MPR’s Laura McCallum profiles Cy Thao, a legislator and artist, who has an exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. "The Hmong Migration" is a series of fifty oil paintings by Thao, and represent the unfolding of 5,000 years of Hmong history. Thao said he feels an obligation to tell the Hmong story, and to preserve it for generations.
May 26, 2004 - On this Midday program, Minnesota Public Radio president Bill Kling is in the MPR studios to talk with host Gary Eichten about the station, the new MPR building, and topics on the minds of MPR listeners.
May 27, 2004 - MPR’s Dan Olson profiles The Dale Warland Singers as the choral group is ends 32 years of performance. Founder and conductor Dale Warland announced a year ago this was the group's final season. He says he'll devote more time to arranging and composing.
June 2, 2004 - Chris Roberts profiles Venus, a transgender musician and visual artist from Duluth. Roberts interviews the artist, spouse, and Twin Cities filmmaker who follows the band All the Pretty Horses in documentary “Venus of Mars.”
June 10, 2004 - MPR’s Chris Roberts talks with champion air guitarist Jonathan Maki, who shares a few ‘tricks of the trade’ in the art form. Maki is one of the seven finer practitioners in the area to gather at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis for the U.S. Air Guitar Regional Championships.
June 30, 2004 - The number of teacher layoffs in the Minneapolis school district has now grown to over 600. School board members approved an operating budget last night that included nearly 23 million dollars in spending cuts. Those cuts directly eliminated more than 200 teaching positions. The rest of the layoffs were due to the district's declining student numbers.