July 2, 2004 - Minnesota's most revered nightclub, First Avenue in Minneapolis , is at a crossroads. Last week, owner Allan Fingerhut fired General Manager Steve McClellan. McClellan guided the club for more than 30-years. Many say his adventurous tastes and fiercely independent streak are what made First Avenue into a launchpad for regional artists and a nationally known music venue. McClellan's dismissal left many wondering whether the struggling club would close or be sold. Fingerhut is vowing to take aggressive steps to keep First Avenue open and independent.
July 8, 2004 - Classical musicians from across the Twin Cities have come together to perform the premiere of a new orchestral work called “Mosaic: Cedar and Lake.” The piece attempts to capture the cultural diversity of Minneapolis.
July 9, 2004 - MPR’s Chris Roberts profiles St. Paul musician Greg Paulus. In interview, Paulus discusses his music influences, his current jazz work, and goal of playing with the best musicians.
August 19, 2004 - Minnesota Public Radio President Bill Kling joins Gary Eichten to answer questions from MPR listeners about buying WCAL and a range of other topics.
August 20, 2004 - MPR’s Chris Roberts talks with Minneapolis singer-songwriter Mark Edwards about his CD "Rewind Tomorrow." Formally of The Domo Sound, Edwards now goes by the moniker The Original Mark Edwards.
August 27, 2004 - Digital technology has allowed artists to go much, much further in drawing inspiration from nature. One Minneapolis artist uses digitally generated sound designs to create a kind of hypnosis on headphones. The source of the sound?…Water. MPR’s Chris Roberts dives in.
August 28, 2004 - MPR’s Greta Cunningham profiles Ye Old Mill, a staple fair ride that has been attracting sweethearts at the Minnesota State Fair since 1913. It's America's oldest tunnel of love owned by the same family.
September 8, 2004 - In this episode of Future Tense, reporter Jon Gordon takes a look at Vocaloid, a music software that synthesizes human voice to produce musical results.
September 13, 2004 - In this edition of "Voices of Minnesota," we pay a visit to two of the state's foremost artists: actor and Jungle Theater founder Bain Boehlke and Ragamala Dance Theater founder Ranee Ramaswamy. They talk about growing up, one in Warroad and the other in India. These days Boehlke and Ramaswamy create their art just a few blocks apart from one another in Minneapolis' Lyndale Lake neighborhood.
September 21, 2004 - David Lebedoff is the author books such as "Cleaning Up," the story of the Exxon Valdez case, and "The Uncivil War: How a New Elite Is Destroying Our Democracy." Lebedoff is a graduate of the University of Minnesota.