April 28, 2008 - One of Minnesota's best-known novelists, Louise Erdrich, discusses her book “A Plague of Doves,” a story that weaves together the murder of a family, a lynching of men innocent of the crime, and the tangled relationships of Ojibwe and whites living around the dying town of Pluto, North Dakota.
May 6, 2008 - The cabin in wilderness writer Sigurd Olson's "Listening Point" has been named to the National Register of Historic Places. Olson wrote nine books, including "The Singing Wilderness" and "Listening Point," named after a spot on an island in Burntside Lake. The cabin is maintained by the Listening Point Foundation. Executive Director Alanna (ah-LAH-nuh) Johnson says Olson worked for wilderness preservation on a national level, but he lived for many years in Ely.
May 7, 2008 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer talks with Hmong author Kao Kalia Yang about her book “The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir.” Yang also describes her family life experience and transition to living in the United States.
May 16, 2008 - MPR’s Chris Roberts profiles St. Paul new age musician Steven C. Anderson, who is trying to distinguish himself from thousands of other contemporary piano artists with his new CD, “Signature.”
May 28, 2008 - University Avenue, the proposed route of the Central Corridor light rail line, has a colorful past that is still evolving. Four MPR reporters look at the past and the future of Minneapolis-St. Paul’s University Avenue. Story titles include “The view from Prospect Park,” “The Car Culture,” “An Entertainment Destination,” and “Immigrants Always Welcome.”
June 3, 2008 - MPR’s Karl Gehrke profiles Minneapolis jazz musician Gordon Johnson. Gehrke interviews Johnson about his musical background, and other local musicians about Johnson’s playing.
June 11, 2008 - In this special music edition from MPR’s Voices of Minnesota series, the spotlight shines on Minnesota gospel singer Tom Tipton and Celtic music performer Laura MacKenzie, both musicians who have become famous beyond Minnesota's borders.
July 14, 2008 - A new group supporting the arts in Minnesota is announcing today the 17 organizations selected for its training and development program. ArtsLab will help the organizations develop plans and strategies for the future. It's chosen eight small, arts non-profits in northwest Minnesota and nine in the Twin Cities as participants in the three-year project. ArtsLab program director Sharon Rodning Bash says the groups were picked for being visionary and important to their communities.
July 22, 2008 - Finnish music will fill the air in Duluth tomorrow when Finnfest begins. Finnfest is an annual celebration of all thing Finnish. But Commentator Peter Smith feels there is one Finnish tradition that there is no need to celebrate...The Sauna.
August 8, 2008 - MPR’s Chris Roberts presents Making the Scene: An Oral History of Twin Cities Rock, a report tracing the evolution of the local music scene from the mid-1960s through the '90s…and through the eyes and ears of key figures from each decade.