May 16, 2005 - MPR’s Jeff Horwich looks at lessons learned about global marketing. Horwich reports on a snafu from company giant Nike, to the success story of Minnesota company Aveda.
May 17, 2005 - Malena Handeen, a mother, farmer, musician and painter says she finds inspiration in the scenery around Milan.
May 17, 2005 - The Current’s Mary Lucia talks with Native American poet and saxophonist Joy Harjo who shares thought about her work. Segment includes excerpt of “Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor Window.”
May 20, 2005 - Former Vice President and Minnesota Senator Walter Mondale shares his thoughts about Nixon’s trip to China in 1972, and of Minnesota Opera's performance of "Nixon in China" by John Adams.
May 30, 2005 - Popular Twin Cities author Lorna Landvik is trying something new in her novel, Oh My Stars. For the first time she's set a story outside of Minnesota and in a period before she was born. It's the depression-era story of Violet Mathers, an 18 year old Kentucky girl who's been beaten down by life. Just as she reaches her lowest point, she winds up traveling the Midwest with a trio of musicians.
May 31, 2005 - MPR’s Tom Crann interviews North Dakota poet Larry Woiwode on his dismay over Minneosta Governor Pawlenty’s decision to veto bill that would have established a poet laureate for Minnesota. At least 34 states have poet laureates. Like the majority of those writers, a Minnesota poet laureate would have received no tax dollars. But it wasn't the money that concerned Governor Pawlenty. Instead, he feared that naming a state poet would lead to requests for a Minnesota mime or state interpretive dancer.
June 2, 2005 - MPR’s Bianca Vazquez Toness reports on the growing influence of women in the Twin Cities hip-hop music scene. They call themselves B-girls. That's B for “breakdance,” and that's what some of these female hip-hop artists do, but others use verse, spray paint, and music to tell their story.
June 3, 2005 - MPR’s Karl Gehrke interviews Minneapolis saxophonist Pete Whitman about his love for the improvisation of jazz and the complexity of performing within a group.
June 14, 2005 - Baseball fans who attend games at the Metrodome in Minneapolis have a choice of programs. In addition to the official program, published by the Twins, there is another independently-produced option with a very different editorial perspective. Despite a distinct marketing disadvantage, the publishers of Gameday have cultivated a loyal customer base. MPR’s Jim Bickal takes a look…and a read.
June 17, 2005 - MPR’s Chris Roberts reports on the second annual Heliotrope Festival, a local underground music event. Roberts interviews co-founders Eric Wivinus and Rich Barlow about the festival creation and the unique acts that perform.