August 26, 2005 - With the announcement of a terminal disease by playwright August Wilson, an excerpt of Wilson speaking to the University of Minnesota Alumni Association back in 1992 is aired.
August 30, 2005 - Orkestar Bez Ime (ore keh star bezz EE may), or OBI as they like to be called, are a Minnesota dance band working to preserve the folk music fast disappearing from Europe. Four women and a man make up Orkestar Bez Ime, which in Bulgarian means “orchestra without a name.” The group play dance tunes from Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, amongst other nations.
August 31, 2005 - Nationally known experimental musician and composer George Cartwright shares his appreciation for Memphis Blues legend Furry Lewis and his rendition of “Casey Jones.” Cartwright lived as a young man Cartwright in the Mississippi Delta.
September 5, 2005 - MPR’s Tom Crann and Nikki Tundel conclude their ‘battle’ over which state has the best fair - Minnesota or Iowa. The two present competing fair stories…pet surgery and Iowa animals.
September 9, 2005 - MPR’s Chris Roberts profiles West St. Paul jazz saxophonist Irv Williams, who at 86, still plays gigs and has CD releases. Roberts interviews Williams about his music style and longevity, and others in the music industry about Williams’ talent.
September 15, 2005 - Dudley Voigt, co-founder of Teens Rock the Mic, comments on developing young people. The Twin Cities based youth poetry group is trying to raise money for their organization and they're getting some help from several reknowned writers and poets.
September 15, 2005 - Dudley Voigt, co-founder of Teens Rock the Mic, comments on writer benefit.
September 16, 2005 - Voices of Minnesota pays a visit to two of the state's foremost architects. Ralph Rapson, who designed the original Guthrie Theater, shaped two generations of architects as the dean of the University of Minnesota's school of architecture. Rapson also did a stint at MIT, where he mentored his future colleague Leonard Parker, who created the Minneapolis Convention Center, the Humphrey Institute and Minnesota Public Radio's St. Paul studios.
September 23, 2005 - MPR’s Karl Gehrke reports on Seattle composer Stehen Newby’s Rondo Oratorio. It is a multi-movement work for large chorus, chamber orchestra, rhythm section, soloists and narrators that captures the spirit of the people who lived in St. Paul's long-gone Rondo neighborhood.
September 23, 2005 - MPR’s Greta Cunningham interviews Minnesota author Louise Erdrich about her book “The Painted Drum.” The story is of a New Hampshire woman, an Ojibwe Indian and a Native American drum.