December 25, 2004 - The Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra is offering hundreds of student violin players a chance to rehearse with classical superstar Midori. The symphony received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to organize a ‘giant youth orchestra’ event in May 2004. Orchestra Director Andrew Berryhill discusses how his group wants to encourage youth orchestras…and not just because they can produce adult players someday.
January 12, 2005 - An Islamic school in the Twin Cities suburbs will expand it's facilities, much to the shagrin of some of it's neighbors. "Al-Amal" school is a private K-through-12 school in Fridley. In addition to a traditional academic subject areas, the school provides classes in Koran, Islam and Arab language to it's roughly 350 students who hail from throughout the Metro area. When the school announced it wanted to expand it's facilities to include computer and science labs for it's high-school age students, neighbors balked. But on a 3-2 vote last week, the Fridley City Council approved the expansion plan. The Islamic Center of Minnesota operates the school. It's vice president, Anwar Abdul Karim, says the expansion will help provide some basic services to current students.
January 21, 2005 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann interviews Eric Nesheim, executive director of the Minnesota Literacy Council, about social service agencies struggling to keep up with the demand for services in an era of budget shortfalls.
February 1, 2005 - Voices of Minnesota: Robert Pepin. University of Minnesota Physicist Robert Pepin, who served as science adviser for Apollo lunar missions 14 through 17, is confident that there is another earth-like planet somewhere that may be capable of supporting life. Voices of Minnesota pays a visit to Pepin as he recounts his remarkable career, exploring the cosmos without ever leaving the planet earth.
February 3, 2005 - Mainstreet Radio’s Dan Gunderson reports on the opera "One False Move" opening in Fargo, which focuses on the emotional pain of girls who are ostracized and bullied. The opera composer says it's a very serious subject that's too long been ignored.
February 9, 2005 - Mainstreet Radio's Tim Post reports that teachers in the Crosby-Ironton school district are on strike as of February 9th, 2005. They worked without a contract for 20 months and for the past year, teachers have negotiated with the district. The sticking points are salaries and health benefits for retired teachers.
February 25, 2005 - University of Minnesota President Bob Bruininks says now is the best, and worst time for the University to pursue its ambitions to be among the top three public research universities in the world. Bruininks made his comments during his annual State of the University speech yesterday. The president used the time to focus primarily on the U's strategic planning process.
March 3, 2005 - Some Minnesota school children can't get in-state tuition to Minnesota's colleges and universities but that might change soon. A bill before the legislature would give Minnesota students who are not legal residents of the United states the right to pay the same amount as kids who were born here. Minnesota Public Radio's Bianca Vazquez Toness reports.
March 25, 2005 - An MPR Special Report, titled “What Happened in Red Lake?”, details the chronology of the shooting at Red Lake, what's known about the student who killed nine people and himself, and what makes this sovereign Indian community different from other communities. The special also examines the shooting within the context of other school shootings.
March 30, 2005 - University of Minnesota officials today unveiled a significant redesign of several academic programs. The blueprint is part of the university's strategic planning process. The goal is for the U to become one of the top public research universities in the world in ten years. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.