September 5, 1996 -
September 14, 1996 - The quest for spiritual renewal is the topic of the 12th Annual Faith, Reason and World Affairs Symposium at Corcordia College. Speakers will examine the future of churches, media coverage of religion and how Generation X'ers worship. "Soul Searching: The Unsettled Church and America's Spiritual Quest" is free and open to the public. This weekend's symposium is part of Concordia's on-going series of discussions on important social topics. Dr. Per Anderson is the Symposium Committee Chair. He says there are many signs that Americans are re-examing religion.
October 9, 1996 - As part of a special week long focus on education issues, Midday examines Minnesota's largest institution of higher education…the University of Minnesota. Guests Marvin Marshak, senior vice president for Academic Affairs; and State Representative Becky Kelso, who chairs the University of Minnesota Finance Division in the state House, discuss aspects of the state universities and answer listener questions.
November 20, 1996 - MPR’s Mary Stucky reports on local poetry book "The Palm of My Heart," which collects vivid poetry by African American children who live in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
December 4, 1996 - Sandra Peterson is the president of the Minnesota Federation of Teachers, one of the state's two major teachers' unions. Her reaction to the plan was not favorable.
December 5, 1996 - Midday discusses the various changes being proposed for Minnesota's education system with guest Joe Nathan, the director of the Center for School Change at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute. Nathan also answers listener call-in questions.
December 5, 1996 - State lawmakers opened a new chapter in public education six years ago by creating an alternative school structure for new and innovative learning programs. Minnesota's first charter school opened in 1992. Today, there are 19 schools with enrollment totaling 21-hundred students. State education officials are currently reviewing the progress of charter schools. The Department of Children, Families and Learning will present a report to the state legislature in January. Charter school advocates say they're creating a flexible and creative learning option for children, but some question whether the schools have enough money to succeed.
December 26, 1996 - MPR’s Mary Losure created this report for National Public Radio detailing the efforts to save Native American language by teaching it to next generation. Losure interviews both language teachers and students at Nay Ah Shing school in Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.
December 27, 1996 - President Clinton and a growing number of the nation's educators are calling for uniforms in public schools as a way to restore order to unruly classrooms. Supporters say uniforms improve learning and behavior. Opponents say a mandatory uniform policy can infringe on a childs right to public school education. There are only two public schools in Minnesota with uniforms, one in Minneapolis and one in Saint Paul. The Saint Paul school district recently adopted a policy allowing individual schools to adopt uniforms, if parents approve.
January 7, 1997 - While House members in WASHINGTON face the task of electing their SPEAKER amid an ethics controversy surrounding Newt Gingrich....state Representatives in St.Paul are expected to elect speaker-designate Phil Carruthers as their first order of business when they convene at Noon. But as Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports...the shift of power in the state house isn't without its OWN set of controversies either: Irv Anderson, who ruled the House for three years, was deposed as Speaker when a deeply divided DFL state House majority voted in early November to replace him with speaker-designate Phil Carruthers. It was a narrow vote of 37-to-33 that exposed wounds inflicted on Anderson by DFL-ers and Republicans alike who've criticized his leadership style by calling it "good ol