June 9, 1997 - A Voices of Minnesota interview with Mary Beth Blegen for Mon, June 9, 1997. Mary Beth Blegen spent her school year traveling as the National Education Association's teacher of the year. In July, the Worthington educator takes a new job as a consultant in Washington D. C. at the Department of Education. Today on our Voices of Minnesota interview we'll hear Blegen talk about her life. She's been a writing, history and literature teacher for 30 years at Worthington High School. The 52-year-old South Dakota native is also well known to Worthington-area readers through her weekly newspaper column. Blegen told Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Steil her column often became a public expression of personal struggles.
June 9, 1997 - MPR’s Euan Kerr talks with guitarist Steve Tibbetts about his recent work. Tibbetts, whose work is primarily instrumental, is trying something new…but also very old, with his latest album "Cho." He adds music to a 900-year-old acapella song cycle performed by Buddhist nuns in Nepal.
June 9, 1997 - Two Voices of Minnesota interviews: Mary Beth Blegen, National Teacher of the Year from Worthington, Minnesota. And a conversation with Minnesota School Psychologist of the Year, Sally Gotelaere. She works for the Hermantown School District.
June 10, 1997 - It was fun and games at the Minnesota Children's Museum today as "Sesame Street" characters Rosita and Maria entertained a group of children from Hennepin County Head Start. But interspersed between the songs and dances was a very serious message about lead poisoning. More than 4,000 Minnesota children have elevated levels of lead in their blood. At least 439 of those kids have levels so high they're at risk of brain damage and even death. The "Sesame Street" tour is the first "all-out" lead awareness campaign in the state. But as Minnesota Public Radio's Lorna Benson reports, for years a Minneapolis neighborhood has waged it's own quiet war against lead.
June 10, 1997 - The Willmar School District has settled a class action lawsuit brought by Hispanic and Latino families last year. The families claimed the district discriminated against their children, putting them in inappropriate classes and disciplining them more harshly than other students. The central Minnesota district won't have to pay any monetary damages but it will have to make a number of policy changes. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Wareham reports.
June 11, 1997 - It's become a matter of conventional wisdom that a high school diploma won't cut it anymore -- especially in the high-tech job market of the 21st century. But college isn't cheap: The cost of attending a public institution has doubled in the last fifteen years, and tuitions at PRIVATE colleges have tripled. As Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports, there may be an alternative on the way for undergrads who don't have the money -- or the time -- for life on campus.
June 11, 1997 - A new Minnesota Public Radio, Pioneer Press and KARE-11 poll shows more Minnesotans favor Governor Carlson's proposal for education tax credits and deductions that parents could use for private school education, than oppose it. MPR's Karen-Louise Boothe reports.
June 12, 1997 - The job market looks generally rosy for the 1.2 million members of college class of '97. On the face of it few industries seem more promising than higher education. Senior professors are retiring earlier than ever and in ever-greater numbers. But as Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports, rarely have young academics been gloomier about their prospects.
June 12, 1997 - Governor Carlson has gained the support of some black and Latino leaders for his education tax credit and deduction program. In a joint news conference, representatives from the Council on Black Minnesotans, and the Chicano Latino Affairs Council along with other community leaders..spoke in favor of the governor's plan. But as MPR's Karen-Louise Boothe reports support isn't unanimous among all minorities.
June 16, 1997 - About 8500 students returned to their classrooms today in the Minneapolis school district. Minneapolis public schools expect up to 10,000 students in this year's summer school, ten times larger than past years. The unprecedented effort is aimed at those students not passing basic skills tests. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.