September 6, 1986 - Joseph Rossillon, president of the Freshwater Foundation, discusses the adequacy and quality of drinking water. Rossillon also answers listener questions.
September 8, 1986 - On this MPR Journal program, a collection of reports, interviews, and a news rundown hosted by Gary Eichten.
September 9, 1986 - MPR’s Dan Olson interviews Harrison Salisbury, former New York Times bureau chief in Moscow, who discusses Soviet motives for the detention of a U.S. reporter in Moscow; the impact of the Chernobyl incident on Soviet official; and based on his visit this year to the Soviet Union, an assessment of the current state of affairs there.
September 27, 1986 - Local writer and historian Chuck Chalberg provides historical background and a portrayal of Ignatius Donnelly, who was an American congressman, populist writer, and pseudoscientist. Donnelly is tied to the first third party movement in Minnesota.
October 1, 1986 - Jeff Greenfield, the political analyst, media critic and ABC television Nightline correspondent, speaking to the World Press Institute at Macalester College. Greenfield’s address was on the topic “The Information Age.” He talks about the press and changes in the news because of new forms of technology. After speech, Greenfield answered audience questions. The World Press Institute at Macalester College in St. Paul is observed its 25th anniversary. About a dozen foreign journalists come to the institute each year for six months of study and travel in the United States. The goal is to give them a broader understanding of the American culture and government. About 300 journalists have been a part of the program over the years.
October 16, 1986 - William Raspberry, a former Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated American public affairs columnist, speaking at Minnesota Meeting. Raspberry talks about issues facing the black family, including single parent homes and joblessness. After speech, Raspberry answered audience questions. Raspberry was also the Knight Professor of the Practice of Communications and Journalism at the Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke University. An African American, he frequently wrote on racial issues. Minnesota Meeting is a non-profit corporation which hosts a wide range of public speakers. It is managed by the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. This was the first live broadcast of Minnesota Meeting presented by MPR.
October 22, 1986 - Charles Atkins, commissioner of welfare for the state of Massachusetts, speaking at Itasca Seminar held in northern Minnesota. The seminar’s topic was "Self Sufficiency: Is It Possible?", and Atkin’s addressed his state's efforts to place welfare recipients into jobs. After speech, Atkins answered audience questions. Mr. Atkins has developed a program in Massachusetts to move women off the welfare rolls and into jobs. 25,000 women have become employed through the Education and Training Choices program since 1983. Prior to becoming welfare commissioner, Mr. Atkins served as deputy commissioner of the addiction services agency in New York City during the early '70s. In that position, he created a program to find employment for ex-drug addicts. In 1973 and '74, he was manager of employment operations for Citibank in New York, where he found other employment within the organization for low-level employees whose jobs had been eliminated by automation. When he was in Boston's Employment and Economic Policy administration, he succeeded in obtaining a 23-million-dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to reduce youth unemployment in Boston.
October 28, 1986 - Tony Bouza, Minneapolis police chief, discusses various police matters. Topics include challenges in terminating officers, his views on civil service, privatization, rise in crime, and age/fitness of officers. Bouza also answers listener questions.
November 5, 1986 - Mitch Snyder, homeless advocate, speaking at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth and sponsored by the College's Center for the Study of Peace and Justice. Snyder’s address was titled, “The Hungry and Homeless in America." Snyder is a member of the Washington D.C. based community for creative non-violence, which provides food, shelter and other help for about two thousand Washingtonians each day. Snyder has received attention for several acts of civil disobedience on behalf of homeless people and he is perhaps best known for his highly publicized fifty-one day fast in 1984. That fast reportedly helped convince President Reagan to release almost one million dollars in funds to begin converting an unused, federally owned building into a one thousand bed shelter for the homeless.
November 5, 1986 - Election recap program, highlighting the results of the Minnesota legislative races. The big news of election was the DFL taking control of the State House of Representatives.