February 13, 1987 - Jan Smaby, president of Spring Hill Center, discusses public policy. Topics include AIDS, diversity, and politics. Smaby also answers listener questions. Ms. Smaby is co-host of the popular public affairs program, "Almanac" on public television. Smaby came to the job at Spring Hill last fall, after serving as director of Hennepin County's Human Service Department and as chairman of Minnesota's Sentencing Guidelines Commission. Spring Hill is a conference center just west of the Twin Cities where policy makers from many parts of the community can go to hash out ideas. It likes to place itself on the cutting edge of public policy, dealing with emerging issues, rather than ones that have been around for a while.
February 21, 1987 - On this Weekend program, Dr. Susan Erbaugh, director of Mental Health Services at Minneapolis Children's Medical Center, discusses infant through adolescent mental health. Topics include teenage suicide, two-home family dynamics, discipline, sibling relationships, and support systems.
April 7, 1987 - Dr. David Henry Feldman and Dr. Sylvia Feinburg, members of the department of child study at Tufts University, discuss childhood development and creativity. Topics include prodigies, autism, art, and gender differences. Feldman and Feinberg also answer listener questions.
May 10, 1987 - Midday presents the documentary “Williams Pipeline Under Fire: The South Dakota Story,” which looks into gasoline leaks and spills, as well as information about other unsafe and possibly illegal activities at Williams Pipeline Companies Sioux Falls, South Dakota terminal.
May 12, 1987 - Michael Osterholm, state epidemiologist for the State of Minnesota, answers questions about AIDS. Osterholm discusses the impact of disease in Minnesota and the view of AIDS as an epidemic.
June 6, 1987 - On this Weekend program, Ken Kline, child psychologist, discusses children in the summer. Topics include independent time, summer school programs, camps, chores, family vacations, and part-time parenting. Kline also answer listener questions.
July 17, 1987 - MPR’s Jerry Cassidy reports on the ongoing concerns and efforts to address pollution of Lake Superior waters. A growing culprit is coming from the toxic airborne sources.
August 4, 1987 - Tom Kalitowski, executive director of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, discusses air and water quality, hazardous waste, and other current pollution issues. Kalitowski also answers listener questions.
September 2, 1987 - Jim Schaefer, director of the Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health, discusses community approaches to preventing drug and alcohol abuse. Topics include drunk driving, alcohol sales to minors, and informal social control. Schaefer also answers listener questions.
October 5, 1987 - Dr. Scott Strickland, physician at Park Nicollet Clinic and Catherine Jordan, member of the Minnesota AIDS Awareness Project, discuss AIDS Awareness Month. Other topics include young people at risk, blood as transmitter, and misinformation. Strickland and Jordan also answer listener questions.