December 26, 1984 - Cicero Wilson, director of the neighborhood revitalization program at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, provided the keynote speech at the 1984 Itasca Seminar. The theme of the seminar was "Competition and Cooperation - Power and Sharing: Finding the Balances". Wilson spoke about the forces of competition and cooperation in revitalizing distressed neighborhoods. After his presentation, Wilson took several questions and comments from conference participants. Cicero Wilson was educated at Harvard and Columbia and was president of the "Students' Afro-American Society" at Columbia during the student protests of 1968. The Itasca Seminar is organized and sponsored by the Minneapolis Foundation. This year's seminar was also co-sponsored by 17 different corporations, foundations and other organizations in the Twin Cities.
December 27, 1984 - Virginia Corsi, consultant, speaking at the Itasca Seminar "Competition and Cooperation - Power and Sharing: Finding the Balances,” organized and sponsored by the Minneapolis Foundation. Corsi’s address was on the topic "Risk-Taking as a Means to Personal and Professional Growth." Virginia Corsi heads a 20-member institutional investors council in New York City. Before that she worked in the Agency for International Development in the U.S. State Department, and earlier was associated with the Aspen Institute of Colorado and New York City. Corsi is a graduate of the Maxwell School of Syracuse University.
December 31, 1984 - Nancy Amidei, director of the Food Resources Action Coalition, speaking to a Twin Cities forum sponsored by the Mayor's Task Force on Food Policy in Saint Paul. Amidei’s address was titled "The Politics of Food." Focus of speech was on the poor and hunger. Afterwards, there were follow-up responses by Cy Carpenter and Ruth Ann Wefald.
January 7, 1985 - Minnesota Journal host Gary Eichten presents a collection of reports and news items for Monday, January 7, 1985.
March 1, 1985 - Ron Dellums, chair of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Installations and Facilities, speaking at Minnesota Meeting. Dellums address was titled "1985: The Struggle for Peace and Justice Continues." Dellums speaks on immense expense of national defense budget while minority and the poor struggle in country. 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.
March 14, 1985 - Geraldine Ferraro speaking at the Carlson Lecture series at the University of Minnesota. Ferraro’s address was titled, "Reflections on the Past and Prospects for the Future." Ferraro spoke of the state of women's changing rights and roles in society. Program begins with brief report from MPR’s Dan Olson.
April 25, 1985 - MPR’s Tom Meersman reports on Hmong leaders seeking assistance from state on addressing the continued needs for various programs, including English as a second language (ESL). Local advocates see the language barrier as a source for health and employment challenges in the Hmong community.
April 29, 1985 - John Walsh, a special consultant to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, speaking to a group of pediatricians from around the country meeting in Rochester. Walsh addresses the problem of missing and exploited children in this country. Walsh is perhaps best-known as the father of the little boy named Adam, who back in 1981 was abducted and murdered. Since then, Mr. Walsh has been lobbying legislators around the country for better child protection laws. He was instrumental in the passage of the Missing Children Act back in 1982. Last year, President Reagan appointed John Walsh to serve as a special consultant to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. In that capacity, Walsh has been traveling around the country stressing the need for better laws to protect children as well as reforms in the criminal justice system to facilitate the reporting and location of missing children.
May 28, 1985 - Morris Abram, the past chairman of the first Presidential Commission on the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and current vice chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, speaking at Minnesota Meeting. Abram’s address was titled "A Matter of Life and Death: Biomedical Ethics.” Abram discusses how the 11-member commission looked into many ethical problems that have arisen with the advance of medicine's ability to keep people alive. Abram says he learned a lot about biomedical ethics personally in 1973, when he successfully conquered leukemia. He has written a book about the experience entitled, "The Day is Short". The moderator was Harlan Cleveland of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. 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.
June 7, 1985 - Author Betty Bao Lord speaking at Minnesota Meeting. Lord shares her personal reflections on China. After address, Lord answers audience questions. Lord serves on several national councils where the focus is Asia generally and China specifically. She is the author of "Spring Moon: A novel of China" and the children's book "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson." 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.