September 15, 1997 - For almost twenty years, Leonard Maltin has been as important to the couch potato as a big bag of Fritos. As film critic for Entertainment Tonite and editor of the "Movie and Video Guide," Maltin may be one of the most influential critics around. He's out with the 1998 version of the "Movie and Video Guide," which concisely reviews more than 19,000 movies, and he was in town last week.
September 15, 1997 - While the Metrodome is being cast as the albatross around the Minnesota Twins' neck, just 16 seasons after it was built, sports commentator Kevin Hennessy mourns the passing of the Dome and its unique attributes.
September 15, 1997 - "Useful" isn't a word most artists commonly hear when someone describes their work, but it's the ideal word to Wadena-based artist and designer Arthur Apissomian. He is the creator of a new material called PermaProse, a combination of glossy magazine paper and various adhesives tough enough to make furniture. With this new material, he turns what could be your average table or canister into an everyday work of art. Minnesota Public Radio's Gretchen Lehmann reports.
September 16, 1997 - Mainstreet Radio’s Mark Steil reports on workers at Oak Hills Living Center, a New Ulm nursing home in southwest Minnesota, who unionized several years ago and currently are locked in a bitter strike with management. They want higher pay, but government Medicaid policies and other regulations make that a difficult goal to reach.
September 16, 1997 - The Twin Cities, with its plentiful parks, shimmering lakes, vibrant cultural life ,and booming economy is a pretty good draw these days for "out-of-staters" ... as long as you can withstand the deep freeze of winter. But for some people who move here, there's another deep freeze operating that can hurt a newcomer's ability to make friends. That's one of the reasons the group "Twin Cities Transplants" was formed, to help take the edge off what can be an icy reception for non-Minnesota natives. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts -- a transplant himself -- went to a semi-regular meeting of "Twin Cities Transplants" to find out more. The next meeting of Twin Cities Transplants will be October 16th around 6 P-M, at City Billiards in Minneapolis. If you're interested in findi
September 17, 1997 - Most of us would be stumped if asked to quickly outline the borders of the 9th Federal Reserve District.... but not Aldo Moroni. He has just finished a huge clay model of the entire 9th district to hang in the lobby of the new Federal Reserve Building in Minneapolis. He told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr he wanted to create more than a map of the area... but something of the spirit of the upper Midwest. (Sound up and under... continue under entire piece) Think about it too much and the convolutions of scale of Aldo Moroni's sculpture "This River, This Place" can become mind-twisting. First of all there's the big stuff... it weighs 5,000 pounds
September 17, 1997 - The Twin Cities rock radio dial is shuffling again. In a week or so, X-105 will switch to something between the current hard rock format and the old alternative rock format of the former Rev-105. Meanwhile, 93-7 The Edge will get harder-edged, perhaps in a bid to compete with Rock-100, which starts with Howard Stern in the morning and plays hard rock the rest of the day. The Edge and 105 are owned by Cap Cities ABC, which also owns the giant KQRS. Chancellor Broadcasting recently bought Rock-100, which used to be BOB, the country station. Chancellor owns six other stations in the market. Robert Unmacht, editor of the M-Street Journal, a weekly broadcast trade newsletter, says while the reshuffling is possible because of the radio aglomeration in the Twin Cities, what's happening is the legacy of old FCC actions conflicting with the market's growth.
September 17, 1997 - Daniel Pinkwater has several fan clubs. Childless adults know him for his public radio commentaries. Parents know him as one of the nation's premiere kids' book writers. Kids know him becuase they eat up his books. But there's another audience, one Pinkwater is aiming at with a new compilation of his young adult novels: adults who read his young adult books when they were young adults but who still dip into them now and again. Pinkwater says he writes for the kid he was.
September 17, 1997 - President Clinton today called for sweeping changes in the proposed national tobacco settlement, including industry penalties of up to a $1.50 per pack if teen-age smoking fails to fall sharply over 10 years. In making his first detailed comment on the $368-billion tobacco settlement reached in June, Clinton effectively refused to endorse the agreement, outlining so many changes that it was certain to serve as little more than a starting point for any legislation that Congress may ultimately fashion. Minnesota's lawsuit against the industry is set to go to court in January. State Attorney General Skip Humphrey, who has been highly critical of the tobacco companies and the settlement, says the original settlement is dead. It's not, he says, just a bargaining tactic by the President.
September 17, 1997 - MPR’s Martin Kaste reports on a persistent rumor suggesting North Carolina-based NationsBank might be interested in buying the Minnesota Twins and moving team to Charlotte. Kaste looks at how it could impact legislative action at the Minnesota Capitol regarding a stadium bill.