February 5, 1999 - MPR’s Leif Enger interviews American singer, songwriter, and musician Bobby Vee, who shares memories of his 40-year music career…and that of a music tragedy tied to his own history.
February 5, 1999 - MPR’s John Rabe interviews Garrison Keillor on his new satirical book, Me, that seems to parody Jesse Ventura.
February 5, 1999 - Snowmobiling is big business in Minnesota. About 70 percent of the 200-thousand snowmobiles sold last year were made in Minnesota. The sleds are sleek and fast with hi-tech suspension and built in handwarmers. It's a long ways from the humble roots of the snowmobile industry. Thirty years ago snowmobiles were little more than a motorized metal sled. Those early machines are now in great demand. Collecting and restoring antique snowmobiles is becoming an industry all its own.
February 5, 1999 - One of the Twin Cities smallest venues for theater has gotten significantly larger. The Jungle Theater is moving from its somewhat cramped quarters on Lake Street a half block away to a new, renovated building it purchased last year. While The new Jungle will be able to accomodate more people and mount grander more lavish productions, its founder says the ambience and intimacy of the old Jungle will remain.
February 8, 1999 - The owners of Canterbury Park Race Track in Shakopee are trying to revive a plan for casino gambling. A year and a half ago lawmakers rejected a casino proposal that was linked to a new Twins stadium. This time backers are NOT talking about a stadium. Instead they say most of the revenue could be used for anything from reducing taxes to increasing spending on education. The governor says he's open to the idea.
February 9, 1999 - Today at Central High School in St. Paul, the teachers who were willing to talk on tape said they generally liked the profile of learning. Marty Hawthorn is a Math Teacher at Central who does not want to go back to what he sees as an outdated, rigid emphasis on basic skills. Hawthorn has used many of the Profile's so-called "performance packages" in his classroom. In one project his students used their math skills to put together a budget for an archaelogical dig. They also measured shards of pottery and used mathmatical formulas to figure out the size of the original objects. Hawthorn says the Profile of Learning has improved math teaching.
February 10, 1999 - High school students from Minneapolis and St. Paul are getting a crash course in African-American musical history this week at the Ordway Music Theater. About 100 teenagers who are probably more familiar with rap and hip hop spent a day learning about spirituals, civil rights songs, rhythm and blues, and singing songs that have played a central role in African-American experience.
February 10, 1999 - It's been two months since a Minneapolis Police van accelerated out of control into a crowd of Holidazzle parade watchers killing two people and injuring several others. Investigators found nothing wrong with the van. Minnesota Public Radio has learned tests conclusively showed the driver had NO alcohol in his blood at the time of the accident. Other tests apparantly found traces of medicine, but not enough to impair the police officer.
February 10, 1999 - On a bi-partisan vote, the House Education Policy Committee has approved legislation to repeal the controversial Profile of Learning. The bill scraps a ten-year-old, multi-million dollar plan for ensuring Minnesota high school graduates can apply the knowledge they've gained in the classroom. It also creates a new back-to-basics approach that lets local districts decide how to teach students.
February 11, 1999 - Norman Ornstein, congressional analyst, discusses the work of congress, the politics of congress, and impeachment process. Ornstein also answers listener questions.