February 26, 1999 - Bill Morris, pollster of Decision Resources; Lee Ronning, executive director of 1000 Friends of Minnesota; and Karen Christofferson of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities, discuss a new survey about what kind of house and community people want to live in. Morris, Ronning, and Christofferson also answer listener questions.
March 1, 1999 - Breakfast on Pluto is the new novel by acclaimed Irish writer Patrick McCabe. The story takes place around Ireland and in London during the 1970's when IRA bombs were heard all-too-often. McCabe's dark, wild and comedic tale earned him his second Booker prize nomination...he was nominated for "The Butcher Boy" in the early 90s. McCabe has an atypical central character, Pussy Braden, a tranvestite prostitute who flounces through the Irish political chaos. McCabe told Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Curtis he didn't intend to write about Braden when he started, his main character was supposed to be a little girl, but then the book took a direction of its own.
March 1, 1999 - MPR’s Michael Khoo visits the Majestic Ballroom in Cottage Grove on the venue’s last night open. Khoo interviews ballroom dancer patrons as they kick up their heels one last time. For a quarter century, the Majestic has entertained the fancy footwork of those dancers with a taste for polkas, waltzes, and foxtrots.
March 1, 1999 - Voters in the Pipestone/Jasper school district must decide soon whether to build a new school or repair the old one. The state fire marshall has set a deadline for action, and calls the situation serious. This is a scenario many school districts are encountering as their buildings age and the cost to update and improve increases.
March 2, 1999 - Live coverage of Governor Jesse Ventura's State of the State address, with a preview by a panel of political analysts, and comments by House and Senate leaders, and MPR political editor Mike Mulcahy.
March 2, 1999 - A year-long search for a superintendent has ended in the Saint Paul school district, and school board members say it was worth the wait. The board voted unanimously Monday night to hire Patricia Harvey. The urban education consultant and former Chicago schools administrator will replace Curman Gaines, who stepped down last summer after seven years on the job.
March 3, 1999 -
March 3, 1999 - State education officials and University of Minnesota researchers say they can now show a clear connection between breakfast and learning. They say results of a three-year study will add weight to Governor Ventura's proposal to boost funding for school breakfast programs by six million dollars.
March 3, 1999 - Representatives of a conservative California-based think tank visited Minnesota this week to share their vision of new approach to protecting the environment. Representatives of the Reason Foundation say they came to Minnesota because its among the states moving fastest toward a non-traditional, freemarket style of environmental regulation.
March 4, 1999 - MPR’s Gary Eichten interviews Paul Wellstone, DFL-Minnesota U.S. senator, from Washington D.C. Wellstone discusses issues facing congress now that Clinton impeachment trial is over. Topics include social security, Medicare, taxes, health care, education and more.