May 6, 1999 - John Lyght, former Cook County Sheriff, talks about being born and raised in Cook County, along Minnesota's far Northeastern corner. With his parents, and eventually 14 brothers and sisters, the Lyghts were the first African American family that settled among the Swedes and Norwegians on Lake Superior's North Shore.
May 7, 1999 - A special Midday broadcast from the IDS Crystal Court in downtown Minneapolis. MPR’s Gary Eichten interviews Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton. Topics include downtown development planning, proposed light rail, and crime prevention. Sayles Belton also answers audience and listener questions.
May 7, 1999 - A focus on Downtown with Sam Grabarski, of the Downtown Council; Greg Ortale, of the Convention & Visitors Association; and Council President Jackie Cherryhomes. Featuring interviews about downtown with Barbara Flanagan, Neil Justin and "CJ" of the Star Tribune.
May 11, 1999 - Governor Jesse Ventura talks about the closing days of the legislative session, and answer questions from MPR listeners.
May 19, 1999 - On this Midday, a look ahead to light rail transit in the Twin Cities. With the legislature having approved funding, what will we see, and when? Guests Peter McLaughlin, the chair of the Metropolitan LRT Joint Powers Board; and John Byrd, assistant general manager for Rail Operations at Metro Transit provide details on plans.
May 20, 1999 - Saint John's Abbey and University sits alone off 1-94, just west of Saint Cloud --- isolated from nearby towns. After a big campus fire in the late 1930's, it became clear that Saint Johns needed a fire department of its own to respond to campus emergencies fast. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Saint John's Firemonks.
May 20, 1999 - Inaction by the state legislature on the controversial Profile of Learning means it returns intact next fall for a second school year. Teachers throughout the state have struggled with the new graduation standards.
May 20, 1999 - A farm in southwest Minnesota probably is not the first place you'd expect a professional mezzo soprano to call home, but that is exactly what MPR’s Mark Steil found when talking with Gary Overgaard, a farmer, and his wife Emily Lodine, an opera singer.
May 21, 1999 - A Midday broadcast of Walking Out of History: The True Story of Shackleton's Endurance Expedition, an American RadioWorks documentary about Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance Antarctica expedition. MPR’s John Rabe presents various interviews, readings, sounds, and commentary.
May 24, 1999 - University of Minnesota officials are still trying to determine if allegations of a cover-up by athletic officials are true. An investigation is underway, but results are not expected for several weeks. Micheal Messner is a Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at the University of Southern California. He says if the charges are true, the U-of-M will be among a growing number of schools facing this problem.