June 3, 2014 - For more than 20 years Bemidji writer Kent Nerburn has walked a fine line. He's tried to respectfully explore Native American culture as a white author.His books "Neither Wolf nor Dog" and "Wolf at Twilight," tell of his complex relationship with a Lakota elder named Dan. He's now completed the trilogy with "The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo" which delves into Native spirituality. Nerburn says it was also the most difficult of the trilogy to write. "In my own way, with such talents or such spiritual capabilities as I had, I prayed for guidance on this."As in the others in the series the new book tells of a road trip Nerburn takes with his friend Dan. Dan is a real person, a Lakota elder approaching the end of his life. Like all the characters in Nerburn's trilogy, though, Dan is not his real name. Nerburn has renamed everyone except himself.Dan is surrounded by a group of very protective friends and relatives. They regularly warn off Nerburn if they think he is getting too close, telling him he has no place in the native community. "The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo" Courtesy New World LibraryHowever, for reasons Nerburn doesn't understand, Dan keeps pulling him back. The man needs to resolve some questions before he dies -- most importantly, what happened to his sister. She was taken to a boarding school and never returned. Dan wants Nerburn's help to find out what happened.In the first half of the 20th century the U.S. government placed thousands of native children in such schools. They were often far from their homes and families, and the experience scarred entire generations. In the new book, Nerburn writes about a place that may have been worse.
September 18, 2014 - The Daily Circuit presents a transgender panel discussion moderated by MPR’s Marrianne Combs. The group discuss that for many whose gender doesn’t conform to the traditional image of male or female, the barriers to success…and sometimes even to basic survival, are everywhere.
September 26, 2014 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer gets sports commentator Howard Sinker’s take on yet another disappointing Minnesota Twins season, losing 90 or more games for the fourth season in a row. Sinker says there is blame to go around and sees personal changes on the horizon.
January 9, 2015 - On this The Daily Circuit program, MPR’s Tom Weber talks with Lee Pao Xiong and Chia Youyee Vang about the history of the Hmong migration to the U.S…a history that some are unaware of 40 years after the first arrivals.
March 5, 2015 - MPR News with Tom Weber presents a commentary and interview with Pai Yang, a Hmong woman who used to live in St. Paul. Yang shares her thoughts of Hmong family and perceptions of Hmong in society.
August 28, 2015 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer and TPT's Eric Eskola co-host "Almanac" live at the MPR State Fair booth. Tom Scheck talks politics, Mark Seeley talks weather, Kevin Kling tells a Minnesota State Fair story, and Duluth musician Charlie Parr performs. There's presidential politics with professors Larry Jacobs, David Schultz and Kathryn Pearson; plus music and a baby lamb.
September 24, 2015 - Penumbra Theatre co-artistic director Sarah Bellamy moderated a discussion "On The Front Lines," featuring Nekima Levy-Pounds, University of St. Thomas professor and the president of the Minneapolis Chapter of the NAACP; John Harrington, Metro Transit Police chief and former State Senator; Signe Harriday, local artist and activist; and Dave Ellis, a consultant. The panelists talk about the racial tensions between police and community.
July 7, 2016 - After a thunderstorm rolled through the Twin Cities that created severe flash floods, MPR’s Tom Crann asks meteorologist Paul Huttner about the moisture conditions and urban landscape environment that made for the ingredients for flash flooding.
December 23, 2016 - When Minnesota poet, author, and musician Bill Holm sat down to write a Christmas letter, he sorted through a lifetime of memories and put some of these memories in his 2009 book titled Faces of Christmas Past, published by the Afton Historical Society Press. That same year, Minnesota Public Radio produced this "Voices of Minnesota" special, with Bill Holm reading from his own book.
April 11, 2018 - As part of Water Month at MPR, Chu Xiong of St. Paul shares his love for fishing and how it connects to Hmong culture. Xiong also expresses the importance of respecting nature as resource.