May 7, 1999 - For the most part, BEARS have a bad reputation among humans...and a recent bear attack in Wisconsin only adds to that general disdain. On Monday, a bear attacked a Cameron man in his backyard after he tried to rescue his poodle from the bear's jaws. The man suffered puncture wounds and claw marks. The dog has not been found. But for former Minnesotan Jack Becklund, bears are not unpredictable, dangerous creatures. Becklund recounts his unusually friendly experiences with black bears in his new book "Summers With the Bears: Six Seasons in the North Woods."
May 7, 1999 - Morning Edition speaks with authors John Camp and Ron Handberg. Camp, who publishes under the name John Sandford, has a new book coming out next week called Certain Prey. Handberg's new book Dead Silence is already in stores.
May 11, 1999 - Governor Jesse Ventura talks about the closing days of the legislative session, and answer questions from MPR listeners.
May 13, 1999 -
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 - 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.
May 26, 1999 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from Lake Benton. Rachel Reabe hosts a discussion about Minnesota's wind farm on Buffalo Ridge and the greater wind-power industry with guests Marlin Thompson, Lake Benton mayor; Jim Nichols, a former agriculture commissioner who now heads economic development efforts for the area; and Audrey Zibelman, director of Energy Marketing for Northern States Power.
May 26, 1999 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from Lake Benton. Rachel Reabe hosts a discussion about deregulation of the electric industry with guests Steve Minn, Minnesota Public Service commissioner; Jim Nichols, Arlene Lesewski, Republican state senator from Marshall; Michael Noble, executive director of Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient Economy; and Rick Lemonds, general manager of Lyon-Lincoln Electric Cooperative.