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.
February 26, 1999 - Jim Knipfel has walked on the dark side of life. As a young man, he was a heavy drinker, and a petty thief prone to start fights. He spent time in psychiatric wards after multiple suicide attempts. Finally, in his late twenties he started settling down, landing a job as a newspaper columnist, getting married and moving away from his wilder drinking buddies. But then Knipfel entered a literal dark side. His eyesight had always been poor, but doctors told him that he was going to be blind by age 35. Now almost completely blind, he recounts his wild years and his loss of vision in his new blackly comedic memoir Slackjaw.
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 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.
March 4, 1999 - MPR’s Gary Eichten interviews Rod Grams, IR-Minnesota U.S. senator, from Washington D.C. Grams discusses issues facing congress now that Clinton impeachment trial is over. Topics include tax cuts, banking, healthcare, and education. Grams also answers listener questions.
March 5, 1999 - Novelist Jon Hassler is best known for his fictional tales of ordinary people who experience extraordinary things. Hassler brings those same elements and even a few familiar characters to his latest literary pursuit, a darkly comedic play set in the small Midwestern town of Staggerford, the same town he wrote about in his very first novel.
March 5, 1999 - Chicano-Latino community leaders in Minnesota are hoping Governor Jesse Ventura's administration will usher in a new era for Hispanics, and possibly open doors for future cabinet positions. They invited the governor to a reception at Boca Chica, a west side St. Paul restaurant that's been a hub of local Latino culture and politics for over 30 years.
March 8, 1999 - Mike Hatch, Attorney General, discusses his legislative agenda. Topics include HMO reform, crime-fighting, airline competition, banking reforms and more. Hatch also answers listener questions.
March 8, 1999 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman presents a series titled “This Is Home: The Hmong in Minnesota.” In this part, Nyman profiles the history of the Hmong people, their journey to the United States, and the life of one Hmong American family in Saint Paul.