September 28, 1999 - Ron Offutt, aka Sultan of Spuds & the Lord of the Fries, grows more potatoes than anyone else in the world. The potatoes are perfect for French fries for fast food chains like McDonald's and frozen French fry processors like JR Simplot and Ore Ida. But Offutt’s success has a downside. Many people who live near Offutt's potato farms worry about the pesticides sprayed on his fields.....but they soon find they're up against a system much bigger than they are.
September 30, 1999 - Fall colors should be at their peak this weekend along the Saint Croix River near the Twin Cities. If you're planning a drive, and you want to see more than just leaves, you might want to listen a new tape that offers a guided tour to the historic spots and scenic views between Taylors Falls, Minnesota and Prescott, Wisconsin. Jim Shattattauer is the author of Secrets of the Saint Croix: Exploring the Hidden Treasures of the Saint Croix River Valley. He says the idea for the tape came to him while he was on vacation.
October 1, 1999 - MPR’s Art Hughes reports on how All God's Children Metropolitan Community Church is looking to broaden acceptance in a conservative community. Leaders of the Minneapolis church, which serves primarily gay and lesbian Christians, is praising the apparant successes of a branch church in Rochester. The extension of church has been meeting and growing in Rochester for more than a year.
October 4, 1999 - In Jonathon Lethem's new novel "Motherless Brooklyn" detective Lionel Essrog has to overcome several obstacles to solve the murder of his boss, not least the fact he has Tourettes Syndrome.
October 5, 1999 - MPR’s Mark Steil reports on the complicated nature of grain storage during the fall harvest, especially with the boom in genetically modified crops.
October 7, 1999 - It's a delicious thought: somewhere, tucked away in a closet, or a store room near you, is something hugely valuable. A vase, an old coin, or even a picture, which could propel you to the front pages, or bankroll you through retirement, if only you can find it. The central character in the new comic novel "Headlong' makes such a discovery: a long lost masterpiece by the Flemish artist Breughel. He realizes the painting will make him a national hero if he can get it into a big museum, and probably quite rich too. The only problem: he finds it in his neighbours house. The resulting moral and artistic dilemmas spin increasingly out of control.
October 7, 1999 - The joys, the struggles and the comfort of an enduring relationship are explored in Minnesota author Warren Hanson's new book "Older Love." The book is sort of a picture book for adults. Hanson's previous book "The Next Place" struck a chord with people aross the country. The book is a poem about dying and heaven--and it's been read at funerals and in grief-support groups around the country.
October 8, 1999 - On this hour of Midday, a discussion about Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad signing a letter of intent to sell the team, pending approval of a new ballpark in downtown St. Paul. If the deal goes through, sports moguls Glen Taylor and Robert Naegele will head up the new ownership group.
October 11, 1999 - MPR’s Bob Kelleher reports that an Ohio man is recovering in an Upper Michigan hospital, after falling overboard from a lake freighter and having to swim five miles in the frigid waters of Lake Superior.
October 11, 1999 - The Vixens and the Vikings may be off to a bleak start, but for local cheeseheads it looks like a promising season. The Green Bay Packers are now 3-and-1 after yesterday's victory over Tampa Bay. But is another SuperBowl victory possible? Pulitzer Prize winning author David Maraniss says as much as today's fans are hoping to rival the 2 SuperBowl vicories of legendary Coach Vince Lombardi in the 60s, he is a tough act to follow. In the new biography "When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi" Maraniss says the coach was so great there is a whole culture of myth about him.