July 24, 2003 - China and the U.S. are likely to hold talks with North Korea on its nuclear program in early September, but Pyongyang must agree to immediately include Japan and South Korea for the negotiations to proceed, Kyodo news agency reported on Thursday. We discuss the North Korean nuclear threat and the broader consequences for Asia and the world with Roy Grow, Carleton College International Relations professor.
July 28, 2003 - We discuss the history, attraction, and future of the Great Lakes. We'll cover the natural history of the lakes and the people who live there, as well as the forests along the water. Jerry Dennis, naturalist and author of "The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas".
July 29, 2003 - All Things Considered’s Greta Cunningham talks with Lee Pao Xiong, a local leader in the Hmong community, about housing issues in Twin Cities. Xiong states housing is the foundation for everything.
August 1, 2003 - As peacekeeping troops wait to enter Liberia, there's another, less visible group, waiting in the wings in the United States. As MPR’s Rob Schmitz reports, many young Liberians are in school receiving training, and developing skills that they hope they can use to rebuild their homeland.
August 4, 2003 - The Minnesota Fringe opened over the weekend: dozens of shows dotted around Minneapolis. They range from the sublime to the ridiculous and they're proud of it. One of the more anticipated shows opens tonight. Playwright and storyteller Kevin Kling's latest foray is called simply "Baseball, Dogs, and Motorcycles." Kling was developing the piece two years ago when he was badly injured in a motorcycle accident. He told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr it basically about the three subjects he can talk about forever. He'll tell stories about the joys and frustrations of being a Twins fan, his enduring love of bikes, his new basset hound and the importance of Wiener dogs in his life. Kevin Kling opens his new show "Baseball Dogs and Motorcycles" at the Hey City Stage in Minneapolis this evening. It's part of the Minnesota Fringe Festival.
August 5, 2003 - MPR’s Gary Eichten interviews Don Samuels, Minneapolis City Council member, about crime control and “National Night Out.” Samuels has worked to fight crime and violence in the city and says he's pleased Governor Tim Pawlenty will deploy 12 members of the State Patrol's Special Response Team to Minneapolis to help combat a spike in violence. The announcement follows several shootings in the city, including the critical wounding of a 19-month-old girl in North Minneapolis.
August 6, 2003 - MPR’s Greta Cunningham interviews author Verena Andermatt Conley about her book "The War Against the Beavers." It tells the tale of leaving the city for a rustic cabin in Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
August 7, 2003 - Tuesday night marked the first shift for 12 state troopers who've come to Minneapolis to help the city's police force handle a spike in violent crime. Minneapolis Police Chief Robert Olson joins to discuss.
August 7, 2003 - Today is Healthy Hemp Bread Day in Minneapolis. Mayor R.T. Rybak is making that declaration this afternoon at French Meadow Bakery... the only bakery in the country that makes bread out of hemp seeds. MPR’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Lynn Gordon, founder of the bakery.
August 12, 2003 - MPR’s Greta Cunningham interviews Wendell Anderson, former governor of Minnesota; and Chuck Ruhr, a Minneapolis advertising executive, as they look back at the 1973 Time magazine issue that highlighted the state of Minnesota. Anderson and Ruhr discuss the Minnesota reflected in those pages and how things have changed.