July 17, 2003 - MPR's Eugene Cha interviews 77-year-old Minnie Miñoso at Midway Stadium to look back on his career. He says many factors went into his longevity. The night prior, Miñoso batted leadoff for the St. Paul Saints and drew a walk in the first inning, then being replaced by a pinch runner. The appearance made Miñoso the first baseball player to play in a pro game in seven different decades.
July 22, 2003 - Mainstreet Radio's Erin Galbally visits Andrea Een, a hardanger fiddler extraordinaire and a well-known music professor at St. Olaf College. To the untrained eye the Hardanger fiddle, Norway's national instrument, looks much like the violin. But the nine-string fiddle produces its own distinctive sound. That sound and the instrument will be celebrated at St. Olaf College in Northfield, where more than 300 hundred enthusiasts of the violin sibling are expected to attend.
July 23, 2003 - MPR’s Nikki Tundel interviews Michele Garnett McKenzie, director of the Refugee and Immigrant Program at Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, about newly released figures show Minnesota's largest minority groups are making significant economic strides. McKenzie says over the last few decades the state has become a magnet for the county's newest residents.
July 23, 2003 - MPR’s Art Hughes reports that new information released by the U.S. Census gives a more detailed look at the state's Hmong population. When the Census was taken in 2000, Hmong Minnesotan's held jobs, but a third of them lived below the federal poverty line. The majority of Hmong are foreign-born, but over 30 percent are born in the state.
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.