January 7, 1981 - MPR coverage of Governor Al Quie's 1981 State of the State address. Following speech, MPR’s Pat Kessler and Bob Potter get commentary and reaction from the floor of the House.
January 8, 1981 - MPR's Nancy Fushan interviews poet Howard Nemerov, who reads from his works and explains some of his views of modern American poetry.
January 10, 1981 - On this episode of the KCUR program New Letters on the Air, an interview with Richard Lee Rhodes, an American historian, journalist, and author of both fiction and non-fiction.
January 12, 1981 - Roger Ledding, Minnesota state patrol chief, discusses the speed limit, safety on the road, the work of state troopers, and other issues. Ledding also answers listener questions.
January 17, 1981 - On this edition of the KCUR program Letters on the Air, James McConkey reads from his novel The Treehouse Confessions, published by Dutton.
January 19, 1981 - Twin Cities film critic Phil Anderson interviews film director Joseph Mankiewicz Anderson, who discusses his work and his attitudes towards films. Mankiewicz attended the Minneapolis Film Festival, which featured a retrospective of Mankiewicz films.
January 22, 1981 - Dr. Bevan French, National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s discipline scientist for planetary materials, discusses the space program. Topics include data from Voyager and Pioneer spacecraft, and the new space shuttle program. French also answers listener questions. Dr. French analyzed rocks brought back from the moon. He also helped train NASA Apollo astronauts in geology.
January 26, 1981 - Phil Anderson, film critic and writer, speaks with Frank Capra about his career, as Capra visits the Twin Cities to be honored with a retrospective at the Minneapolis Film Festival.
February 7, 1981 - On this Weekend program, Robert Dunn, of the Minnesota Waste Management Control Board, discusses waste and hazardous waste sites control in Minnesota. Topics include burial of waste and recycling options. Dunn also answer listener questions.
February 12, 1981 - Stanley Kiesel, poet in residence for Minneapolis Schools, talks with MPR’s Dan Olson about education, poetry, and his new book, The War Between the Pitiful Teachers and the Splendid Kids.