November 15, 1996 - MPR’s Dan Olson profiles Fredrik Melius Christiansen, a Norwegian-born violinist and choral conductor in the Lutheran choral tradition. Christiansen founded the choir at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Olson interviews St. Olaf choral conductor Anton Armstrong about Christiansen.
January 8, 1997 - MPR’s Chris Roberts talks with Chris Dorn, founder and frontman of Minneapolis band The Beatifics. Dorn discusses songwriting, the band’s album “How I Learned to Stop Worrying,” and the “power pop” genre.
April 14, 1997 -
May 22, 1997 - Mainstreet Radio’s Catherine Winter presents a profile of the band, Conga Se Menne. The group from Upper Peninsula of Michigan utilizes some bongos, steel drums, and a tropical beat. They call their music Finnish reggae. The reggae beat is surprisingly similar to the Finnish schottish and soca is not far from a polka.
May 29, 1997 - Mainstreet Radio’s Rachel Reabe profiles Minnesota's Linda Eder, who is wowing Broadway audiences as the female lead in the musical version of Jekyll and Hyde. 36-year-old Eder, who grew up outside Brainerd, has an exceptional, powerful voice, according to the theater critics and fans singing her praises.
June 3, 1997 - MPR’s Chris Roberts profiles Minneapolis band The Hang Ups. Roberts interviews vocalist and guitarist Brian Tighe about the band and CD "So We Go."
November 10, 1997 - MPR’s Mary Stucky profiles The Minnesota Klezmer Band. Stucky interviews band members Joseph Vass and Jerry Gotler, who describe what’s behind the music of klezmer.
January 22, 1998 - Saint Paul Former Republican Governor C. Elmer Anderson is dead. The 85 year old died today in a Brainerd Hospital.
January 27, 1998 - MPR’s Karen Louise Boothe profiles Jesse “The Body” Ventura, who is jumping back into the political ring with his decision to run for governor on a Reform Party ticket. It's hard to pin a label on Ventura. He's not your typical politician.
February 2, 1998 - MPR’s Mary Stucky matches up the content of the State-of-the-State addresses through Governor Arne Carlson’s tenure. His speeches over the years reflect the changing fortunes of the state and ups and downs in Carlson’s relationship with state lawmakers.