May 18, 2005 - Former Minneapolis Mayor Art Naftalin has died. Naftalin was a friend and aide to Humbert Humphrey. He also served as state Commissioner of Administration and hosted a public affairs TV show for twenty years. Friends and family remember Naftalin as a compassionate and highly educated leader who navigated the city through the turbulent 1960s. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.
June 10, 2005 - Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports on the death of 1st Lieutenant Michael Fasnacht, who was killed by a roadside bomb Wednesday near Tikrit, Iraq. The Minnesota soldier is being praised today for his love of family and country.
August 12, 2005 - MPR’s Dan Olson profiles Minneapolis big band saxophonist Charles Beasley. In interview with Olson, 80-year-old Beasley reflects on the change in race relations in this country and his experiences in big band.
August 23, 2005 - Robert Moog, who's self named synthesizers that turned electronic currents into sound, died at 71. Future Tense’s Jon Gordon talks with Charles Carlini, the organizer of the MoogFest, about Moog’s legacy.
September 9, 2005 - MPR’s Chris Roberts profiles West St. Paul jazz saxophonist Irv Williams, who at 86, still plays gigs and has CD releases. Roberts interviews Williams about his music style and longevity, and others in the music industry about Williams’ talent.
October 3, 2005 - Pulitzer Prize winning playwright August Wilson is being remembered today as a literary giant who did more to bring the African American experience to the stage than any other writer. Wilson died yesterday in Seattle from liver cancer. He was 60-years-old. As Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts reports, Wilson's passing is being deeply felt in the Twin Cities, where he lived and wrote for nearly 12 years.
October 3, 2005 - Playwright August Wilson has died of cancer. The Pulitzer-Prize winner rose to national prominence while living in Saint Paul during the 1980's. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports.
November 18, 2005 - MPR’s Karl Gehrke profiles The Bakken Trio, one of the oldest music chamber ensembles working in the Twin Cities. Gehrke interviews members of group and composer Jeffrey Brooks about the dedication and commitment it takes to keep chamber groups going.
December 7, 2005 - The Twin Cities are home to two of the nation's preeminent ethnic theaters. Voices of Minnesota profiles Lou Bellamy, director of the African American Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul; and Rick Shiomi, director of Minneapolis' Mu Performing Arts, which presents Asian-American theater and traditional Japanese Daiko drumming.
December 12, 2005 - A private burial is planned Wednesday in Woodville, Virginia, for former Minnesota Democratic Senator Eugene McCarthy, who died Saturday at age 89. A memorial service is also being planned early next year at St. John's University in Collegeville. McCarthy was one of the state's most distinguished politicians. He served two terms in the U.S. Senate, and before that five terms in the House of Representatives. McCarthy's political zenith came in 1968, when opposition to the Vietnam War turned into a crusade to capture the Democratic presidential nomination. McCarthy didn't win. But his candidacy, and the 1968 campaign, left lasting imprints on American politics.