September 29, 2005 - In 1890, a 19-year-old girl stole her family's savings and ran away from her rural Ireland home to come to America. May Dunigan {DYE-gah-nan} had hopes of creating an exciting new life. She eventually became a prostitute, a grifter and spent time in prison for plotting to kill a jealous lover. May called herself "Queen of the Crooks." After her looks faded and she fell on hard times, a police officer encouraged her to write an auto-biography. It's THIS book that's the basis for Irish writer Nuala O'Faolain's new biography THE STORY OF CHICAGO MAY. O'Faolin's previous books "Are you Somebody?" and "Almost There" are New York Times best-sellers. She told Minnesota Public Radio's Greta Cunningham Chicago May was forgotten by Ireland and her relatives--which is not too surprising considering she left her hard-working family penniless.
September 30, 2005 - MPR’s Brandt Williams reports that the Minnesota Twins 2005 season ends during upcoming weekend game at the Metrodome. For the first time in three years, the team will not finish at the top of their division or go to the playoffs. Instead, Twins players and many fans will spend this fall and winter pondering what went wrong and what the team will have to do to make a stronger showing next season.
October 3, 2005 - Playwright August Wilson is being remembered as a giant of the American Theatre. Wilson died of liver cancer in Seattle yesterday at the age of 60. He moved to St. Paul in 1978 where he got his first paying job as a writer, composing educational scripts for the Science Museum of Minnesota. During his time in Minnesota Wilson began writing the set of plays that would make him famous. The ten-play cycle chronicled the black experience in America. In a 1991 speech to the University of Minnesota Alumni Association, Wilson fondly remembered the 12-years he lived in St. Paul.
October 3, 2005 - One of the great voices of American theater has fallen silent. August Wilson, the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and one-time St. Paulite, died of liver cancer Sunday in Seattle. He was 60 years old.
October 4, 2005 - The criminal case involving the funeral home deaths in Wisconsin is now closed. A judge ruled yesterday that the late Ryan Erickson, a priest with the Catholic Diocese of Superior, most likely killed two people at the funeral home in 2002. But the families of the victims in the case could still take legal action. Jeff Anderson is an attorney who has represented survivors of clergy sex abuse. He says civil action is the only way to find accountability
October 6, 2005 - MPR’s Tom Scheck reports on first mayoral debate between candidates Mayor R.T. Rybak and Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin since the September 13th primary. The two candidates sparred over city spending, public transportation, and crime. The candidates also fielded questions from residents of the high rises along Cedar Avenue where the debate took place.
October 10, 2005 - As part of the series “Polluted Waters - Costly Cleanup,” MPR’s Dan Gunderson reports on federal Clean Water Act and the pressure for Minnesota to fulfill those testing and clean up requirements.
October 10, 2005 - MPR’s Annie Baxter reports on local newspapers revamping to respond to a changing media landscape.
October 11, 2005 - As part of the series “Polluted Waters - Costly Cleanup,” MPR’s Tim Post reports on upcoming Minnesota Pollution Control Agency draft list of the state's polluted waters in the next few weeks and the needs to address cleanup.
October 11, 2005 - Minnesota has often been called the choral center of the U.S. The state is filled not only with church and school choirs, but also professional choirs with reputations that extend beyond Minnesota's borders. This is a busy time for many of those choirs as they get ready for their season-opening concerts this month…but missing for the second year is one of the best-known choruses in the state.