May 16, 2000 - Larry Redmond, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts lobbyist; and Joe Dowling, artistic director of the Guthrie Theater, discuss Governor Ventura’s veto on the legislative funding for the Guthrie and an arts center in Lanesboro. Redmond and Dowling also answer listener questions. Program begins with brief interview with John Wodele, Governor Ventura’s press secretary.
May 18, 2000 - MPR's Stephanie Hemphill presents a Mainstreet Radio report on how a rural school is keeping local history alive. At North Shore Elementary School, just north of Duluth, the whole community gathers to celebrate their history. They've created a new curriculum for the school, and they're publishing a book.
May 24, 2000 - Randy Johnson, Hennepin County board chairman; and Rick Kruger, CEO of "is.com", discuss results of the first annual "Regional Opportunity Forecast.” Report was put together by a group of business, education and civic leaders called The Great North Alliance. Johnson and Kruger are members of the group, and answer listener questions. Program begins with news from MPR’s Greta Cunningham.
May 24, 2000 - MPR’s Gary Eichten interviews Walter Mondale, former U.S. ambassador to Japan and former vice-president, on congressional bill that would allow China permit normal trade status. Following Mondale interview, David Foster, director of the NW quadrant of states for the United Steelworkers of America, shares his view on the bill and its impact.
May 24, 2000 - Mainstreet Radio's Leif Enger reports that on the Rainy River, the border between Minnesota and Canada, lake sturgeon is rising. Surviving near obliteration by commercial fishing and polluting paper mills, the sturgeon has resurfaced as a gamefish of almost mythical power. With the coming of summer, anglers by the hundreds of thousands are stalking Minnesota's lakes and rivers. Their objective, almost always, are walleye, northern pike, panfish and trout. Yet for a few anglers, a walleye holds no attraction; a twenty-pound northern, no allure; a rainbow trout, no romance…but lake sturgeon is a different matter.
May 24, 2000 - The 400 Bar in Minneapolis is a West Bank institution, with a rock and roll crowd, hot bands, cold beer and almost no one over 30. Now wildly successful bar readings in New York and L.A. are inspiring 400 Bar owner Tom Sullivan--who wonders will it work here?
May 26, 2000 - In the 1970s the City of Minneapolis blocked off Nicollet Avenue at Lake Street to make room for a K-mart store. It seemed like a good idea at the time as a way of getting rid of an area full of what many considered sleazy businesses. Now city officials and neighborhood activists want to stitch Nicollet back together so the entire avenue can share in urban renewal.
May 26, 2000 -
June 2, 2000 - The Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training, which licenses Minnesota police officers, is considering lowering its standards. Right now, a misdemeanor crime like theft or enganging in prostitution immediately disqualifies a license applicant... but the new rules would allow for some exceptions. Dennnis Flaherty is the Executive Director of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, an organization that represents 7,000 officers throughout the state. He says this isn't the first time a proposal like this has been considered.
June 7, 2000 - In Stevie Wonder's tribute to musical genius Duke Ellington he writes that "music is a world within itself, it is a language we all understand." Apparently, the music of Minnesota's own creative genius Prince, has reached people from all over the world. This morning at Paisley Park, some of those fans made a pilgrimage to the artist's creative home in Chanhassen as part of a week-long open house.