July 8, 2004 - Classical musicians from across the Twin Cities have come together to perform the premiere of a new orchestral work called “Mosaic: Cedar and Lake.” The piece attempts to capture the cultural diversity of Minneapolis.
July 9, 2004 - MPR’s Chris Roberts profiles St. Paul musician Greg Paulus. In interview, Paulus discusses his music influences, his current jazz work, and goal of playing with the best musicians.
July 13, 2004 - Expectations have always been high for Joe Mauer. Long before the Twins chose the St. Paul native as their top draft pick in 2001, Mauer was considered a sports phenom. If his rookie season is any indication, the Minnesota Twins catcher will be rubbing elbows with the league's other top talents in a not-too-distant All-Star game.
July 15, 2004 - MPR’s Toni Randolph reports on shortage of Hmong funeral homes in the Twin Cities. A traditional Hmong funeral is a ceremony full of rituals, scheduled on weekends and lasting for days. Families now often have to wait weeks before burying their loved ones. A couple of new Hmong funeral homes will be opening, though they won't open for more than a year.
July 15, 2004 - Hmong families continue to arrive in Minnesota from a camp in Thailand. An estimated 5000 refugees are expected to resettle in the state by the end of the year. A fact-finding team traveled to Thailand and assessed the needs of the refugees earlier this year, and found a high degree of mental health issues among adults. Xong Mouacheupao is a mental health counselor for the Minnesota-based Amherst H. Wilder Foundation. She's at the refugee camp in Thailand providing individual and family therapy... and she says families are facing many different issues.
July 22, 2004 - Many teenagers can tell horror stories of what goes on in on-line chat rooms. In recent years there have been a number of cases of older adults seeking out children for not just conversation, but for sex. In response the FBI has mounted sting operations to capture likely offenders before they have a chance to strike. A new play examines the ethics of such methods. "Sexsting" gets its first reading at the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis tomorrow.
July 28, 2004 - Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil profiles Harry Yang, a Hmong immigrant who decided to leave Twin Cities for Walnut Grove and Southwest Minnesota, home of "Little House on the Prairie." Yang says he finds more freedom and peace of mind here, though challenges remain.
July 30, 2004 - Several Minneapolis city councilmembers took part in a unique study session on neighborhood crime today. The councilmembers boarded a tour bus and drove through some of the city's most well-known spots for criminal activity. The purpose of the trip was to give them a more personal view of the city's neighborhood crime problem.
August 6, 2004 - Mainstreet Radio's Erin Galbally reports on former pro wrestler Brock Lesnar as he participates in try-outs for the Minnesota Vikings. Lesnar wants to be a pro football player. The only problem is he hasn't played since high school.
August 9, 2004 - MPR’s Brandt Williams takes a look at probably the ugliest racial slur ever created. It is a word known primarily as a means to denigrate African Americans. The word packs such power to represent overt racial hatred, most people - regardless of race - will not even utter it. How can one word have such power?