April 8, 1986 - MPR’s Stephen Smith reports that Minnesota Stata Auditor Arne Carlson is dropping out of gubernatorial race. Issues raising money and a crowded field of possible candidates, including Dave Jennings, played into Carlson’s decision.
April 11, 1986 - MPR Journal’s Gary Eichten catches up with MPR reporter Mike Mulcahy on the status at Austin Hormel plant after a day of brief violence between strikers and police. A demonstration blocking the road to plant devolved into a conflict between strikers, workers, and local police.
April 24, 1986 - Norman J. Ornstein, author and American political scientist, speaking at the College of Saint Thomas. Ornstein’s address was on the Reagan presidency. After speech, Ornstein answered audience questions.
May 1, 1986 - Poet, author, and farmer Wendell Berry speaks at the College of Saint Benedict in Saint Joseph. The speech is entitled "In Defense of the Family Farm."
May 8, 1986 - Midday presents the late John Ciardi delivering an address called "Why Read?" Following speech, a segment of New Letters on the Air with Ciardi reading some of his poetry (The Collectors; The Glory; Happiness; For Myra, John L. and Benn; Mutterings; Obsolescence; Habitat; and Perversity).
May 12, 1986 - Father Robert Drinan, a lawyer, author and former congressman who has long been active in the anti-nuclear movement, gave an address in Minneapolis in honor of World Law Day. Speech was titled "Possibilities for Peace in the Nuclear Age." Father Drinan’s appearance was co-sponsored by the World Federalist Association of Minnesota, the Lawyers Alliance for Nuclear Arms Control and the United Nations Association of Minnesota. He was introduced by Minneapolis Mayor Don Fraser.
May 22, 1986 - New York Times reporter Andrew Malcolm, author of Final Harvest: An American Tragedy, speaks to the Minnesota Press Club about his story of the murder of Ruthton, Minnesota, bankers Rudy Blythe and Toby Thulin.
June 4, 1986 - Max Kampelman, the head of the United States delegation to the current negotiations on nuclear and space arms in Geneva, speaking at Minnesota Meeting. Kampelman’s address was on the topic "Negotiating in a Nuclear Age." After speech, Kampelman answered audience questions, including one on Chernobyl disaster aftermath. Minnesota Meeting is a non-profit corporation which hosts a wide range of public speakers. It is managed by the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
June 14, 1986 - MPR’s Jerry Cassidy reports on speech given by U.S. Senator Joe Biden at the 1986 Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) Convention. Report includes excerpts form Biden’s keynote address.
June 26, 1986 - Cal Thomas, former broadcaster and now syndicated newspaper columnist for St. Paul Dispatch-Pioneer Press, speaking at Minnesota Meeting. Thomas’s address was on the topic of the need for integrity. Thomas is the author of numerous books; his latest, "Liberals for Lunch". Talks about values, spirituality, role of religion in American life, divorce, the media, and a little about the social problems of teenage pregnancy, VD, etc. Minnesota Meeting is a non-profit corporation which hosts a wide range of public speakers. It is managed by the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.