June 6, 1975 - Speaker: Byron Dorgan, NoDak Tax Commissioner. Explains national debt and where the money comes from. Is debt taxpayers owe to themselves. To reduce debt would have to tax average worker and give that money to someone else. We have both recession and inflation. Economic policy not good for people, we can have deficit spending when time is right, has become a way of life rather than economic stimulus tool. New York City almost going bankrupt in next six weeks, could that happen to federal govt? No, fed can print money. People's confidence in money shaken. N Dak has state budget surplus, not affected much by recession. New York gave in to special interests, not paying for services. Term limits would halt Congress longtermers' funding wasteful programs. Environmental concerns will cost money, there's a changing value and ethic, no longer consider pollution as progress, penalize polluters, pass cost on to consumers. People pay costs of pollution one way or another.
May 20, 1975 - MPR reporter Bill Siemering talks with poet Robert Bly about the philosophy of mother conscience and the advantages offered if the human race were to get back to this particular way of meditation.
April 4, 1975 - MPR’s Bill Siemering reports on U.S. Senator Walter Mondale press conference in Moorhead. Mondale shares his sobering views of Vietnam War, and the its aftermath.
March 26, 1975 - MPR’s Bill Siemering interviews futurist Alvin Toffler, author of "Future Shock" and "Ego Spasm," about current social and political issues and offers his view about what might happen in the future.
November 8, 1974 - Canadian doctor, Dr. Robin Bagley, talks about problems with Canadian health insurance plan. Says it doesn?t reward people equally on the basis of training or work. People on welfare would be written off. National Health has preserved this imbalance, How doctors are paid has little relationship to work and training, sharpens income gap between different types of health workers. Increases gap between those who are under national health insurance and those who aren?t. Assumption is that services are available to everybody; subtle distinction between availbility and accessibility. The question is if you?re sick are the services there. Unresolved dilemma, some provinces have more doctors, people in cities get more health services. How does a country decide how much it wants to spend on something? Caanadian government has not set money guidlines about how much money should be spent, obvious crunch coming. If you spend more in one area have to cut back other priorities. Speaks at press conference.
November 7, 1974 - Robert Cartwright, attorney and president of the American Trial Lawyers Association, discusses the importance of the jury system. Included is a discussion on proper representation of members of juries in relation to a plaintiff.
October 3, 1974 - Former lunar astronaut Col. James Irwin of Apollo 15 mission, discusses positive purpose of space program, and science's link to religion and the necessity to use new information to better mankind and planet.
August 17, 1974 - A celebration of the idea of home by Americans of Norwegian ancestry in Decorah, Iowa during their eighth annual Nordic Fest.
July 19, 1974 - A recap of a women's mini-college program held at Fergus Falls Community College on women searching for self, sponsored in part by the Minnesota Humanities Commission and the AAUW.
February 28, 1974 - Mott, North Dakota proposal to build a coal gasification plant in western North Dakota. Interview with a man who opposes, Ron Swindler, Plainsmen Association president. Opposed because values environment and way of life. Population would increase by 300,000 to 500,000. Farmers, ranchers and businessmen need help now and can't find people, plant development is excuse to import a large popoulation. Don't want to see urban area, likes to see neighbor across a field, not next to him. American Natural Gas Company should hold off building until get more answers about if the land can be reclaimed. North Dakota already has over 7,000 acres of strip mining, reclaim those first. Underground water problems with shallow wells, underlying coal important to aquifer makeup. Generating plants being moved to North Dakota, why can't coal be shipped to existing generators. Cheaper to strip land, coal companies shutting down more expensive deep mines. Deep coal is better quality coal. Companies move factories because pollution movement from uban areas. Need to educate people, watch coal company activities.