October 21, 1999 - MPR’s Bob Potter talks with architect Hugh Hardy, who designed Orchestra Hall. Hardy discusses the issue of acoustics and capacity. He says the new building might not have been built if the Lycium Theatre had been a little bigger.
September 30, 1999 - Fall colors should be at their peak this weekend along the Saint Croix River near the Twin Cities. If you're planning a drive, and you want to see more than just leaves, you might want to listen a new tape that offers a guided tour to the historic spots and scenic views between Taylors Falls, Minnesota and Prescott, Wisconsin. Jim Shattattauer is the author of Secrets of the Saint Croix: Exploring the Hidden Treasures of the Saint Croix River Valley. He says the idea for the tape came to him while he was on vacation.
September 28, 1999 - MPR's Mindy Ratner checks in from China and discusses how the government is beautifyingthe city in prepartion for the 50th anniversary of the advent of communism.
September 15, 1999 - Some sundry characters are the heart of Minnesota author Lorna Landvik's new novel. The Tall Pine Polka is set in a fictitious Minnesota town that is home to an eccentric group of neighbors. The characters often gather at a local coffee shop for what they call the Tall Pine Polka, a night of food, company, and heavenly coffee. But, as Landvik explains, it's a particular kind of coffee shop.
September 7, 1999 - MPR’s Bill Wareham reviews the Mill City Music Festival, which for the first time, had an “all local” line-up. Wareham discusses perfomance highlights, including Prince, Sugar, Jack McDuff, and Slim Dunlap.
August 24, 1999 - A unique display is planned for the new Gateway alumni visitors center being built at the University of Minnesota. One room will feature a wall of books - 5,000 of them stacked in columns, row upon row, from floor to ceiling. All were written by or about university alumni, students and staff and were donated by current and former members of the University community. The alumni association expects to begin constructing the wall this week. I spoke with Margaret Carlson of the U of M alumni association, at a warehouse where the books are being sorted and catalogued. She says the wall will be part of a 2,600-square-foot room called the Heritage Gallery.
June 16, 1999 - J.F. Powers, one of Minnesota's most celebrated authors, died of natural causes at his home in Collegeville on Saturday. He was 81. Powers won national acclaim for his novels which explore the tensions of Midwestern Catholicism by following the story of a small-parish priest. He was considered a quiet literary giant, who worked various jobs in Chicago during the Great Depression and became a conscientious objector during World War II. Powers was a Professor and Writer-in-Residence at St. John's University in Collegeville until 1993.
June 4, 1999 - Theatre de la Jeune Lune's The Golem; Penumbra Theatre's for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf; and Footloose musical at the Orpheum Theatre.
May 7, 1999 - Morning Edition speaks with authors John Camp and Ron Handberg. Camp, who publishes under the name John Sandford, has a new book coming out next week called Certain Prey. Handberg's new book Dead Silence is already in stores.
April 1, 1999 - The University of Minnesota library is 12,500 books larger than it was yesterday. Former governor and University Regent Elmer Andersen contributed four truckloads of books to the U. An article in today's Minneapolis Star Tribune says Andersen has a history of donating rare and valuable books to his alma mater. Thomas Shaughnessy is University librarian.