May 22, 1998 - Larry Buboltz, Director of the Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Program, and Earl Wilson, Deputy Commissioner of the MN Dept of Economic Security, discuss summer jobs. Topics include what's available, who can get them, what employers are looking for, pay and skills required, and the job market.
May 19, 1998 - MPR’s Chris Roberts profiles Native American blues band, Indigenous.
May 14, 1998 - An award winning, controversial play is coming to Minneapolis, after dominating the off-broadway scene in New York for the last year. Paula Vogel's, "How I Learned to Drive," which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize last month, explores a disturbingly erotic relationship between a girl and her uncle. The "Eye of the Storm Theater" scored a coup when it won the rights to stage the play, in part because of its relationship with the playwright. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts reports.
May 8, 1998 - MPR’s Chris Roberts profiles Twin Cities' most eclectic radio station as it celebrates its 20th birthday. "KFAI", also known as "Fresh Air Radio", is a non-commercial throwback to the days of "freeform radio", when the format changed from song to song. Its news and public affairs programming is unabashedly liberal, even left-wing.
May 1, 1998 - The Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival closes tomorrow night, with the local premiere of a locally made film which may have more riding on it than just its own success. "With or Without You" is the story of two young adults thrust into a relationship because of a pregnancy. It was made by Mt. Curve Productions in Minneapolis, a company which is trying to help Minnesota become not only a place where movies are shot, but are produced.
April 29, 1998 - The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is embroiled in a controversy that is sweeping museums across the country. Last night on ABC's "Nightline" program, a French family claimed one of the M.I.A.'s paintings was stolen by the Nazis' during World War II, and belongs to them. The Institute has launched its own investigation into the history of the painting, and believes it may have uncovered evidence that conflicts with the family's claim. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts has more.
April 24, 1998 - MPR’s Chris Roberts interviews Dylan Hicks, a local songwriter. Hicks has always relied on his zany sense of humor to draw attention to himself and his music, but on his CD "Poughkeepsie" he is presenting a more serious side, and critics are responding favorably. Segment includes various music clips.
April 22, 1998 - In the 1990s, many churches are taking a more active role in addressing racial divisions in America. Black and white congregations are developing relationships with each other. Others call themselves churches of reconciliation, and deliberately seek multi-racial parishioners to inhabit their pews. Two Baptist churches in St. Paul, one african-american and the other white, have taken "reconciliation" a step further; they've merged to become one. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts reports.
April 15, 1998 - One of the stranger chapters in Minnesota criminal history is resurrected in a new documentary being shown this week at the Walker Art Center. Award-winning California filmmaker Arthur Dong's latest work, "Licensed to Kill," examines the minds and motives of seven inmates convicted of killing homosexuals. One of the prisoners interviewed is Jay Johnson, a man who had visions of becoming a gay serial killer when he shot two Minneapolis men in 1991. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts reports. Some people may find this story disturbing.
April 10, 1998 - A pile of bills including the largest bonding bill in the state's history is on its way to the Governor's desk. Legislators wrapped up the '98 session in the wee hours this morning, carving up the 1.9-billion dollar projected budget surplus into tax breaks and lots of public works projects. I asked capitol reporters Eric Jansen and Martin Kaste who the big winners were this session.