October 23, 1997 - The name Disneyland conjures images of fairy tale castles, Mickey Mouse, clean and tidy streets and glimpses of the future; a place where nostalgia and fantasy are woven together. Disneyland has also become a metaphor for American popular culture and its grip on the rest of the world. Many cultural critics cringe at Disney's sweeping global influence. But a new exhibit making its American debut at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis seeks to supply a new, more historical perspective on Disney's cultural rise to power. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts spoke with the exhibit's curator, University of Minnesota Art Historian Karal Ann Marling.
October 16, 1997 - If you're an experimental composer with classical roots, you'll probably face an uphill battle finding performance venues. The problem of getting your music heard may be compounded if you're a woman. Avant Fest, which opened last night at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis, pairs three female-led bands from Minneapolis with three from New York.
October 2, 1997 - MPR’s Chris Roberts presents a report on The Jayhawks, who have decided to stay together and embark down a new musical path with album, "Sound of Lies." Roberts interviews band members Gary Louris and Marc Perlman about that new musical journey.
September 25, 1997 - MPR’s Chris Roberts interviews Bob Hest and Steve Kramer, two ex-members of the experimental group The Wallets. Hest and Kramer discuss their new career of merging music into advertising campaigns.
September 16, 1997 - The Twin Cities, with its plentiful parks, shimmering lakes, vibrant cultural life ,and booming economy is a pretty good draw these days for "out-of-staters" ... as long as you can withstand the deep freeze of winter. But for some people who move here, there's another deep freeze operating that can hurt a newcomer's ability to make friends. That's one of the reasons the group "Twin Cities Transplants" was formed, to help take the edge off what can be an icy reception for non-Minnesota natives. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts -- a transplant himself -- went to a semi-regular meeting of "Twin Cities Transplants" to find out more. The next meeting of Twin Cities Transplants will be October 16th around 6 P-M, at City Billiards in Minneapolis. If you're interested in findi
September 9, 1997 - The business of buying and selling art has traditionally been the reserve of the priviledged few. For an artist to come to the attention of art collecting circles, he or she has to show their work, and galleries are generally reluctant to take a chance on an unknown talent. The Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis is taking steps to make the art marketplace more accessible by opening up an annex devoted to new emerging artists and clientele who will find their prices a little easier to swallow. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts reports.
September 5, 1997 - Cowles Media Company, the parent company of the Star Tribune, is considering selling Minnesota's largest newspaper. The decision came at the request of members of the Cowles family, who control more than 56-percent of the company's voting stock. While analysts agree it's a seller's market for family-owned newspapers, others are concerned by huge corporate interests gobbling up the nation's remaining independent newspapers. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts reports.
September 4, 1997 - For years the Nautilus Music Theater in Minneapolis, formerly known as The New Music Theater Ensemble, produced and performed only new works perched on the precarious boundary between musicals and opera. Some of the pieces were quite ambitious and experimental, and performers often played to less than a full house. This year, the organization has a new name and an expanded mission, to produce the old, or relatively old, as well as the new. Nautilus has chosen "Into the Woods," a Stephen Sondheim production to inaugurate what it hopes will be a new era in twin cities music theater. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts reports.
August 29, 1997 - A coalition of black leaders in Minneapolis spoke out today on the latest developments in the police shooting of a Minneapolis teenager. Fifteen -year-old Lawrence Miles Jr. was seriously wounded by police on August 16th when an officer thought the boy was aiming a gun at his partner. The weapon turned out to be a pellet gun. The Minneapolis Police Department originally reported the boy had been shot in the chest, but the Minneapolis Fire Department contradicted that report, saying the boy was shot in the upper back. Today a group of black leaders called for an independent investigator and prosecutor to be appointed to the case, and brought in its own forensic pathologist to examine the boy. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts reports.
August 28, 1997 - The Minneapolis Police Department is continuing its investigation into the August 16th police shooting of a fifteen-year-old Minneapolis boy. The officer who wounded the boy contends the teenager aimed a weapon, which later turned out to be a pellet gun, at his partner. The department originally said the boy was shot in the chest, but a Minneapolis Fire Department report indicates a single shotgun blast entered the boy's upper back. Unfortunately, few people with any information on the case are coming forward and the boy's family is refusing to let him be examined by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts traveled to the south Minneapolis neighborhood where the shooting took place and spoke with residents about how the incident has affected them and their relationship with the police.