April 9, 1997 - All the talk about bringing America's school students' test results up to the level of those in Japan and other countries is putting a lot of pressure on kids and teachers. The pressure to learn more at an earlier age causes some to worry kids will burn out and lose interest in learning. But that doesn't seem to be happening. An education expert says a bigger concern is not all kids have an equal opportunity to learn because of disparaties in education funding. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson visited a Hopkins school and has more. It's been 40 years since Jack Anderson was a 4th grader, and his memory is foggy on what his parochial and public school teachers in Brainerd demanded that he learn. He knows with a certainty, however, that he is asking a great deal more of his 25 students. tape . . . the exposure they get in school, the techno
April 8, 1997 - Homicides tend to get all the media attention, but community organizers say so-called nuisance crimes are every bit as destructive to a neighborhood. Tonight in Minneapolis at Plymouth Congregational Church a group of residents will ask public prosecutors to follow the model of community oriented policing. The residents want city attorneys assigned to specific neighborhoods to prosecute drug dealers, prostitutes and others who bring crime to communities. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.
February 20, 1997 - A huge piece of countryside south of the Twin Cities near Rosemount has been off limits to development for fifty years. The owner, the University of Minnesota, says it may be interested in selling off a portion of the property. Some neighbors worry urban development moving south from the Twin Cities will overrun a portion of the land. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson has more.
February 13, 1997 - The University of Minnesota is one of the state's largest landowners and, thus, a big neighbor. Some residents of a Minneapolis neighborhood would like the U to be a better neighbor and agree to sell some of its surplus Minneapolis campus property to homeowners. The residents want a mix of housing to try create what some call an urban village environment. They are concerned the U will sell to the highest bidder which in this case may be a developer who wants to tear down the houses. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson has more. The developer is Dinnaken Properties owned by James Cargill, Sr. a former executive of Cargill the global commodity processing and trading company. The neighborhood is what generations of U students know as Stadium Village - a collection of businesses, apartments and houses where the best known intersection is Oak Street and Washington Avenue. The U intends
February 10, 1997 - Minnesota storyteller, playwright and actor Kevin Kling says his storytelling is from personal experience. The stories use humor because Kling says humor is a solvent that helps us accept the difficulty of our lives. Today on our Voices of Minnesota interview, Kevin Kling talks about storytelling. Riding the 21A bus line between St. Paul and Minneapolis was the source for one of Kling's best known works. "Fear and Loving" is a new collection of Kling stories about growing up. He was recently on stage at the Jungle Theatre in Minneapolis playing one of the leads in "Waiting for Gadot". Kling was born in Missouri and grew up in the Twin Cities suburbs of Brooklyn Center and Maple Grove.
February 10, 1997 - Minnesota storyteller, playwright and actor Kevin Kling says his storytelling is from personal experience. The stories use humor because Kling says humor is a solvent that helps us accept the difficulty of our lives. In our Voices of Minnesota interview, Kevin Kling talks about storytelling. Riding the 21A bus line between St. Paul and Minneapolis was the source for one of Kling's best known works. "Fear and Loving" is a new collection of Kling stories about growing up. He was recently on stage at the Jungle Theatre in Minneapolis playing one of the leads in "Waiting for Godot". Kling was born in Missouri and grew up in the Twin Cities suburbs of Brooklyn Center and Maple Grove. Minnesota Public Radio's John Rabe talked with Kling about his work.
February 7, 1997 - MPR’s Dan Olson reports on a University of Minnesota Symphony Orchestra performance of the music of Roy Harris, Rimsky-Korsakov… and “Beijing Drum,” a piece of new music by a Chinese composer Zhou Long written for the pipa, an instrument similar to a lute.
February 3, 1997 - Deborah Biede fights against time. Today on our Odd Jobs report we'll hear how she also battles dirt, loose seams and frayed edges. Biede conserves clothes and other textiles in the Minnesota Historical Societies Archive. She uses a variety of tools and techniques to preserve yesterday's heirlooms for tomorrow. Minnesota Public Radio intern Brian Bull talked with Biede in the textile laboratory at the History Center in St. Paul.
January 31, 1997 - Lawmakers will be lobbied on the bus this morning by mayors from several Twin Cities communities who want more money for transit and cleaning up polluted ground. The bus tour grows out of discussions among central city and suburban mayors who want a united front in lobbying for some of their interests. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports. Lawmakers will board the bus at the state capitol for a relatively short ride to one of the first sites - several acres of St. Paul land dominated by a huge mound of polluted soil. St. Paul mayor Norm Coleman says a priority among several cities is money to help clean up sites which can be used for development.
January 30, 1997 - A family of eight moved into a brand new home in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood. The home was built and sold at cost by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities with the help of the city of St. Paul. Many groups - private and public - are trying to address Minnesota's shortage of affordable housing. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports on the size of the gap they are trying to fill.