December 11, 2003 - For the most part folk music is happy wholesome stuff. But there is a dark edge to some of it, and that's where a new local band Folk Underground comes in. MPR’s Euan Kerr talks with the trio about their first album release "Buried Things." It features a mixture of traditional music and the band's own material which displays members describe as 'happily morbid.'
December 5, 2003 - A diabetes expert testified for the defense today at the felony manslaughter trial of Congressman Bill Janklow. The former South Dakota governor is alleged to have run a stop sign at high speed last August, into the path of an on-coming motorcycle. The motorcycle's rider, Randy Scott, died at the scene. Janklow's attorneys are trying to show Janklow, who is a diabetic suffered a sharp drop in blood sugar just before the crash.
December 4, 2003 - US Senate minority leader Tom Daschle took the witness stand in the felony manslaughter trial of Congressman Bill Janklow today. Daschle was with Janklow at a veterans event hours before the fatal crash that killed Randy Scott. The jury also heard from an accident reconstructionist who contradicted prosecution evidence about how fast Janklow was driving. Minnesota Public Radio's Cara Hetland was in court today and joins me on the line from Flandreau.
December 3, 2003 - The prosecution rested its case today in the felony manslaughter trial of Congressman Bill Janklow. The charges stem from a fatal crash in August. The former South Dakota governor is alleged to have run a stop sign at high speed into the path of an on-coming motorcycle. The motorcycle's driver Randy Scott died at the scene. Jurors today heard from the state trooper who did the accident reconstruction. They also heard from Janklow's chief of staff who was riding in Janklow's car at the time of the accident. Then this afternoon three witnesses testified to other times Janklow was caught speeding. Minnesota Public Radio's Cara Hetland was in court again today, and joins me on the line.
October 31, 2003 - A radio guide to the arts.
October 29, 2003 - If you travelled to Pajala (PIE-eh-lah), a tiny town in far northern Sweden, you would meet people who sound a little like this: (7918- Play up full for about five seconds then fade under next bit of intro. Tape is :13secs) This is Mikael (Michael) Niemi (nee-EM-ee) reading from his novel "Popular Music from Vittula." (VEE-too-luh) It's a coming of age story set in Pajala (PIE-eh-lah) in the 1960's. The book has been a huge success, proclaimed by one Swedish critic as "a masterpiece that vibrates life, humor and a cutting pain". It won the best book award in Sweden in the year 2000. Now it's being translated and published in many languages around the world. It's all a bit of a surprise for Niemi (nee-EM-ee) who says Pajala (PIE-eh-lah) is a fundamentally boring place. The winter is long, and the people terse and slightly depressed. He told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr that it's so remote that until the book came out most Swedes didn't even know where it is.
October 28, 2003 - Author Tom Piazza (pee-AHT-zah) had two really good ideas for novels, but even after months of work neither of them panned out. So he gave himself a change of location. He rented a garage and just sat down to write. He wanted to see what would happen. He found himself writing stories about a suburban community in New York State, a bit like the one where he grew up. The stories all seemed to be told by one voice --- someone who was not Tom Piazza. The stories grew into a novel "My Cold War". It's the story of a hot-shot history professor with writers block. He's trying to write a new book about the Cold War. Instead he daydreams and frets about his own youth growing up just after the Cuban Missile crisis. Tom Piazza told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr, it took him a while to find out just who was telling the story.
October 24, 2003 - Dancer and choreographer Rennie Harris says the term "hip-hop" dates back to the 1930's. Then, it was used to describe the way people hip-hopped between night clubs to dance. Harris says it wasn't until the 1970's that hip hop became a culture. That's when kids on the street developed the popping and locking dance style that caught worldwide attention. Harris began dancing as a youngster in Philadelphia. Now he leads a dance company specializing in hip-hop technique.
October 24, 2003 - The Word of Mouth Art's Round-up.
October 24, 2003 - A radio guide to the arts.