January 5, 2000 - As Governor Ventura meets with legislative leaders about legislative priorities, MPR’s Gary Eichten asks for listener call-in commentary on what legislative priorities should be. Program includes an interview with Ventura from previous week, and a call from Steve Sviggum, Minnesota House majority leader. Program begins with news from MPR’s Greta Cunningham.
January 5, 2000 - On his 72nd birthday, Walter Mondale, former vice-president, talks with MPR’s Gary Eichten about America's role in the world, the year in politics, and the century ahead. Mondale also answers listener questions.
November 26, 1999 - MPR’s Greta Cunningham interviews Minnesota author Tom Hegg about his "Cup of Christmas Tea" books. Hegg hopes his titles can help people relax and focus on the true meaning of the holidays.
October 8, 1999 - The outgoing CEO of Pillsbury says the average consumer shouldn't see much of a difference once his replacement takes over. Paul Walsh is leaving to become head of Pillsbury's parent company Diageo. Diageo is the world's largest beverage company and owns Burger King, Guinness, United Distiller and Vintners and Pillsbury. Walsh has been with Pillsbury since 1989. He's been the company's CEO for the past seven years. He says he doesn't expect the change in leadership will lead to major changes at Pillsbury, or a relocation of its headquarters.
October 7, 1999 - The joys, the struggles and the comfort of an enduring relationship are explored in Minnesota author Warren Hanson's new book "Older Love." The book is sort of a picture book for adults. Hanson's previous book "The Next Place" struck a chord with people aross the country. The book is a poem about dying and heaven--and it's been read at funerals and in grief-support groups around the country.
October 5, 1999 - In 1974 Peggie Carlson was a struggling college student in search of a high paying part-time job. She had heard that the big Minnesota utility companies were looking to hire women so they could comply with Affirmative Action policies. She submitted an application to Minnesotaegasco and was hired. Carlson's experiences as the company's first black, female pipefitter trainee are detailed in her new book "The Girls are Coming--From the Front Lines of the 1970s Blue-Collar Workforce." The book details Carlson's rise from Minnesotaegasco meter reader to pipefitter. She found her meter reading job too risky--her life was threatened several times. She was then hired by the company's Buildings and Grounds crew--where her color and her gender made her stand out.
October 4, 1999 - It has the power to move people out of their bedrooms and onto the living room couch -- or in some cases even out the door. The authors of a Mayo Clinic study on snoring found that the nightime noise can lead to divorce. It rarely bothers the snorer--it most often bothers their bedpartner. In one of the first studies of it's kind the Mayo Clinic researchers looked into how a snoring spouse effects the sleep of his or her partner. Dr. John Shepard is the medical director of the Mayo Clininc Sleep Disorders Center--and senior author of the study. He says the study looked at ten married couples where the husband was the snorer. He says he found that the wives were semi-awakened 23 times a night due to their snoring spouse, so they were motivated to enroll in the study.
August 24, 1999 - Minnesota author Steve Thayer's new mystery "Silent Snow" takes readers on a bizzare re-creation of one the century's most notorious crimes--the Lindbergh kidnapping. As "Silent Snow" opens, investigative reporter Rick Beanblossom--the hero of Thayer's previous best-selling book the "Weatherman"--is faced with the kidnapping of his own infant son. Beanblossom tries to solve the crime with the help of his wife--a popular Twin Cities news anchor. Through a series of clues they determine the kidnappers are trying to recreate the Lindbergh kidnapping.
August 13, 1999 - Another suspect in the juvenile prostitution ring broken up yesterday turned himself in this morning, bringing the number of people in custody to 10. Federal officials have indicted 15 members and associates of the Evans "Family" for allegedly running a prostitution ring that operated in 24 states and Canada over a period of 17 years. Police say they lured at least 50 women and girls, some as young as 14, into a tortured life of prostitution. Most of the girls and women are from Minnesota. Sargeant Andrew Schmidt of the Minneapolis police worked on the case for two years.
August 13, 1999 - He's been on the job guarding the entrance of the Science Museum of Minnesota for 21-years. Now it's time for him to take some time off and do some sightseeing. Iggy, the 40-foot Iron Iguana, is being hoisted onto a flatbed truck next Wednesday. He's going to stop by the Gillette Children's Hospital, take a drive down the Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis , and eventually settle into his new home at the new science museum overlooking the Mississippi river in St. Paul. Nick Swearer is Iggy's creator. He started building the giant sculpture when he was just 15 years old. I asked Swearer where the inspiration for Iggy came from.