August 7, 2003 - (fade scooter sounds under) Hundreds of scooter riders are expected to converge on the Twin Cities this weekend for the fourth annual Scooter Du. It begins Saturday morning with a long ride through the metro area. The group meets at Scooterville, a scooter retailer near the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis. Other DU events include an obstacle course ride, a slow race and the ever popular "pile on," where multiple riders squeeze themselves onto a single moving scooter.
August 6, 2003 - MPR’s Greta Cunningham interviews author Verena Andermatt Conley about her book "The War Against the Beavers." It tells the tale of leaving the city for a rustic cabin in Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
August 5, 2003 - Minnesotans are getting a rare opportunity to see an exhibit that examines the ways Nazis persecuted homosexuals during the time period between 1933 and 1945. The display at the Y-W-C-A in downtown Minneapolis contains 250 reproductions of historic photographs and documents of the era. The materials come from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum based in Washington, D-C. The exhibit looks at the German law that allowed the Nazis to prosecute gays and other individuals deemed to be engaging in indecent behavior. The law stated that certain people should be penalized because their "vices" would lead to the downfall of the German nation. I toured the exhibit this morning with Linnea Stenson, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for G-L-B-T Studies. Stenson says most people know of the six million Jews who perished during the Holocaust. But she says not everyone is aware that other groups were also targeted by the Nazis -- including gypsies, people with mental or physical handicaps, and homosexuals
August 1, 2003 - Minnesota was not even a state when George Washington led the country. But the nation's first president is finally making a visit of sorts at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The Smithsonian is taking Gilbert Stuart's 1796 portrait of Washington on a tour of the western United States. Stuart is the same artist who created the image of Washington on the one-dollar bill. The M-I-A is the only midwestern stop for the portrait, which is valued at 20-Million dollars. The Director of the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution--Mark Pachter-- gave me a sneek peek of the famous portrait. He says the Smithsonian is remodeling the area where the painting normally hangs. So this is the last time the 8-foot-by-5-foot painting will leave its Washington D-C- home.
July 29, 2003 - All Things Considered’s Greta Cunningham talks with Lee Pao Xiong, a local leader in the Hmong community, about housing issues in Twin Cities. Xiong states housing is the foundation for everything.
July 24, 2003 - MPR’s Greta Cunningham interviews Andrew Litton, the new director of The Minnesota Orchestra. Litton says he's honored to be leading Sommerfest into the future and says it's a great time for people and players to have fun. The Minnesota Orchestra has dropped the Viennese and added video screens to its Sommerfest.
July 18, 2003 - Crowds are gathering in downtown Minneapolis this evening for the kick-off of the 64th Aquatennial. The main event tonight is the Block Party featuring music by reggae star Ziggy Marley. The Aquatennial is making efforts this year to update its image and better reflect the diversity that exists in the city. But traditions like parades, milk carton boat races, and the crowning of royalty remain central to the festivities. The history of the Aquatennial is on display at the Hennepin History Museum in Minneapolis. I took a tour of the exhibit this morning with Pam Albinson--the Queen of the Lakes from 1962.
July 8, 2003 - The hit musical CHICAGO opens tonight at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul. CHICAGO is set in the 1920s and centers around two women who lie, cheat, and murder their way to fame.
July 4, 2003 - From water towers to movie theatres to service stations--Minnesota is home to more than 15-hundred properties on the National Register of Historic Places. As you're driving along Minnesota's highways this Fourth of July weekend, you may want to keep an eye out for some of these places--and a new book can help you on your quest. Minneapolis writer Mary Ann Nord complied the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota. She says to book illuminates the variety of properties that have found their way on to the historic registry.
July 2, 2003 -