June 12, 2003 - The complex relationship between mother and daughter is at the heart of Regina McBride's new novel "The Land of Women." The main character in the book, Fiona, {Fee-oh-nah} is grieving over her mother's death and trying to carve out her own life. Fiona knows that her future depends on dealing with her volatile past with her mother. Minnesota Public Radio's Greta Cunningham spoke with McBride. The author says Fiona's mother caused her a great deal of emotional pain at the beginning of the book.
May 21, 2003 - Two Irish brothers are out in a bog cutting turf for a fire. One of the brothers swings his shovel and makes a grisly discovery--the perfectly preserved head of a red-haired woman. Because peat bogs prevent decay, the head could have been buried for centuries--or she could be a new homicide. That is the opening scene of Minneapolis writer Erin Hart's new book "Haunted Ground." Hart's novel combines archeology, forensics and her love of Irish music and culture. She left her job with the Minnesota State Arts Board to pursue her dream of becoming a novelist.
May 21, 2003 - Two Irish brothers are out in a bog cutting turf for a fire. One of the brothers swings his shovel and makes a grisly discovery--the perfectly preserved head of a red-haired woman. Because peat bogs prevent decay, the head could have been buried for centuries--or she could be a new homicide. That is the opening scene of Minneapolis writer Erin Hart's new book "Haunted Ground." Hart's novel combines archeology, forensics and her love of Irish music and culture. She left her job with the Minnesota State Arts Board to pursue her dream of becoming a novelist. Erin Hart told Minnesota Public Radio's Greta Cunningham winning Glimmer Train Magazine's literary contest started her professional writing career.
May 14, 2003 - The Minnesota Wild are hoping they can once again play better on the road than they do on their home ice. Minnesota is in Anaheim tonight for game three of the NHL Western Conference finals. The Mighty Ducks have shut out the Wild in the first two games played at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The puck drops at 8 o'clock Minnesota time tonight at the Arrowhead Pond arena in Anaheim. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen is in Anaheim for tonight's game. --The Wild players have yet to score one goal against the Mighty Ducks. What's the mood of the team?
April 11, 2003 - In northern Iraq yesterday, Saddam Hussein loyalists tried to kill a pair of Star Tribune journalists. Though reporter Paul McEnroe and photographer Richard Sennot escaped unharmed, the incident underscored how close journalists are to the violence. The two were covering the action as Kurdish fighters took Kirkuk (keer-KUUK). Most of the Iraqi Army fled from the area. But 50 supporters of Saddam Hussein remained behind and were hiding in a bunker shielded by smoke from a burning oil well. Two of those fighters decide to attack the Star Tribune journalists when they discovered they were Americans. McEnroe says the Iraqi fighters started driving towards him and Sennot in a truck filled with weapons, but were soon surrounded by six local Kurdish armed men, intent on looting the truck:
March 11, 2003 - Irish comedian and best-selling author Brendan O'Carroll once again takes readers into the life of Agnes Brown and her working-class life in Dublin. O'Carroll's new book mixes humor, a colorful cast of characters and the difficultly of living in inner-city Dublin. O'Carroll's three previous Agnes Brown books were all best-sellers in Ireland and in the U-S. O'Carroll's latest book "The Young Wan" is a pre-quel to the Agnes Brown series. It gives his fans the opportunity to meet Agnes as a young girl. Agnes and her best friend Marion struggle with the demands of nuns, first jobs and coping with life's curve balls. O'Carroll says Agnes Brown is an inspiration:
March 11, 2003 - A significant decline in contributions is forcing Catholic Charities to cut more than 80 jobs and close two programs in Minnesota. Individual donations to the organization are down about a million dollars from last year. Corporate and foundation contributions, investment income and revenue-producing county referrals are also off. The agency will close a transitional house for disturbed teens in Faribault and three community homes in the Twin Cities that provide emergency shelter for children. Father Larry Snyder is executive director of the organization, which operates more than 75 programs for the poor across the state. He says the cuts are significant, but they shouldn't affect Catholic Charity's core services to the poor:
January 21, 2003 - The Guthrie Theater's new production of "Mrs. Warren's Profession" forces audiences to consider issues like women's rights, religion, and prostitution. These topics were considered so racy when George Bernard Shaw wrote the play in 1893 that censors in London wouldn't allow it to be staged. When "Mrs. Warren's Profession" opened in New York in 1905, it was viewed as scandalous. I spoke with Catlin O'Conner who plays the title role in the Guthrie production. She says when Shaw penned the play, he was forbidden from even using the word prostitution.
January 17, 2003 - Five Hmong high school girls from St. Paul are back from a two-week trip to Thailand and Laos. They called the trip the Homeland Project. The girls hoped seeing their parents' homeland and meeting relatives they had only heard about would help them understand the deep cultural gap that separates them from their parents. MPR’s Greta Cuningham interviews three members of the group, Soua Yang, Cindy Xiong, and adult chaperone Gunnar Liden.
December 26, 2002 - Jennifer Egan's novel "Look at Me" intertwines the live of two women named Charlotte--one is a fashion model recovering from a serious car crash--the other is a rather plain looking high school student trying to find her place in the world. "Look at Me" was a finalist for the National Book Awards. Egan says her work as a journalist for the New York Times Magazine often fuels her fiction writing. She says "Look at Me" is an investigation of beauty in American society.