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.
December 13, 2002 - Award-winning children's book author Mary Casanova takes young readers into the world of 18th century Versailles in her new book "Cecile: Gates of Gold". Casanova's previous books have mostly been set in Minnesota's north woods--a setting inspired by her own backyard near the Canadian border. Her latest book follows 12-year-old Cecile in the court of Versailles in the year 1711. Mary Casanova spoke to Minnesota Public Radio's Greta Cunningham and said it was a challenge to convey the grandeur of Versailles.
December 13, 2002 - Award-winning children's book author Mary Casanova takes young readers into the world of 18th century Versailles in her new book "Cecile: Gates of Gold". Casanova's previous books have mostly been set in Minnesota's north woods--a setting inspired by her own backyard near the Canadian border. Her latest book follows 12-year-old Cecile in the court of Versailles in the year 1711. Mary Casanova spoke to Minnesota Public Radio's Greta Cunningham and said it was a challenge to convey the grandeur of Versailles.
December 2, 2002 - MPR’s Greta Cunningham interviews Met Council Frank Hornstein about meeting to reconsider which languages will appear on ticket vending machines for the Hiawatha light rail line. Under the current proposal, the machines will operate in English, Spanish and Hmong- the three most widely used languages in the Twin Cities. But Somali advocates are protesting the plan because so many Somali citizens live along the Hiawatha route. It would cost more than $100,000 to add a fourth language to the vending machines.
October 29, 2002 - On this Midday program, commentator Sarah Stoesz, attorney Sam Kaplan, and callers share stories about the late Senator Paul Wellstone, the family members, and campaign workers who died with him in plane crash in Eveleth, Minnesota on October 25th, 2002.
October 10, 2002 - A Minneapolis-native is going to be a new national host of "All Things Considered." National Public Radio officials have chosen Michele Norris to join co-hosts Robert Siegel and Melissa Block. Norris has been a correspondent for ABC NEWS and has covered the White House and the OJ Simpson trial. She is a Washburn High School graduate and studied journalism at the University of Minnesota. Norris says accepting the job was about the most exciting moment in her journalistic career
October 9, 2002 - Minnesotan's know her as Rhoda Morgenstern--the headscarf wearing, wise-cracking woman who lived upstairs from Mary Richards on the "Mary Tyler Moore Show." Valerie Harper is in St. Paul starring in the Tony Award-winning play "The Allergist's Wife" at the Ordway. Harper plays Marjorie Taub--a culture obsessed upper-middle class New Yorker who is facing a mid-life crisis armed with humor. I spoke with Valerie Harper backstage at the Ordway. She says she's enjoying her role. She says Majorie Taub shares similiarities with characters in the "Mary Tyler Moore Show."
October 8, 2002 - Gordon Wittenmyer, who covers the Minnesota Twins for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, provides commentary of American League Championship Series. He says its difficult to predict how the series will play out.
October 7, 2002 - Minneapolis writer Norah Labiner's new novel "Miniatures" takes readers into the lives of a reclusive literary couple. Owen Leib has returned to Ireland after years of self-imposed exile. Owen fled to Paris after his first wife, Franny, supposedly committed suicide in 1964. There are rumors surrounding Franny's unpublished second novel--and speculation about the circumstances surrounding her death. I spoke to Labiner about her book--and the unusual way she began the novel. "Miniatures" begins with a list of how many famous people met their untimely demise--from F. Scott Fitzgerald's death while eating a chocolate bar--to Virginia's Woolf's suicidal drowning.
October 7, 2002 - Minneapolis writer Norah Labiner's (Lab-in-er's) new novel "Miniatures" takes readers into the lives of a reclusive literary couple. Owen Leib {Lee-ib} has returned to Ireland after years of self-imposed exile. Owen fled to Paris after his first wife, Franny, supposedly committed suicide in 1964. There are rumors surrounding Franny's unpublished second novel--and speculation about the circumstances surrounding her death. I spoke to Labiner about her book--and the unusual way she began the novel. "Miniatures" begins with a list of how many famous people met their untimely demise--from F. Scott Fitzgerald's death while eating a chocolate bar--to Virginia's Woolf's suicidal drowning.