November 15, 1999 - In an essay on flyfishing, the novelist Thomas McGuane writes, "What is most emphatic in angling is made so by the long silences...the unproductive periods" That essay is called "The Longest Silence". It's also the title of McGuane's new collection of 33 essays, in which he charts a lifetime with a flyrod pursuing trout, salmon and saltwater game fish. Thomas McGuane talked to Minnesota Public Radio's Mike Edgerly about his new book and his life in fishing
October 28, 1999 - To close out the millennium, Minnesota Public Radio's All Things Considered presents a look back at Minnesota life in 1900 via a 12-part series, entitled “A Minnesota Century.” This segment is the the story the notorious outlaw Cole Younger.
October 12, 1999 - Nature and Outdoor writer Jerry Dennis' latest book is "From a Wooden Canoe". As the title suggests, the Michigan resident's collection of essays pays homage to enduring possessions like canoes, fishing rods and iron skillets.
August 18, 1999 - A federal jury in Minneapolis has cleared WCCO TV and Anoka County in a defamation lawsuit that attracted national interest. A former Minnesota woman sued WCCO after she was named as a suspect in her husbands 1993 murder..but was never charged. The case raised the question of how far a news organization must go to ensure that public officials comments are true.
June 7, 1999 - Commentator Betty Hammel remembers spending her youth along the Mississippi River. And she likes the plans to return St.Paul's focus to the river and its environs.
May 21, 1999 - "Walking Out of History: The True Story of Shackleton's Endurance Expedition," an American RadioWorks documentary about Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance Antarctica expedition. MPR’s John Rabe presents various interviews, readings, sounds, and commentary.
January 26, 1999 - The plans by Minnesota based commodities giant Cargill to acquire competitor Continental Grain has the attention of Congress. With many commodity prices at or near historic lows, members of the Senate agriculture committee are looking at consolidation in agri-business as a trend that may be affecting prices.
January 11, 1999 - The snowmobile-stud ban enacted by the 98 legislature is likely to be repealed in 1999. The measure was meant to protect asphalt trails and roadways, which are damaged by carbide-tipped studs on some machines. Snowmobilers say the studs are important for safety, and moreover if they can't use them here, many will take their sleds and go somewhere else.
November 18, 1998 - As part of the Our State, Our Forests series, a Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from MPR studios in Duluth, highlighting the Minnesota Northwoods. In this hour, MPR’s Rachel Reabe presents stories by reporters Leif Enger and Mary Losure which portray the timber industry past and present and describe its impact on the environment and economy of Northern Minnesota.
July 3, 1998 - It's said that some of the best fishing is found between the covers of a book. Angling literature is almost as old as the sport itself. Writer Jerry Dennis' new book, "The River Home: An Angler's Explorations", links fishing to home and our relationship with nature.