May 21, 1986 - MPR’s Jim Bickal presents a profile of the 1986 Minnesota Music Awards. Bickal describes the elaborate scene, talks with a limo driver, interviews an unimpressed Soul Asylum, and hears from a disgruntled guest. Segment also highlights Prince accepting honor as first charter member of the Minnesota Music Academy.
May 27, 1986 - MPR’s Kate Moos talks with St. Paul’s Ann Bancroft about her expedition to the South Pole. Bancroft recounts the challenges of being in the Arctic.
June 2, 1986 - On this cover story of MPR Journal, a look at possible end of the nine month Hormel strike in Austin, Minnesota. MPR reporter Mike Mulcahy provides details of Federal District Court Judge Edward Devitt’s injunction on United Food and Commercial Workers Union local P-9, effectively ending strike. Even with court decision, some strikers are determined to continue fight against Hormel officials.
June 26, 1986 - MPR’s Beth Friend looks at Dinkytown in the late 1950s-early 1960s. It was a musically and literary rich community, which included The Scholar coffee shop, McCosh bookstore…and a certain Hibbing musician.
August 1, 1986 - Ed Wahlberg, a striking steelworker leader at U.S. Steel taconite plant in the Mesabi Iron Range, talks about the misleading public perception regarding wages at plant.
August 28, 1986 - MPR Journal’s Gary Eichten interviews Larry Williams, a Twin Cities cab driver, about the danger and difficulty of driving a taxi cab.
September 8, 1986 - On this MPR Journal program, a collection of reports, interviews, and a news rundown hosted by Gary Eichten.
September 13, 1986 - R.T. Rybak, former writer of the Star Tribune; and Karin Winegar, feature writer at the Star Tribune, discuss what is “in” within the Twin Cities. Topics include the caliber of “hotness,” nightlife, gay community, coastal influence, neighborhoods, restaurants, Minneapolis warehouse district and St. Paul’s Lowertown. Rybak and Winegar also answer listener questions.
October 9, 1986 - Hennepin County Park Commissioner Patti Baker talks about the nostalgia, declining usage, and rehabilitation needs of Parade Stadium outside of downtown Minneapolis. The field was Minneapolis's first public football stadium (even hosting NFL games), though it was mostly meant for high school, amateur, and small-college games. It also was host to a number of high-profile concerts over the decades.
November 26, 1986 - General John Vessey, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shares his views on investigation of the Iran Arms-Contra deal. He also comments on the media and concerns of blowing situation out of proportion.