April 17, 2001 - THE MINNEAPOLIS FOUNDATION HAS ANNOUNCED A NEW SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM THAT GIVES MONEY TO STUDENTS WHO GRADUATE ON TIME FROM A HANDFUL OF SCHOOLS IN BOTH MINNEAPOLIS AND ST. PAUL. THE SEVEN SCHOOLS WERE CHOSEN BECAUSE THEY ARE STRUGGLING ACADEMICALLY AND HAVE A HIGH NUMBER OF POOR STUDENTS, AND THOSE WHO DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH AS A FIRST LANGUAGE. A NEW BOOK BY A MINNEAPOLIS TEACHER GIVES US A GLIMPSE AT THE CHALLENGES AND REWARDS OF TEACHING A DIVERSE GROUP OF STUDENTS. JULIE LANDSMAN HAS BEEN TEACHING IN THE MINNEAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR TWENTY-FIVE YEARS. HER BOOK, "A WHITE TEACHER TALKS ABOUT RACE" INTRODUCES READERS TO HER STUDENTS AND TO THE QUESTIONS OF RACIAL IDENTITY AND CULTURAL CONFLICT THAT COME UP IN HER CLASSROOM. LANDSMAN TALKED WITH MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO'S JULIE SIPLE. SHE SAYS IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHERE HER STUDENTS ARE COMING FROM.
April 17, 2001 - MPR’s Brandt Williams reports on the new Roy Wilkins Auditorium which is being discussed in the Minnesota house and senate. The new auditorium would feature trade shows and musical acts, as well as a new civil rights museum. Mayor of St. Paul Norm Coleman speaks in support of the new center. A 12 person Tribute Committee comprised of local civil rights activists, business leaders, and citizens spearheads the development of the new civil rights museum.
April 19, 2001 - Israel came to a standstill today to remember the victims of the Nazi Holocaust. Sirens wailed for two minutes across the Jewish state to commemorate the six million Jews killed during World War Two. In the United States, President Bush spoke at ceremony in the Capitol rotunda where he described the Holocaust as one of history's great crimes. The word holocaust is never mentioned in N.M. Kelby's new novel "In the Company of Angels," but the horrific event is clearly the backdrop her young jewish character, Marie Claire, is trying to escape.
April 19, 2001 - Minnesota's American Indian tribes have won a 200-thousand-dollar award for promoting preventive health for the elderly. The University of Pennsylvania's Institute on Aging recognized the state's eleven tribal communities along with the Minnesota Board on Aging for developing the Wisdom Steps program which provides education and healthy-living activities. Minnesota was one of three recipients this year of the university's SHARE award. Mary Snobl, an Indian elder specialist with the Minnesota Board on Aging says it's important that her community focus on healthy practices because on average, American Indians live 8 to 10 years less than many Americans.
April 25, 2001 - As part of Mainstreet Radio series "Broken Trust: Civil Rights in Indian Country,” MPR’s Mark Steil reports on funding and discrimination battles Native American farmers face with the U.S. government.
April 26, 2001 - The descendants of the Lakota leader Crazy Horse have settled a defamation lawsuit over the use of his name in the marketing of Crazy Horse Malt Liquor. Crazy Horse's descendants filed suit eight years ago trying to stop beer makers from using the chief's name on an alcohol product that was distributed to 32 states. The opposition to Crazy Horse malt liquor came in part, because Crazy Horse had denounced the introduction of alcohol to American Indians. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports:
April 27, 2001 - A Lutheran church in St. Paul is about to break the rules of its governing body. St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church will ordain Anita Hill tomorrow. Hill is a lesbian woman in a committed relationship-- and that puts the church out of line with the ELCA, the governing body of about ten thousand Lutheran churches across the country. The St. Paul Area Synod, which oversees lutheran churches in the St. Paul area, has not yet decided what action to take. Bruce Forbes is a professor of religious studies at Morningside Collge in Sioux City, Iowa... and an ordained United Methodist Minister. Bruce Forbes is a professor of religious studies at Morningside Collge in Sioux City, Iowa... and an ordained United Methodist Minister.
May 9, 2001 - (FOR WED. M.E.) Lawyers expect a full day of testimony in St. Cloud today , in a trial for a misdemeanor driving offense that has been complicated by allegations of racial profiling. Minnesota Public Radio's Jeff Horwich has this Mainstreet report.
May 18, 2001 - A traveling exhibition of artifacts from the Harlem Renaissance are heading back to the Weisman Museum.
May 18, 2001 - The benefits of putting security cameras in local places and helping out with minor traffic crimes. Minorities are pressuring the government to take the cameras down.