January 5, 1990 - Carl Sagan, author and astrophysicist, speaking at a Washington D.C. conference co-sponsored by the AMA National Initiative for Science and Technology. Sagan’s address was titled "Education: Strategies for Change," and dealt with the dangers of a scientifically illiterate population.
January 16, 1990 - Paul Loeb, investigative reporter and author, speaking at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Loeb’s speech was titled "Hope in Hard Times: How Individuals Can Make a Difference in the World". Loeb reflects on the recent activism in Eastern Europe and laments that Americans have forgotten that such activism is part of our heritage and our future. He attacks our "culture of passivity" and talks about how we can overcome it. Loeb is working on a book about the lives and choices of today's college students, and he has been visiting colleges and universities across the country to determine what they think about voting, political activism and patriotism. Loeb has written the books "Nuclear Culture: Living and Working in the World's Largest Atomic Complex", and Hope in Hard Times: America's Peace Movement and the Reagan Era".
January 19, 1990 - Dan Rather, CBS News anchor, speaking at the annual meeting of the greater Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, held in Minneapolis Convention Center. Rather’s address was titled "The Twenty-First Century Has Begun." Rather talks about global community, and the need for Americans to know more about the world. Following his speech, Rather moderated a panel discussion with 3M chairman Allen Jacobson, Cargill chairman Whitney MacMillan, and Hamline University's Nicholas Hayes. They looked ahead to the U.S. role in the world economy in the decades to come. James Rupp, the president and CEO of WCCO Radio and Television, introduced Dan Rather, speaking at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
January 26, 1990 - MPR’s Euan Kerr reports on Minneapolis City Council ‘s passage of a civilian review board for the city’s police department. Segment includes various viewpoints via speeches and interviews from Sharon Sayles Belton, Jackie Cherryhomes, Dennis Schulstad, and Mike Sauro.
February 1, 1990 - Julian Bond, civil rights activist and former Georgia state senator, speaking at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Bond’s address was titled, "Crisis in Black America: Past, Present and Future." After speech, Bond answered audience questions. Bond gained national attention when he was nominated for vice president at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. He was the first Black to have his name placed in nomination at a major political party convention, but he withdrew his name, because at age 28 he was too young to serve. While a student at Morehouse College in the 1960s, he was one of the founders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, active in voter registration drives in the rural south, and an early opponent of the Vietnam War.
February 7, 1990 - Al Shanker, president of the American Federation of Teachers, speaking at the Business Action Resource Council and the Community Affairs Roundtable of the Minneapolis and St. Paul Chambers of Commerce. Shanker’s address was titled speech "How Employers Can Make a Difference in Education," and was on education reform.
February 8, 1990 - John Mroz, president of the Institute for East-West Security, speaking at Minnesota Meeting. Mroz’s address was titled "The Walls Come Tumbling Down," in which he talked on the political situations within former Eastern-European communist countries. After speech, Mroz answered audience questions. Minnesota Meeting is a non-profit corporation which hosts a wide range of public speakers. It is managed by the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
February 12, 1990 - Johnnetta Cole, president of Spelman College, speaking at Macalester College. Cole addressed the role colleges should play in teaching, debating, and activism.
February 12, 1990 - Anne Summers, former editor-in-chief at Ms. magazine, speaking to the Minnesota Press Club. Summers shared her experiences with World Press Institute, as a foreign correspondent, and as editor of Ms.
February 13, 1990 - Sandra Harding, philosopher at University of Delaware, speaking at the 25th annual Nobel Conference, titled "The End of Science?" at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota. Glashow offered a feminist perspective on science.