November 8, 1999 - Since the discovery of British mountaineer George Mallory on the icy north face of Mount Everest in May, the world has learned a bit more about what happened on his fateful climb back in 1924. But still, the biggest question remains unanswered. Did Mallory and his partner Andrew Irvine make it to the summit? If they did, they would have accomplished the feat decades before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. Everest climber Eric Simonson organized the team that set out to find Mallory this spring. He's just released a book about the expedition called "Ghosts of Everest." Simonson says the sketchy information he and other climbers have had over the years fueled their imagination and hope that Mallory made it.
November 4, 1999 - MPR’s Lorna Benson interviews gay poet Mark Doty about his book “Firebird: A Memoir.” Doty reads a selection from the book, recalling how the lyrics to Petula Clark's song "Downtown" gave him hope.
November 2, 1999 - St. Paul is just one of four cities where voters are being asked to approve new sports facilities. Neil deMause is a critic of publicly funded stadiums and the author of the book "Field of Schemes." He's paying careful attention to stadium proposals across the country.
November 1, 1999 - Three-time Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Edward Albee is in the Twin Cities tonight to discuss the state of American theater. Albee's "A Delicate Balance", "Seascape", and "Three Tall Women" all won Pulitzer prizes. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed and equally criticized "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Despite his own success and many honors, Albee has had a difficult time getting his plays on Broadway, something that hasn't stopped the playwright from staging his work elsewhere in the county and abroad.
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 26, 1999 - Strong-willed, eccentric, passionate women are the driving force behind first-time novelist Linn Ullmann's new book "Before You Sleep." The story is set in present-day Norway and Brooklyn of the 1930s. Ullmann has experience with both places. She was born in Oslo and at age 15 moved to New York with her mother, actress Liv Ullmann, where she quickly absorbed the English language and American culture. Ullmann, who is also the daughter of director Ingmar Bergman, eventually moved back to Norway and became a journalist. When her love for writing spawned the beginnings of her novel, Ullmann wondered whether to write it in English or Norwegian.
October 14, 1999 - The nation's good economy has helped revitalize many American cities, including St. Paul which is enjoying a building boom. But Minnesota's capital still faces challenges, including a downtown that's virtually empty after 6pm. Today, the former mayor of Indianapolis William Hudnut toured St. Paul as an invited guest of the St. Paul Foundation. Hudnut is credited with transforming the nation's 12th largest city from "Naptown" to what Newsweek magazine called "The Cinderella of the Rust Belt.
October 11, 1999 - The Vixens and the Vikings may be off to a bleak start, but for local cheeseheads it looks like a promising season. The Green Bay Packers are now 3-and-1 after yesterday's victory over Tampa Bay. But is another SuperBowl victory possible? Pulitzer Prize winning author David Maraniss says as much as today's fans are hoping to rival the 2 SuperBowl vicories of legendary Coach Vince Lombardi in the 60s, he is a tough act to follow. In the new biography "When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi" Maraniss says the coach was so great there is a whole culture of myth about him.
October 1, 1999 - Minnesota Korean war veterans are stunned over allegations that U.S. troops may have massacred hundreds of Korean women and children hiding under a railroad bridge in 1950. Ed Valle is President of the 400-member Korean War Veterans of Minnesota Chapter 1. He says if the allegations are true, it's a terrible stain on American troops who were sent to Korea. But he says he's holding out hope it's not true because it would hurt the efforts Minnesota veterans who have fought a long battle for recognition.
September 27, 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 of a woman who had mixed success as a novelist but eventually found her voice in the character of Betsy, whose antics and adventures mirrored Maud's real-life childhood in Mankato at the turn of the century.