December 17, 2003 - Twenty years ago this month a nun and a lay volunteer who had been working with the homeless opened a small drop-in center on a busy downtown St. Paul street corner. The opening went unnoticed by most St. Paulites, but among the city's homeless population, word spread fast. The buzz was fueled by rumors that homeless guests could relax for hours at a time, enjoy a hot cup of coffee and even play the guitar. The new facility was called Listening House. Over the years Listening House has moved a couple times, not always by choice, and it has grown considerably. This morning St. Paul city leaders, past and present, will celebrate Listening House's 20th anniversary at the St. Paul Hotel. The event is also a fundraiser. Minnesota Public Radio's Lorna Benson reports.
August 13, 2003 - MPR’s Lorna Benson interviews Tony Woodcock, who has been chosen to lead the Minnesota Orchestra as the new president replacing the retiring president, David Hyslop. The orchestra also begins an entirely different movement this fall with a new music director, Osmo Vänskä.
June 24, 2003 - Earlier in the program, we reported on the measures the Duluth Zoo is taking to protect its animals against the West Nile virus. Although the human risk of contracting the virus through a mosquito bite is small, it's added incentive to keep mosquito bites to a minimum. Jeff Hahn is an entomologist with the University of Minnesota Extension Service. Hahn says there are a number of natural mosquito repellents on the market, ranging from lemon grass to peppermint. But he says their popularity far outweighs their effectiveness.
June 19, 2003 - MPR’s Lorna Benson interviews Jim Quackenbush, a pork producer, about fast-food giant McDonald's asking its meat suppliers to phase out the use of antibiotics which promote animal growth. The company is responding to concerns that antibiotics given to animals in feed reduces the effectiveness of antibiotic medicines in humans. The announcement is likely to have a profound effect on beef and pork producers in Minnesota.
June 18, 2003 - Scandinavian cooks have always been blessed with a backyard full of world-class ingredients -- from Norwegian salmon to berries sweetened by 24-hour-a-day summer sunlight. But despite these natural assets, Scandinavian dining has only recently made the transition from home-cooking to fine cuisine. In his new book "Kitchen of Light: New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad (Ahn-DRAY-uhs Vee-eh-stahd)," the Oslo-based food writer says Scandinavian cooks didn't abandon their traditional dishes. Instead, Viestad says they gave them new flair.
June 16, 2003 - St. Paul gym teacher and hockey coach Jon Westby spent yesterday's Father's Day holiday with two rambunctious 7 year-olds -- his twin sons, Henry and James. It was a remarkable day for Westby because there was a time when he wasn't sure his sons would overcome the difficult odds they faced. Westby writes about that experience in his new book, "They Will Know They are Loved: A Family's Life with Premature Twins." He says when he first found out his wife Catherine was having twins, he was elated. But that excitement soon turned to fear.
June 13, 2003 - MPR’s Lorna Benson interviews David King, drummer of the jazz trio The Bad Plus. While the band is based in New York, King resides in St. Paul. King says his music is influenced by dance, pop, and rock. But, he says even as a child, he was most captivated by jazz.
June 10, 2003 - Alaska's diphtheria epidemic of 1925 is well-documented in the 1995 animated movie Balto. The film's namesake, a fluffy black husky, and his sleddog team brave an Arctic blizzard to bring life-saving serum to hundreds of dying kids. While the story is true, the popular children's tale reveals just a fraction of what really happened. Cousins Laney and Gay Salisbury (SAHLS-bury) have written the first complete account of the diphtheria serum run in their new book "The Cruelest Miles." Gay Salisbury says the outbreak first appeared in Nome which, at the time, was the north-westernmost town in Alaska.
May 23, 2003 - MPR’s Michael Khoo talks with All Things Considered host Lorna Benson about a Minnesota legislative plan that extends nuclear waste storage at Xcel Energy's Prairie Island plant. The proposal is meant to keep the facility operating through 2014, but has run into objections from environmental advocates. Critics say it lacks a strong commitment to renewable energy alternatives and provides no explicit role for lawmakers in future nuclear waste storage debates.
May 21, 2003 - The Bush administration banned all beef imports from Canada yesterday, shortly after officials in Alberta confirmed the first North American case of mad cow disease in more than a decade. The disease in cattle is linked to a brain-destroying human illness which is believed to be contracted by eating brain or nerve tissue from infected animals. Dr. Will Hueston says he doesn't expect the fallout to be as devastating as it was in Britain.