July 28, 2022 - The Minnesota Orchestra Thursday named Danish conductor Thomas Sondergard as its 11th music director. All Things Considered’s Tom Crann takes a moment to chat with Sondergard about his upcoming new role. Topics of interview include Minnesota Orchestra’s future model and diversity within the orchestra and performances.
June 24, 2022 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann speaks with Jean Tretter, a founder of Twin Cities Pride; and Roxanne Anderson, founder of Power to the People, about the 50th anniversary of the Pride festival in the Twin Cities.
June 22, 2022 - On this Appetites segment, a MPR’s Mecca Bos presents a story from the North Star Journey Project. Bos profiles Dream of Wild Health Farm in Hugo, Minnesota. It is one of the few Native-led farms in the Twin Cities, with a focus on the indigenous tradition of utilizing edible plants.
June 3, 2022 - MPR’s Dan Kraker reports on record water levels on Rainy Lake, where homes are flooding, docks are under 5 to 6 feet of water, and roads and campsites are closed along the Canadian border as residents continue to battle rising floodwaters.
May 23, 2022 - On this segment of North Star Journey, MPR’s Catharine Richert looks into a reckoning the city of Rochester finds itself going through. New research into housing covenants provides evidence that the founders of Mayo Clinic — a giant in Minnesota and Rochester, viewed globally as a force for good — played a role perpetuating practices that favored all-white neighborhoods.
February 25, 2022 - MPR’s Dan Kraker reports on Lake Superior research known as the “Winter Grab.” Scientists have a pretty good understanding of what goes on in the Great Lakes during the summer. But they don't know nearly as much about Lake Superior and the other lakes during winter. That's significant because winter is when the lakes are experiencing their most dramatic impacts from climate change.
February 15, 2022 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann interviews Minneapolis activist and writer Junauda Petrus about her book “The Stars and the Blackness Between Them” being placed on a potenial banned books list in Texas. The book is the story of two black girls from very different backgrounds finding love and happiness in a world that seems determined to deny them both.
August 27, 2021 - MPR’s Vicki Adame profiles Gustavo Romero, chef and owner of Nixta in northeast Minneapolis. Romero opened the tortilleria in July 2020 because he saw a necessity to bring a better tortilla to Minneapolis and the state. He stays close to tradition to produce authentic flavors.
June 30, 2021 - Many Minnesota school districts are launching equity programs in an attempt to correct Minnesota’s well-documented and long-standing racial inequalities. But in numerous places, groups of parents, and sometimes students, are combating those programs. Education reporter Elizabeth Shockman followed just such a battle over SEED program in the rural, mostly white district of Pequot Lakes in north-central Minnesota.
April 30, 2021 - MPR’s Hannah Yang reports on how school community members have grieved the loss of a first grader at Park Side Elementary School in Marshall. The student died from complications due to COVID-19. Yang explores how families have navigated the loss and helped their children try to make sense of it.