Almanac Producer's Blog

Almanac Highlights December 21, 2007

The Monologue
Sheletta Brundidge is thinking about the holidays. 

Winter Solstice Eve
Early Saturday morning winter begins with snow and fog in our region.  Paul Douglas drops by with a holiday forecast and a larger look ahead to winter.

HeadingHome Minnesota
It's a new public/private partnership to end homelessness in Minnesota.  Is that possible?   We hear from two people working on the effort:  Jim Frey and Tim Marx.

Live Music by The Pines
The Pines are a indie/folk duo from Minneapolis that record for Red House Records.  The duo play a tune for us live in Studio B.  You can catch them in concert December 29 at the Cedar Cultural Center.

Christmas:  A Candid History
It's a new book about the holiday's roots by Minneapolis author Bruce David Forbes.  By day, Forbes teaches religion at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa.

Al Quie Looks Back at the Election of 1978
Mary Lahammer sat down recently with Governor Quie to talk about the election in which the DFL lost both U.S. Senate seats and the Governorship.

A Panel Potpourri
This week's political panel looks at issues stateside and national.  Democrats Wy Spano and Mary Jo McGuire are joined by Republicans Andy Brehm and Brian Sullivan. 

The Wrapup
Two Minnesota history questions, your comments about last week's program, and a special holiday show-ending clip. 

Almanac Highlights December 14, 2007

The Weekly Monologue
It's Dominic Papatola's turn. 

Duluth Mayor Don Ness
Late Thursday the City of Duluth ratified a contract with its largest public employee union.  Duluth Mayor-elect Don Ness talks about the union vote and other city issues. 

Austin Pork Workers
A dozen workers at Quality Pork in Austin have developed mysterious medical problems.  We check in with State Epidemiologist Ruth Lynfield.

Quie's Idea
Former Governor Al Quie says he knows a way to reduce partisanship at the State Capitol.  Our Mary Lahammer explains.

Yellow Ribbon Campaign Going National?
The U.S. House of Reps passed a Defense Bill this week that would extend Minnesota's innovative National Guard "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon" campaign nationwide.  Find out more from Col. Kevin Gerdes. 

Steroids in Baseball
That's one of the topics on our list of things to chat about with Larry Fitzgerald Sr.  Larry makes monthly visits to Almanac to discuss sports. 

Leatherheads
That's the name of a new book written about the Duluth Eskimos NFL football team.  We meet up with Duluth News Tribune columnist Chuck Frederick who is the book's author. 

A Minneapolis Schools Action Plan
This week the Minneapolis School board approved a district-wide strategic plan, the first such plan for the district in decades.  Joining us in the studio are Schools Superintendent Bill Green and School Board Chair Pam Costain.

The Wrapup
We have two Minnesota history questions, including this week's (who was May Walker Ollie Homestead?).  We then end the show with a rare 1962 holiday music clip from the KTCA program "Christmas in Tyrol" starring the Madrigal Singers of the College of St. Thomas. 

Almanac Highlights December 7, 2007

The Monologue
Dr. Mark DePaolis --and he is a real doctor-- has the honors this week. 

Mesothelioma on the Iron Range
The Minnesota Department of Health issued a report Friday with analysis of the 58 Iron Range miners who have died in recent years of the lung disease Mesothelioma.  Minnesota Health Commissioner Dr. Sanne Magnan tells us about it.

Supreme Court Justice Chris Dietzen
He's not actually been sworn it yet, but our state's newest Supreme Court justice sits down with Cathy and Eric at the Almanac table. 

The Steeles Holiday Music Live!
For more than a decade The Steeles have been paying us a holiday visit to test their lung power in prep of their annual holiday concert.  This year's performances will be December 14 and 15 at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul.

The Beatles
Relive August 21, 1965 --the day the Fab Four came to old Met Stadium-- through the eyes of Twin Cities photographer Bill Carlson.  He's written a book on the subject.

Recycling
Our state is grappling with how to get people to recycle tons of electronic waste.  Our Mary Lahammer reports.

Why We Are Here
That's the name of a series of upcoming stories at MinnPost.com  Each video will tell the story of a Minnesota immigrant.  We preview the series with MinnPost videographer Steve Date and profile subject Theary Kem.  The full online story will be available midday Monday at MinnPost.com

A Political Science Panel
The Iowa caucuses are getting closer... both in time... and in poll results.  Throw in Mitt Romney's big speech this week and Ron Paul's impressive fundraising... and you have plenty for a Poli Sci Panel to talk about.  Telling us more is Larry Jacobs, Guy Charles, David Schultz and Dan Hofrenning.

Another Holiday Tune by The Steeles
We thought this would be a good way to end this week's show.