Frequently Asked Questions

Topics:

• Minnesota Public Radio (membership, funding, HD Radio, iPhone applications)
• A Prairie Home Companion / Writer's Almanac
• MPR News Midmorning and Midday call-in shows
• The Current / Classical Minnesota Public Radio / Radio Heartland

Minnesota Public Radio (membership, funding, HD radio, iPhone applications)

What is a Sustaining Membership?
Sustaining Memberships help support Minnesota Public Radio with your contributions. They are designed to renew automatically, at the same time every year. You simply use a credit card or bank account to set up a contribution schedule that works for you. These regular contributions continue until you either want to change the amount or stop the payments.

Sustaining Memberships save on paper and postage, since we don’t need to send letters to remind you about your renewal date. As a result, more of your member dollars go to programming.

Sustaining Memberships also allow you to spread your contribution out over the course of the year. You can learn more about the Sustainer program by visiting
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/support/ membership/
sustaining_members.shtml.

How much of MPR's funding comes from the government?
About 9 percent of our total funding comes from government sources, mostly in the form of program grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Members provide the most important source of program support.

What is HD radio?
HD Radio is a new digital technology that adds unprecedented clarity to AM and FM broadcasts. An HD signal can also be split so that more than one broadcast can be offered on a single frequency. For example, KNOW 91.1 in the Twin Cities offers three HD channels. KNOW HD1 has the same news programming everyone else hears. KNOW HD2 offers our newest service, Radio Heartland. KNOW HD3 offers the BBC World Service during the day, and the best of MPR programming throughout the night.

How can I access HD Radio?
You will need a special receiver in order to access HD programming. Any electronics retailer will have several HD radios to offer. At the moment, MPR offers additional HD channels only in the Twin Cities, though we have plans to expand our HD offerings across our regional network in the future.

Can I listen to MPR audio on my iPhone?
Yes. You can hear MPR news, MPR classical, The Current or Radio Heartland on any Iphone or Ipod Touch, using the MPR Radio App. You can download it for free from the Itunes App store.

Can I access other MPR content on my mobile phone?
Yes. MPR offers a text-only, phone friendly site where you can scan the headlines and read the top stories in News, Politics, Business, Arts and Culture, Science and Life. You can even keep up with the News Cut blog. Simply go to www.mpr.org/mobile in your mobile phone's browser.

A Prairie Home Companion/Writer's Almanac

How do I get tickets for A Prairie Home Companion live broadcasts?
Ticketing information can be found on A Prairie Home Companion's Web site — prairiehome.org — or by calling 651-290-1221.

Is it possible to purchase tapes or transcripts of A Prairie Home Companion broadcasts?
Tapes and transcripts of the show are not available. However, you can listen to past shows by visiting the show's Web site, www.prairiehome.org. The program archive goes back several years. The Pretty Good Goods catalog (www.prettygoodgoods.org or 1-800-998-8173) offers collections of some of Garrison's best-loved monologues as well as highlights of past programs.

How do I submit one of the personal greetings that Garrison reads during the show?
If you're seeing the show live, you will notice baskets by the auditorium doors of the auditorium. Just write your greeting on one of the slips of paper provided and toss it into the basket. During the break, Garrison selects the ones he'll read. You can also submit a greeting through the show's Web site: www.prairiehome.org/greetings/.

What is the piano music that accompanies The Writer's Almanac?
The music that begins and ends The Writer's Almanac is a Scandinavian folk tune called "Gi Mig En Dag" ("Give Me a Day"). The pianist is Rich Dworsky, music director for A Prairie Home Companion. Unfortunately, there are currently no commercial recordings of the song available. Sheet music is allegedly available, but apparently quite difficult to find.

MPR News Midmorning and Midday call-in shows

How can I submit a question or comment to your call-in shows?
You can call in a question or comment to Midmorning or Midday by calling 651-227-6000. You can also submit a question online at the Midmorning page and the Midday page at www.mpr.org.

Is it possible to hear a Midmorning or Midday program again?
All Midmorning and Midday programs are archived on their Web pages and available in streaming audio. Recent episodes of Midmorning may be downloaded as a Podcast.

The Current / Classical Minnesota Public Radio

How can I learn more about a piece of music I heard on The Current or Classical Minnesota Public Radio?
We carry a complete playlist on Classical Minnesota Public Radio's and The Current's pages of our Web site. You can look at what's currently playing or more than a year into our past.

How do I submit music to be played on The Current / Classical Minnesota Public Radio?

Bands interested in getting their music heard on The Current or Classical Minnesota Public Radio should send us your recordings (no e-mails, please), clearly labeled with your group name and contact information:

The Current c/o Melanie Walker
—or—
Classical Minnesota Public Radio c/o Rex Levang

480 Cedar Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55101

We are unable to return any media (CD, Cassette, LPs)

How can my band get on The Current's The Local Show

Minnesota bands should send their recordings and contact information (no e-mails, please):

The Current c/o David Safar
480 Cedar Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55101

What is Radio Heartland?
Radio Heartland is a new Minnesota Public Radio service created by Dale Connelly. It's an eclectic mix of folk, blues, bluegrass and R&B, and it can be heard 24 hours a day. You can listen in the Twin Cities with an HD radio (KNOW 91.1 HD2) and you can listen anywhere online, at www.radioheartland.org.