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People & Places

• Hardanger fiddle enthusiasts flock to Northfield
  The hardanger fiddle is Norway's national instrument. To the untrained eye, it looks much like the violin. But the nine-string fiddle produces its own distinctive sound. That sound and the instrument will be celebrated this week at St. Olaf College in Northfield.July 22, 2003
• Creating art in the shadow of the food court
  For centuries, artists have used caricature to cast a satirical eye on the human condition. Renaissance artists, for example, used distortion to lambaste the rigidity of their everyday lives. Today, caricature art often takes a backseat to its popular cousin, the political cartoon. But, if you look hard enough, you'll find the art form is alive and well.July 18, 2003
• Runestone debate shifts to Sweden
  It's been the object of devotion and derision. It's been bandied about by scientists, academics and amateur sleuths. And now the Kensington Runestone is being hauled to Sweden. The runestone was unearthed by a farmer in 1898. It's carved with an inscription some believe is the writings of Nordic explorers dating from the year 1392. Others believe it's a modern forgery, and Swedish scientists are holding a conference in October to study the evidence surrounding the runestone.July 17, 2003
• Pet care advice
  Veterinarian KateAn Hunter answesr listener questions about animal care. As always, she'll be here with her dog Ancel.July 11, 2003
• The Enthusiasts: A zest for fishing lures
  Lots of people have fishing lures. But Ken Bachman has hundreds -- possibly thousands -- of lures collected over the past 25 years. Minnesota Public Radio's Rob Schmitz talks with Ken Bachman in the basement of his Owatonna residence, home to nothing less than a fishing lure archive.July 9, 2003
• Preserving "The Tide"
  It was 1945. Truman takes over after FDR dies in office. It's close to the end of World War II. War movies were still popular. Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly have a hit with Anchor's Away. That was the same year the Navy launched the USS Tidewater. The Tidewater, a little bit longer than a football field, was the biggest vessel ever built at the U.S. Naval Shipyards in Charleston, South Carolina. Nearly 60 years later several former sailors are trying to preserve the history of a ship they call "The Tide." MPR's Cathy Wurzer talks with several of them.June 30, 2003
• Words that shook the world
  Speech consultant and analyst Richard Greene has put together a terrific, coffee-table style book featuring the text of some the best speeches of the last century.June 25, 2003
• Grand Portage: Rich in land, and protective of it
  It's said that the twisted cedar tree has thrust from the rocky bluffs on Lake Superior for more than 300 years. The so-called "w" at the tip of Minnesota's Arrowhead region is a fixture in Minnesota calendars and tour books, and a symbol of the Grand Portage Band of Chippewa. To the Chippewa, or Ojibwe, who call it Manido-Gree-Shi-Gance or "spirit-little-cedar," it's a sacred site where tobacco offerings have been sprinkled for generations.June 21, 2003
• The art of bow making
  Matt Wehling used to be a chemist. He spent his spare time playing violin in a Twin Cities Celtic band - The Clumsy Lovers. Then disaster struck. His violin broke. For Wehling the repair process was life changing. These days he can be found in the basement studio of his house in Northfield making prize-winning bows for violins, cellos, and violas.June 20, 2003
• Windsurfers race to Minnesota
  In a rare visit to the Midwest, a national windsurfing contest is being held in Minnesota this week. Competitors in the U.S. Windsurfing National Championships will race around a set course on Lake Okabena in Worthington. It's one of the windiest places in the state. But organizers of the event say wind is only one of the reasons they choose southwest Minnesota.June 12, 2003
• A crossroads of two prehistoric cultures
  La Crosse archaeologists say they've discovered evidence of the origin of the Oneota tribe. It was an ancient indigenous people and the ancestor of many Midwestern Native American tribes including the Ho-Chunk and the Dakota. The find has spurred an energetic debate in the archaeology community that has led to more questions than answers.June 5, 2003
• Cemetery turns 150, honors old vets and discovers new ones
  As it has since 1870, St. Paul's Oakland Cemetery hosted a Memorial Day service honoring the veterans buried there. But this year the cemetery also used the occasion to celebrate its 150th anniversary. Oakland has long been one of Minnesota's lesser-known historical treasures. But in the past few years volunteers have uncovered a wealth of new details about the veterans buried there.May 26, 2003
• Remembering Bill Gagnier
  It's still hard to figure out what Bill was doing in Vietnam. Especially now when history tells us that the president and his advisers were convinced long before Bill died that the war was a lost cause. But, if that's hard to understand, it's much easier to understand why he went and why he did what he did when he was there. You do what you have to do. MPR's Gary Eichten remembers his friend from North Mankato.May 26, 2003
• May means morel mushrooms in the southeast
  For outdoor enthusiasts, the month of May holds special meaning. Birds return from their winter migration and wild flowers push up through the muddy ground. And for a 2-3 week window, the morel mushroom abounds in southeastern Minnesota.May 23, 2003
• Heritage Park development approaches milestone
  Heritage Park is designed to house a racially and economically diverse population.May 15, 2003

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