Main Street

Wednesday, August 18, 2021 - A commemorative event for famous North Dakota vocalist Peggy Lee is scheduled Friday, Sept. 10, at the Eagles Club in Valley City. It features the Myron Sommerfeld Orchestra with vocalist Bonnie Sommerfeld. Myron and daughter Bonnie join us to discuss Peggy Lee and their own musical histories. (Proceeds of the event benefit the Barnes County Historical Society.) ~~~ Jodi Smith is the North Dakota Commissioner of the board of University & School Lands. For many people, it’s a board they’re not too familiar with. Jodi joins us to explain the important work the board does in the management and stewardship of educational trusts, mineral acres, and other assets that are purposed for the benefit of public schools and other institutions in the state. The board administers nearly $6 billion of financial assets, and oversees more than 2.5 million mineral acres, and 700,000 surface acres.

Tuesday, Aug 17, 2021- Carol Kaupaun Ratchenski guest hosts as we visit with Jamie Parsley, Episcopal priest and poet. Parsley first published his book "Fargo 1957" in 2010. This year a new edition came out from NDSU Press. Both a poet and a priest, this book is an elegy to the people, both victims and survivors of the tornado that tore through Fargo on June 20, 1957, killing 12 people including two members of his family members. We’ll talk about his decision to record, in poetry, that devastating historical event. We’ll also hear about his poem “Pristine,” on the new memorial to victims of TWA flight 529 which crashed in September 1961. ~~~ Josie Danz is the former manager of Zandbroz on Broadway, an independent bookstore in Fargo. She is the new Marketing and Publicity Manager with Laurence King Publishing at Hachette Book Group in San Francisco. We’ll talk about her new adventure, and get her thoughts on recent research that tells us reading fiction makes us not only happier, but also more empathetic.

Monday, Aug 16, 2021 - We drop in on a One-Book One-North Dakota event, as Rebecca Chalmers, former English professor at the University of Mary, visits with author William Kent Krueger about his book “This Tender Land,” which was the June selection for one-book one-nd. ~~~ North Dakota is not the only state to host a statewide book club. Minnesota is currently featuring Marcie Rendon’s book “Murder on the Red River.” We share an interview Ashley Thornberg did with Marcie, back in 2018 when the book first came out.

Main Street Weekend shares encore interviews from previous week's shows.

Friday, August 13, 2021 - North Dakota’s strong tradition of home gardeners and farmers’ markets has helped drive a growing interest in soil health. And Derek Lowstuter of Folly Hill Farms in Menoken had soil health in mind when he developed a new fertilizer. With a background in natural resource management and horticulture, he's traveled the globe getting hands-on experience with small-scale, sustainable growing techniques. He calls himself a soil alchemist. Ashley Thornberg stopped by for a visit. ~~~ News director Dave Thompson is here for our weekly news chat. ~~~ Matt Olien reviews “Stillwater,” the new Matt Damon film about a young American woman imprisoned in France for a murder she didn’t commit. ~~~ Chuck Lura is here with a Natural North Dakota essay on poison ivy.

Thursday, August 12, 2021 - The third time’s the charm for comedian Paula Poundstone. After getting postponed twice due to the pandemic, she’ll be performing later this month in Fargo. Paula, who is also a frequent guest on Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, visits with guest host Bill Thomas. ~~~ In an excerpt from Sunday’s Great American Folk Show, we hear from North Dakota vocalist Colleen Reinhardt. ~~~ Sue Balcom is here to discuss gardening for health.

Wednesday, August 11, 2021 - Clete Winklemann moved from Illinois to Fargo early this Spring to take the executive director job at Nexus Path, long known for adoption services. Path is also a leader in clinical trauma treatment and it continues to grow its services, including placing social workers in schools. What Winklemann found here in ND is a growing need for youth services and a critical lack of social workers. In a conversation with guest interviewer Carol Kaupaun Rachenski, we learn about Path’s goals and struggles, and what those tell us about North Dakota. ~~~ Working for yourself can be challenging. The hours and pay are sporadic. There’s a lot of paperwork. But many love the freedom and pride of having a business to call their own. On a recent visit to Medora, Ashley caught up with Jordan Morin, owner of Bar Diamond Bar Boutique and Gallery.

Tuesday, August 10, 2021 - Jeffrey Miller joins us to discuss his new book, “Klasberg, North Dakota: Collected Stories from the Middle of Nowhere.” Set in a fictional town, it’s a collection of short stories that examines the reality of modern rural living, far from the big city. ~~~ The heat of summer reminds us to appreciate things like shade, air conditioning and water. That’s especially true on farms, where it can be a struggle to keep livestock cool. As Harvest Public Media’s Dana Cronin reports, with increasingly hot summers linked to climate change, livestock producers are searching for ways to protect their animals from the heat. ~~~ Reservation Dogs is a new TV comedy following the lives of four Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma, as they spend their days committing crime, and fighting it. It was created by Taika Waititi and our guest, Sterlin Harjo.

Monday, August 9, 2021 - Don Weinell, a long-distance bicyclist, documented one of his trips in a new book titled “A Field Guide to Custer’s Camps: On the March to the Little Bighorn.” Weinell kept a log of his experiences as he traced Custer’s route, creating an on-the-ground exploration of the elements, the terrain, and the physical demands of cross-country travel. ~~~ NDSU history professor Tom Isern is here with a Plains Folk essay titled “Language of Cottonwoods. ~~~ Dr. Leana Wen, is an emergency physician, former Baltimore Health Commissioner, and medical analyst for CNN. In an excerpt from the Conversations on Healthcare podcast, she takes a critical look at the nation’s response to the pandemic and discusses her new book, “Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health.” ~~~ Eliza Blue shares a Postcard from the Prairie -- an essay about a welcome rainfall.

Friday, August 6, 2021 - Jack Russell Weinstein joins us for a discussion of peace and non-violence. It’s a preview for his Sunday conversation with activist Kathy Kelly on “WHY? Philosophical Discussions About Everyday Life.” ~~~ Chuck Lura shares a Natural North Dakota essay on cottonwood gall. ~~~ Dave Thompson is here for our weekly news chat. ~~~ Matt Olien reviews “The Green Knight.”