Main Street

Tuesday, April 6, 2021 - Donald Johnson, assistant professor of history has been awarded the 2021 Distinguished Book Prize in U.S. History from the Society for Military History. The book is “ Occupied America: British Military Rule and the Experience of Revolution .” On the occasion of this honor, we share an encore conversation from last October when we spoke with Dr. Johnson about the book, which chronicles the everyday experience for people under occupation as the British sought to end the

Monday, April 5, 2021 - April 11 marks a tough anniversary for anyone close to Williston’s Barbara Louise Cotton. The kind-hearted 15-year-old disappeared on that date, 40 years ago, never to be seen or heard from again. Season five of the Dakota Spotlight podcast shines new light on the cold case, including finding sisters of a person of interest who say they have no doubt of their brother’s guilt. Ashley Thornberg visits with creator and host James Wolner, and Cotton’s childhood friend Sandee

Sunday, April 4, 2021 - Every Sunday we kick off Main Street Weekend with an extended news summary from Dave Thompson. ~~~ Our new monthly conversation with UND professor Jack Russell Weinstein called “Philosophical Currents” debuts with a discussion of hate crimes, particularly the recent spike in violence directed at Asian Americans. ~~~ Darcy Bakkegard spent a decade as a teacher before joining Prairie Public’s education department. To help teachers turn ideas into classroom realities, she co

Thursday, April 1, 2021 - Dave Thompson starts us off with his weekly news chat. ~~~ ~~~ Matt Olien reviews “Sound of Metal,” with Best Actor Oscar nominee Riz Ahmed. ~~~ Sue Balcom joins us for a Main Street Eats conversation about baking fails on this April Fools Day.

Wednesday, March 31, 2021 - Tom Brosseau returns with another behind-the-scenes preview of this week’s Great American Folk Show. ~~~ Tomorrow on April 1st, the Prairie Pulse television show will acknowledge the start of Child Abuse Prevention Month as John Harris visits with Quinn Jaeger, supervisor with Clay County Social Services. Today share an excerpt of that program, and you can see the entire conversation on our television service at 8 Central Thursday. ~~~ Tom Isern shares a Plains Folk

Tuesday, March 30, 2021 - In the late 1970s, the founders of the National Conservative Political Action Committee devised new methods of raising money, stoking fear and resentment, and targeting liberal candidates for shocking defeats. In the 1980 national election, one of their targets was U.S. Senator George McGovern from South Dakota. Author Marc C. Johnson's new book explores the 1980 election and how it changed the face of American politics. The book is called "Tuesday Night Massacre: Four

Monday, March 29. 2021 - Today we begin a new monthly conversation with UND professor Jack Russell Weinstein called “Philosophical Currents.” Once a month Jack will join us for a philosophical discussion about current matters facing society. ~~~ Some people look at problems and complain. Other people look at problems and create solutions. Darcy Bakkegard spent a decade as a teacher, sometimes finding teacher trainings, or professional development, lacking when it came to ways to apply those

Sunday, March 28, 2021 - Dr. Joshua Wynne is the vice president for health affairs at UND and dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He joins us to discuss the “Fauci Effect,” a sharp increase in student applications experienced at UND and med schools nationwide. He’ll also share highlights from his presentation to the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, which highlighted many of the med school’s remarkable accomplishments. ~~~ Adam Jentleson is the author of KILL SWITCH: The Rise of

Friday, March 26 - Our monthly Journalists Roundtable show is apt to have considerable discussion about current legislative session. What will pass? What will fail? In addition to news director Dave Thompson, we’re joined by special guests Mike Jacobs of the Grand Forks Herald, and Amy Sisk of the Bismarck Tribune.

Thursday, March 25 - We share an excerpt from the Prairie Pulse television show as host John Harris discusses the pandemic with Dr. Richard Vetter, Essentia Health Chief Medical Officer. ~~~ Tom Isern shares a Plains Folk essay. ~~~ Matt Olien reviews “Pieces of a Woman” with Oscar nominated best actress Vanessa Kirby. He also previews a Prairie Public watch party on the 20th anniversary of the documentary about Class B basketball in North Dakota, "One Shining Moment." ~~~ Sue Balcom is thinking