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Wednesday, May 27, 2020 From Conversations on Health Care, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter welcome engineer, data analyst and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Tomas Pueyo whose current work compares different countries' approaches and outcomes for containing COVID-19. ~~~ How is North Dakota faring with the 2020 Census? And what added challenges are presented by the pandemic? Joining us is the state census office manager, Kevin Iverson.

Tuesday, May 26, 2020 - Nancy Joyner is the President of Honoring Choices North Dakota, a non profit organization that provides education about advance care planning. During the crisis, people are home and spending more time with families. It’s the perfect time to talk about what they want in the event they become incapacitated. ~~~ As the country’s leaders balance restarting the economy with public health concerns, Mark Trahant, editor of Indian Country Today, looks back on the Spanish Flu

Sunday, May 24, 2020 - News director Dave Thompson with a COVID-19 North Dakota update. ~~~ Dr. Joan Connell chairs the North Dakota Physician Advisory Committee for the Department of Health. The committee has been advising state leaders during the pandemic. She joins us to discuss the committee’s work. ~~~ “Carbon Cowboys'' is a new documentary series about farmers who have reduced carbon emissions with regenerative grazing. Filmmaker Peter Byck joins us. And with the pandemic, he reports that

Friday, May 22, 2020 - Michelle Kommer, commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Commerce, discusses the economic turmoil spawned by the pandemic, and the efforts to minimize the hardships. She visits with John Harris in an excerpt from the Prairie Pulse television show. ~~~ Most coronavirus cases and deaths have been centered in large urban areas, but rural hospitals have still been preparing for the arrival of the virus. As Jonathan Ahl reports for Harvest Public Media, the preparations

Thursday, May 21, 2020 - In another episode of Conversations on Healthcare, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. John Halamka, president of the Mayo Clinic Platform, a partnership with multiple entities seeking to improve healthcare through better data. They discuss the “five phases” to a “new normal” as precursors fully reopening society. That includes isolation, contact tracing, vaccine development, and testing for infection and antibodies. ~~~ Tom Isern shares a Plains Folk

Wednesday, May 20, 2020 - “Carbon Cowboys'' is a new documentary series about farmers who have reduced carbon emissions with regenerative grazing. Filmmaker Peter Byck joins us. And with the pandemic, he reports that the farmers he profiled have seen increased sales, since they often market direct to consumers. Among the farmers featured is Gabe Brown of Browns Ranch near Bismarck. ~~~ Harvest Public Media reports on the prospect of disposing of hogs that can’t make it to market. ~~~ Public’s

Tuesday, May 19, 2020 - Dr. Joan Connell chairs the North Dakota Physician Advisory Committee for the Department of Health. The committee has been advising state leaders during the pandemic. She joins us to discuss the committee’s work. ~~~ The coronavirus forced a rapid transformation of our education system this spring. In an episode of Education Mindset , a new podcast brought to you by North Dakota United, Watford City EL coordinator Mari Rasmussen and EL instructor Pamela Albright explain

Monday, May 18, 2020 - West Fargo's Liberty Middle School has a podcast focusing on issues facing teens and their mental health, called " It's OK Not to be OK ." It's garnered praise from North Dakota First Lady Kathryn Helgaas Burgum and recently won 2nd place in a state STEM competition. We visit with one of the hosts, Hailey Boehme and teacher advisor Holly Erickson. ~~~ While schools are closed across the country, students are missing out on more than just face-to-face time with teachers.

Sunday, May 17, 2020 - News director Dave Thompson begins our show with the latest news on the pandemic in North Dakota. ~~~ Joy Ryan, head of the North Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch. For almost 70 years the Ranch operations in Minot, Bismarck and Fargo have helped thousands of at-risk children, and they’ve managed to keep it going during the pandemic, but not without challenges. ~~~ Lee Frelich, the director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Forest Ecology, explains how global warming

Friday, May 15, 2020 - In a conversation conducted via Zoom, Kirsten Baesler, ND Supt. of the Department of Public Instruction, is John Harris’s guest in this week’s Prairie Pulse show. ~~~ In a Natural North Dakota essay, Chuck Lura sheds some light on how the Bald Hill dam got its name. ~~~ Dave Thompson is here for our weekly news chat. ~~~ Matt Olien reviews the big screen version of the hit play “Cats.”