Main Street

Friday, March 27 - We suspend our usual Friday movie review to have a more comprehensive conversation with reviewer Matt Olien about the impact the pandemic is having on the release of films and the film industry in general.~~~ Dave Thompson is here for our weekly conversation about the latest news. ~~~ Governor Walz of Minnesota has issued a Stay at Home executive order. But what does that mean if you’re homeless? Joining us to discuss the challenges being faced by homeless shelters is Sue

Thursday, March 26, 2020 – Amid COVID-19, many people are finding themselves working or learning from home. For some, the transition is pretty easy, but that can depend on what you know about your digital options. It’s called digital literacy and today we learn about Microsoft TechSpark. This effort to boost digital literacy pairs tech professionals with teachers, startups and more. North Dakota's Microsoft campus is home to one of the nine regions across the US and Mexico. Taya Spelhaug is a

Wednesday, March 25, 2020 – The Great Plains Food Bank is one of the many organizations facing uncharted territory as they cope with the consequences of the corona virus. Here to discuss how the crisis has affected demand, supply, and internal operations is Melissa Sobolik, food bank president. ~~~ 100 years ago was the great March blizzard of 1920. Tom Isern remembers some of the victims in his weekly Plains Folk essay. ~~~ The Heartland Marimba Quartet of Waterloo, Iowa is coming to Grand

Tuesday, March 24, 2020 – “Theodore Roosevelt, Naturalist in the Arena” is a new book inspired by a symposium of the same name that was held in Dickinson in 2017. Joining us to discuss the book is Clay Jenkinson, one of the editors. He’ll also tell us about a new film about Roosevelt and popular culture. ~~~ The Conversations on Healthcare podcast has been a welcome resource for us during the corona virus outbreak. Today we share another excerpt, as hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak

Monday, March 23, 2020 – Well, the UND Writers' Conference got cancelled, but today we share a portion of the scheduled events as we visit with two featured guests, both of whom served as Marines in the Middle East . Miles Lagoze was a Combat Camera operator in Afghanistan . After his service, he produced the film Combat Obscura. Matt Young served in Iraq . He now teaches composition, literature, and creative writing at Centralia College and lives in Olympia , Washington . His first book, a

Friday, March 20, 2020 – The protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline inspired the new children's book, We are Water Protectors. Writer Carole Lindstrom, an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe, wanted to tell the story of her people and their strong connection to the land. We also hear from illustrator Michaela Goade, of the Tlingit and Haida tribes. ~~~ Kids stuck at home? Enter the PBS Kids Writers Contest. Prairie Public’s Christine McClellan and Marie Offutt tell us how

Thursday, March 19, 2020 – The pandemic has Job Service hopping, with unemployment numbers making a sharp rise and claims for benefits coming in. Joining us to discuss the challenge, and the implications for the department’s budget, and the Job Service events being cancelled, is Sarah Arntson, Job Service communications officer. ~~~ NPR’s Kirk Siegler takes a look at how rural hospitals are preparing for the increasing threat of COVID-19. ~~~ From our television department, an excerpt from the

Wednesday, March 18, 2020 – United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck has a new program aimed at teaching students the science and art of growing healthy food. In its first semester, there are four enrolled students and four interns. Brian McGinness is the land grant director and a faculty member in the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems program at UTTC. Linda Black Elk is the food sovereignty skills coordinator. ~~~ In this week’s Natural North Dakota, biologist Chuck Lura discusses

Tuesday, March 17, 2020 – Fake news, propaganda, and outright lies are nothing new, but there are new wrinkles in the age of social media. Dr. Robert Mejia, an assistant professor at NDSU, studies media and culture. He joins us for a discussion on "Fake News: Causes, Treatments, and Cures." He was scheduled to give that talk on March 22 as part of Humanities ND's Think and Drink program. That event has since been postponed because of the corona virus outbreak. ~~~ The North Dakota Department of

Monday, March 16, 2020 – From the Conversations on Healthcare Podcast, we hear from Dr. Joseph Kvedar, a pioneer in the telehealth movement and president-elect of the American Telemedicine Association . He visits with hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter about the evolving role of telehealth and remote monitoring, especially against the backdrop of the current pandemic. ~~~ Tom Isern shares a Plains Folk essay that remembers Hazel Miner on the 100 th anniversary of the great blizzard that