Main Street

Tuesday, March 20 – Rich Sommer grew up in Minnesota, went to Concordia College in Moorhead, starred in the hit TV show Mad Men, and now he’s coming for the Fargo Film Festival for the screening of “A Crooked Somebody,” in which he plays Michael Vaughn, a self-professed psychic who gets himself into a world of trouble. ~~~ Meet cellist Diego Rodriguez, acclaimed performer, conductor and educator. Originally from Venezuela he’s currently studying and teaching at UND. On April 6 th , he’ll perform

Monday, March 19 – Hidden Wounds is a new book exploring life after combat. Wahpeton writer Robert "Tully" Chambers, a retired trauma surgeon, had a couple goals in mind: he wanted a strong female lead; and he wanted to help readers understand the complicated world of PTSD. ~~~ Tom Isern shares a Plains Folk column, “Dead Buffalo Lake.” ~~~ Bill Thomas visits with David Grann, one of the featured guests at this year’s writers’ conference at UND. Grann is author of “Killers of the Flower Moon:

Friday, March 16 – In Japan, March is the time of the girls festival, called Hina Matsuri. As part of that, many households and public places set up a symbolic display of dolls. Bill Thomas talks with Vern Hunter of the Northern Plains Botanic Garden Society about a doll display given to the society by a city in Japan, in connection with the creation of a Japanese garden here. ~~~ A report on the advantage of finding a niche when it comes to community supported agriculture in this piece from

Thursday, March 15 – Lutheran Social Services is sponsoring a conference for people who work with refugees. Joining us to discuss the “Building Bridges” conference, is Shirley Dykshoorn, vice president for senior and humanitarian services at LSS. ~~~ Montana filmmaker Casey Anderson’s newest film “The Mountain Lion and Me” debuted this week on the Smithsonian Channel. Anderson is best-known as a host and explorer on Nat Geo Wild. He discusses the making of the film with Maxine Speier of Montana

Wednesday, March 14 – Kirsten Baesler, the ND superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction, joins us to discuss a number of issues facing education in the state. ~~~ EdCamp North Dakota is a professional development opportunity for educators with a unique twist, with the participants determining the agenda. Prairie Public’s Darcy Bakkegard joins us to explain. ~~~ Continuing on an education theme, we share another excerpt from the Cutting Ed podcast as host Tom Gerhardt visits with Tom

Tuesday, March 13 – Amanda the Great is an online comic strip created by Amanda El-Dweek of Watford City. She joins us to discuss the art of expression through comics and the opportunities for online publishing. ~~~ Allan Kleinsasser shares another essay from his memoir, “Memories of Dakota Jack.” Today’s essay is titled “Long Way from Home.” ~~~ Chuck Lura has this week’s Natural North Dakota essay, “Earth’s Axis on Tilt.” ~~~ The U-S is expected to eat a record amount of red meat and poultry

Monday, March 12 – At the suggestion of a “furry” listener who attended the 2017 Midwest FurFest in Illinois, we visit with a featured speaker at that event, Joe Strike, author of “Furry Nation.” He joins us to discuss furry fandom, a subculture of people interested in animal characters with human personalities and characteristics. ~~~ Tom Isern has this week’s Plains Folk essay, “History as a Public Good.” ~~~ On this “National Arts Advocacy Day,” we take the occasion to introduce Kim Konikow,

Friday, March 9 – UND philosophy professor Jack Weinstein previews this month’s episode of WHY? Philosophical Discussions about Everyday Life when he’ll visit with cartoonist and comics theorist Scott McCloud. We also learn about the philosophy for senior discussion group he leads in Grand Forks. ~~~ News director Dave Thompson stops by to discuss the latest headlines. ~~~ Matt Olien reviews “Game Night,” and he’ll also recap the Oscar awards.

Thursday, March 8 – What role does a library play in capturing history? Mark Holman is the library director at Sitting Bull College on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. The reservation was the site of the Dakota Access Pipeline protest, which captured international attention in 2017. He spoke with Lisa Johnson at KUMD in Duluth about A presentation he put together, “Standing Rock: A Librarian’s Response.” ~~~ First Friday at B is a monthly meet-up about food and food issues. Yoke Sim

Wednesday, March 7 – Bismarck State College alumna Kari Warberg Block started the EarthKind company, offering natural methods for pest control. She shares her experiences as a female entrepreneur. ~~~ The White House is laying out ideas to revive rural areas. Grant Gerlock reports for Harvest Public Media. ~~~ The late historian Elwy n Robinson wrote The History of North Dakota, a book that turned out to be important even outside the state. Robinson is the remembered in a new exhibit at UND.