Main Street

Wednesday, November 23, 2022 - Thanksgiving is time to gather. That makes it a good time to check in on elderly relatives. 6.5 million Americans 65 and older are living with Alzhemiers. Dr. Howard Fillit is the co-founder and chief science officer of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation. He visits with Conversations on HealthCare podcast hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter. ~~~Harvest Public Media’s Jonathan Ahl reports on the massive legislation that is the Farm Bill that a deeply divided Congress will consider in the new year. ~~~ From the Prairie Pulse television show, we take you on a tour of The prospect house and Civil War Museum in Battle Lake Minnesota ~~~It’s a busy weekend for movie-goers, Matt Olien gives us a double-header, reviewing both “The Menu” and “Disenchanted.”

Tuesday, November 22, 2022 - Roughly 20% of American children live with at least one adult facing addiction. The Point of Contact Foundation was formed to help school counseling programs address students in crisis and trauma. We visit with North Dakota native Ken Maher, the founder and executive director of the foundation, who tells us about a training available in conjunction with the Hazelden Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage California. ~~~ Audubon Dakota is merging with other states to become Audubon Great Plains. We visit with the new executive director Kristal Stoner. ~~~ Speaking of birds, we share a BirdNote on preserving the Palouse prairie.

Monday, November 21, 2022 - Dr. Larry Napoleon is an associate professor in the School of Education at NDSU. His research agenda includes the outcomes for non-traditional/marginalized populations within education. In light of the pending decision from the US Supreme Court regarding affirmative action, he joins us to discuss the role of affirmative action in higher education. ~~~ Driving across North Dakota, the landscape can get a little repetitive. That’s part of what inspired Gary Greff to create the Enchanted Highway – the huge sculptures near Regent. But that’s not the whole story. Special Contributor Sabrina Hornung visits with Greff about the origin story – and the future of the enchanted highway. ~~~ Tom Isern shares a Plains Folk essay titled “Walter Hard’s Lament.”

Friday, November 18, 2022 - Waŋna niš niyepi: Continuity of Culture is on display at the Plains Art Museum. The museum is also hosting an indigenous art fair this weekend. We visit with Joseph Williams, the director of Native American programming at the Plains Art Museum. ~~~ News director Dave Thompson is here for our weekly news chat. ~~~ Matt Olien reviews the new Black Panther film, “Wakanda Forever.”

Thursday, November 17, 2022 - There are 55 National Heritage Areas in the United States, and one of the newest is the Northern Plains National Heritage Area. It strives to connect visitors to heritage stories and deepen the sense of place involving Federal, state, county, city and non-profit sites along the Missouri River in central North Dakota. Aaron Barth is the executive director, and he visits with John Harris in an excerpt from the Prairie Pulse television show. ~~~ Tom Isern shares a musical Plains Folk essay, “Bargains and Ballads.” ~~~ Sue Balcom is here for Main Street Eats. Her topic this week is clean eating.

Wednesday, November 16, 2022 - Ashley stops in at the Job and Housing Fair organized by the F5 project. F5 is a non-profit seeking criminal justice reform by helping people currently and formerly incarcerated; and people suffering from addiction. She visits with Chief Programs Officer Scott College and Katy McCoy, who went from meth management after finding work at Panera.

Tuesday, November 15, 2022 - A new book produced by Cankdeska Cikana Community College on the Spirit Lake Reservation serves to preserve and promote the Dakota language and oral history. Mni Wakan: Place Names and History of the Spirit Lake Dakota is co-authored by the college’s Dakota Studies instructor Louie Garcia of Spirit Lake, and author and illustrator Mark Diedrich. Alicia Hegland-Thorpe visits with honorary tribal historian Louie Garcia at the college and college president Dr Cynthia Lindquist. ~~~ Harvest Public Media report on rural water conservation. ~~~ The Energy and Environmental Research Center at UND has been studying the use of "salt caverns" to store natural gas, hydrogen, and other materials. The study area is western North Dakota, in the Bakken. What makes this different from carbon sequestration is the materials stored in the caverns will be used for bio-refining and petrochemicals. Prairie Public's Dave Thompson visits with Charles Gorecki, CEO of the EERC. ~~~ Chuck Lura shares an essay titled “Dining on the Prairie.” It’s a look at some of the early food sources before the farming era.

Monday, November 14, 2022 - “Uff Da: The Folk Art of Emily Lunde” is the title of an exhibit at the Barnes County Museum. Joining us to talk about Lunde is Dr. Suzzanne Kelley, editor-in-chief of the ND State University press, whose dissertation featured Lunde and four other “memory artists” of the Great Plains region, from Texas to Saskatchewan. ~~~ Veterinarian clinics in rural communities have been dramatically declining in numbers for decades. Rural veterinarians often get paid less than urban practitioners, take on more workload and carry thousands of dollars in debt from medical school. Harvest Public Media’s Xcaret Nuñez reports. ~~~ Brenna Gerhardt, executive director of Humanities North Dakota visits with John Harris in an excerpt of the Prairie Pulse television show.

Friday, November 11, 2022 - Sunday’s episode of “WHY? Philosophical Discussions About Everyday Life” explores the question “What Makes a Movie Good?” with Jinhee Choi, Reader in Film Studies at King's College London. Host Jack Russell Weinstein gives us a preview as he visits with Prairie Public movie critic Matt Olien. ~~~ On this Veteran Day, we share another profile from the North Dakota Native American Hall of Honor. In this case, it’s a group – the soldiers from the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa who served and died in Vietnam. It’s narrated by former tribal chair Richard Marcellais. ~~~ Jessie Veeder shares an essay titled “Edie’s Worried.” ~~~ Dave Thompson recaps the week’s news. ~~~ Matt Olien reviews “Armageddon Time,” which features Anthony Hopkins, Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong.

Thursday, November 10, 2022 - Mark Schneider, a well-known North Dakota attorney and former head of the state’s Democratic-NPL party, died on Tuesday at the age of 74. In 2020 he was interviewed by Doug Hamilton, the former host of Main Street. Doug passed away earlier this year. In this encore conversation, they visit about Mark’s novel, “She Has the Right of It.” ~~~ TellTale: Dakota Folklife and Stores is a collection of oral histories from senior citizens. Today we share an episode titled “Eyes of an Angel,” as we hear an account of a blizzard from the Grassy Butte area. ~~~ Sue Balcom is here for Main Street eats with a discussion of cranberries. ~~~ Speaking of food, historian Tom Isern shares a Plains Folk essay titled “Second Rise” about bierocks, a characteristic folk food of the Volga Germans.