Main Street

Thursday, September 29, 2022 - We’re on location at Hostfest! We start with Jeremy Woeste from the Basin Electric Power Cooperative. ~~~ Author and cook Patrice Johnson talks about her Swedish meatball hotdish on a stick ~~~ The comedic Duo Williams and Ree stops by. ~~~ And we learn about Schoolfest at Hostfest from Ross Sutter.

Wednesday, September 28, 2022 - Our monthly “Philosophical Currents” conversation touches upon timely topics as we visit with UND professor of philosophy Jack Weinstein. ~~~ For Main Street Eats this week, Sue Balcom has thoughts about getting your garden ready for winter.

Tuesday, September 27, 2022 - Prairie Public will be experiencing an outage in the Bismarck area. Here to explain is Bill Thomas, our director of radio. ~~~ UND researcher Ursula Running Bear has explored the health problems experienced by Native Americans who were sent away to boarding schools as children. She found that the attendees were much more likely to develop cancers, anemia, arthritis and gallbladder disease. ~~~ Friday is Orange Shirt Day, which began in Canada, but is becoming more recognized in the US. It was created to honor the legacy of the Indigenous children who were forcefully taken from their parents and sent off to residential schools between the 1830s and the 1980s. The day is an acknowledgement of the healing that is still taking place in the lives of those affected. Alicia Hegland-Thorpe visits with two Orange Shirt Day event organizers from the Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation, one who is running over 100 miles to bring awareness to Orange Shirt Day.

Monday, September 26, 2022 - Prairie Public’s Emmy-nominated documentary “The Women of Alba Bales House” will be screened at the NDSU student union theater next Wednesday. It’s also available to view online. We play an excerpt of the story and visit with producer Matt Olien. ~~~ Tom Isern has this week’s Plains Folk essay, “Fox and Geese.” ~~~ Speaking of award-winning films, Cinema 100 October film series kicks off with the Academy Award nominated film "Flee" on Thursday. Here to discuss the new series of films are Brian Palecek and Anita Casey-Reed.

Friday, September 23, 2022 - Our summer intern, Nick Rommel is back at the University of Chicago, but he has a final piece we're sure you'll enjoy. Nick is a musician in his own right, and when he heard about a Metis fiddler on the Turtle Mountain reservation, he had to check it out. ~~~ Dave Thompson is here for our weekly news chat. ~~~ Matt Olien reviews Hockeyland, a documentary set in northern Minnesota.

Thursday, September 22, 2022 - Labor Day is an unofficial end to summer, but it is still nice enough for camping. Especially if you ’re in a van. Gone are the days of 1960’s VW van that barely went uphill and was always overheating. Perhaps waning are the days of the massive pull-behind campers. Today we learn about fully customizable high end vans with Moorhead’s Vanna Adventure Vans. We visit with Jason Gilbraith Co-founder and chief technology officer; and Benjamin Gleason, Co-founder and CEO. ~~~ Sue Balcom shares more tips on preserving the harvest. This time she talks about freezing and freeze drying food.

We know outdoor people love their gear. Jason Gilbraith and Benjamin Gleason of Vanna Adventure Vans are no exception. In this extended conversation from today's Main Street, they nerd out with Ashley Thornberg about off-grid batteries and van life etiquette.

Wednesday, September 21, 2022 - “Sinkhole: A Legacy of Suicide” explores author Juliet Patterson’s grief journey following her father’s suicide. ~~~ Being a police officer is a tough job, perhaps tougher than ever. Helping the police manage is Dr. Aaron Suomala Folkerds, an ELCA ordained minister who teaches full time at MSUM in counseling, but also works for the Moorhead Police Department as wellness coordinator, embedded counselor, and chaplain. He joins us to explain this important news type of police work.

Tuesday, September 20, 2022 - Concordia's Faith, Reason, and World Affairs Symposium takes place this week. One of the events is a panel discussion on the topic of "Engaged Citizenship Through Political Participation." We visit with one of the panelists, Chicago native Rachel Stone, who moved to the area almost 18 years ago. ~~~ Sanctified is a western film set in the late 1800s. It tells the story of an outlaw who is rescued from death by a nun traveling through the North Dakota Badlands. The film premieres in Bismarck Friday, September 30th. We visit with filmmaker Dan Bielinski of Bismarck, who is also program chair of Dramatic Arts at the University of Mary.

Monday, September 19 - We visit with Peter Geye, past winner of the Minnesota Book Award, who is getting rave reviews for his newest novel, “The Ski Jumpers.” Author Leif Enger says Geye “writes full-hearted novels made for winter, and The Ski Jumpers is his best to date.” ~~~ One Winter Up North is a new kids book exploring the flora and fauna of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. We visit with illustrator John Owens.