Main Street

Friday, August 3 – We’ve been airing excerpts from the StoryCorps recordings in Bismarck, but there’s another oral history project to tell you about. It’s being done by the Red River Rainbow Seniors. It’s called “Breaking Barriers: Harvesting LGBTQ Stories from the Northern Plains.” It features stories from folks who grew up back when being “out” was much harder. ~~~ Chuck Lura shares a Natural North Dakota essay about the stinkhorn mushroom. ~~~ Dave Thompson joins us for our weekly discussion about topics in the news. ~~~ Matt Olien reviews “Sorry to Bother You.”

Thursday, August 2 – Bismarck writer Katherine Pendergast, aka Kat Socks, has written a children’s book called “Pickles the Dog – Adopted in North Dakota.” It’s illustrated by Bismarck artist Ben Brick.  Katherine joins us to share the true story that inspired the book. ~~~ North Dakota prison officials think outside the box to revamp solitary confinement as we hear in this story from NPR’s Cheryl Corley. ~~~ Former UND professor Mark Trahant is now editor of Indian Country Today.

Wednesday, August 1 – NDSU historian Tom Isern is here to discuss his new book, Pacing Dakota. ~~~ Fargo native Jennifer Baumgardner is the founder of Dottir Press, which takes a feminist approach to publishing and artistic production. The first set of books will launch this fall. Baumgardner is a writer, activist, filmmaker, and lecturer whose work explores abortion, sex, bisexuality, rape, single parenthood, and women's power. She is the former Executive Director/Publisher at The Feminist Press and was the youngest editor of Ms. Magazine.

Tuesday, July 31 – Moodiness or depression? It can be hard to know the difference between a normal teen, and a troubled teen. Felicia Johnson is a youth mentor and mental health advocate. She's the author of a trilogy of books inspired by her real-life experiences with bi-polar disorder and her best friend's challenges with borderline personality disorder. She visits with Ashley Thornberg about her work. ~~~ Chuck Lura shares a Natural North Dakota essay about American Goldfinches. ~~~ Bill Thomas visits with Capitol City Gallery president David Borlaug.

Monday, July 30 – StoryCorps has just wrapped up its month-long stop in Bismarck. Site manager Jacqueline Van Meter stops by to recap their visit. ~~~ We also share a StoryCorps excerpt as Tasha Carvell visits with Kevin Carvell, her father. ~~~ Lourin Sprenger moved from Kalamazoo, Michigan to Bismarck to work for the Lark’s baseball team as the director of marketing and media content. She’s one of many who have come to Bismarck to work for the team, joining a number of local hires, some right out of college.

Friday, July 27 – This month’s Editors’ Roundtable with Doug and Dave will feature special guests Cecile Wehrman of Journal Publishing in Crosby, and Jack Zaleski, columnist for Forum Communications. ~~~ Matt Olien has this week's movie review, “Ant-Man and the Wasp.”

Thursday, July 26 – Marcie Rendon’s debut novel is titled “Murder on the Red River.” It’s called an unflinching story of how native people persevere in the face of policies and people that seek to destroy the essence of who they are.” Rendon is a member of the White Earth nation. ~~~ Mark Trahant shares a commentary on Native American voting. ~~~ Tom Isern has this week’s Plains Folk essay, “Brigadoon of North Dakota.” ~~~ Sue Balcom of the Root Sellers farm near Mandan drops in for her weekly chat about food and life on the farm. Today’s topic is chokecherries.

Wednesday, July 25 – Ashley visits with beer can collector Aric Lee. ~~~ Warehouse giant Costco is building a huge chicken processing plant in Fremont, Nebraska. It’s looking to build chicken barns for its supply nearby. As Fred Knapp reports for Harvest Public Media, that’s touched off some fights over the project, and the change it represents. ~~~ A whole art show of daylilies from 23 different artists is being featured at the Bismarck Art and Galleries Association.

Tuesday, July 24 – Meaning and Melancholia: Life in the Age of Bewilderment is a new book from psychoanalyst Christopher Bollas. He joins us to discuss the various social, cultural and political themes emerging from trends within, and between, nations in the West over the past two hundred years.

Monday, July 23 – Dr. Bonnie Kaplan, professor at the University of Calgary, was one of the presenters at NDSU’s “Conference on Food for Health” held earlier this month. Her theme was the issue of mineral depletion and the impact that has on mental health. She joins us to recap those remarks. ~~~ The Children’s Caucus in North Dakota is being revived thanks to a Bush grant received by Lutheran Social Services. Here to discuss the need for an organization that advocates for children are Tara Muhlhauser and Bonnie Palecek.