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Monday, November 22, 2021 - For this month’s “Philosophical Currents,” we discuss the philosophical significance of holidays. We have a new one, in Juneteenth. And like some others, there's a tinge of controversy -- even Christmas has its detractors. Is a holiday a way to cement a component of life into a nation's culture? And once you create a holiday, it’s hard to ditch it! Columbus Day, for example, has been fading. ~~~ Dancing is hard. You have to be strong, flexible, and graceful all at the same time. Now add to that being suspended 20 feet in the air. At the recent Chriskindlmarkt, we caught up with Yvette Reyes owner /studio director of FM Aerial and Movement Arts.

On this date in 1911, William Gilbreath, Commissioner of Agriculture in North Dakota, was busy—in fact, the Bismarck Tribune called him “about the busiest official at the state house for the past six months.” And no small wonder!

Dancing is hard. You have to be strong, flexible, and graceful all at the same time. Now add to that being suspended 20 feet in the air. At the recent Chriskindlmarkt, we caught up with Yvette Reyes, owner and studio director of FM Aerial and Movement Arts.This discussion is a project of FM Arts, a radio series of profiles, performances, and discussions with artists in the Fargo-Moorhead area funded by The Arts Partnership with support from the cities of Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo.

Sunday, November 28, 2021 -- Performances are multi-sensory. Today we talk with Paul Johnson, the muralist whose backdrop sets the stage for the Concordia Christmas Concert. ~~~ It’s a Magical Medora Christmas, 31 shows in 22 communities, and the first performance is coming up soon. Here with a preview is veteran Medora entertainer Bill Sorensen, along with cast member Amberlee Rosen. ~~~ Dancing is hard. You have to be strong, flexible, and graceful all at the same time. Now add to that being suspended 20 feet in the air. At the recent Chriskindlmarkt, we caught up with Yvette Reyes, owner and studio director of FM Aerial and Movement Arts.

Performances are multi-sensory. Today we talk with Paul Johnson, the muralist whose backdrop sets the stage for the Concordia Christmas Concert.

Tuesday, November 23, 2021 - Claus Lembke of Bismarck has written a memoir titled “Koming to Amerika: An Immigrant's Story.” It covers his life growing up during World War II in Nazi Europe and his emigration to America. He farmed with an uncle in western Minnesota, then moved to Fargo and began a career in real estate before relocating to Bismarck to become the CEO of the North Dakota Association of Realtors. He was also a longtime Burleigh County Commissioner. ~~~ We replay a story from All Things Considered about Minnesota poet Robert Bly, who has passed away at age 94. ~~~ Chuck Lura has a Natural North Dakota essay about the Slade National Wildlife Refuge. ~~~ A hedge fund is making a bid to buy the company that owns the Bismarck Tribune and many other papers. Joining us with some analysis is the former executive director of the North Dakota Newspaper Association, Steve Andrist.

About this time in 1832, Dr. Meredith Martin mailed a letter to Secretary of War Lewis Cass, imploring him to permit vaccination of Upper Missouri River Indians in what is now North Dakota.

Over the past couple of years I’ve been engaged in a revival of balladry on the Great Plains. Returning to my roots as a folkie from way back in the twentieth century, I have been revisiting the histories of folksongs once considered of unknown origins, documenting them, and singing them as a contribution to our regional literature. It is amazing how, with the advantage of digitization of documents, especially newspapers, it is possible to track traditional ballads to their very origins.

The activity of the mind of George Will was matched by the activity of his legs. Son and heir of the seedsman Oscar Will of Bismarck, he put his Harvard education to work on everything around him, from horticulture to folksong to archaeology. And he was a boots-on-the-ground sort of guy.

Friday, November 19, 2021 - Ashley stops by at the Christkindlmarkt in Fargo and visits with hobby blacksmith Ralf Mehnert-Meland and paper artist Christina Lang who practices quilling. The event runs through the weekend. ~~~ An oak tree tells us about the past in this week’s Plains Folk essay from Tom Isern. ~~~ News director Dave Thompson is here for his weekly news chat. ~~~ Mattt Olien reviews “Spencer,” a drama about Princess Diana’s decision to end her marriage to Prince Charles.