Tuesday, August 9, 2022 - The North Dakota Department of Commerce is inviting communities to apply for the “Artists on Main Street” program, which offers technical assistance and funding for local art projects. Each year a different community is selected. The first of the 5 planned grants went to Bowman last year. Special contributor Brandi Malarkey went to Bowman to gather interviews about the project for a feature we first aired earlier this summer. ~~~ Tom Isern shares a Plains Folk essay titled “Big History.” ~~~ Prairie Public music host Scott Prebys joins us to preview this year’s “Night of Great Jazz” ~~~ Speaking of music, we have a TellTale story from Germans-From-Russia folk singers Joe Gross of Bismarck and John Gross of Napoleon.

North Dakota has extraordinarily many small community banks. They have an important partner backing them: the state-owned Bank of North Dakota.

The resulting high expenditures spurred Sanford to cut traveling nurses' pay rates in Fargo by up to 60%.

The Fargo coffee shop and arts space is looking for a new location after their home of 11 years was leased to a new tenant.

Fifth generation farmer Jessica Hawkes is seeking non-profit status for her family farm in New Rockford. With the help of friends Ryan Keel and Anna Burger she has converted her family farm, Hawkes Homestead, into an animal sanctuary. Hawkes Homestead is now a permanent and temporary home to a host of various animals, including runaway pigs, a spitting llama, and a mail-stealing donkey.

The pandemic hit gig musicians pretty hard, but help came from American Rescue Plan. Special contributor Brandi Malarkey introduces us to Jerry and Friends, a trio of accordion players who used the funds to pivot to Facebook Live.

Bluegrass finds a North Dakota home in a Norwegian troll-themed bar.

Tuesday, June 28, 2022 - “Growing Small Towns” is an effort to tell the story of small-town life in a more accurate, nuanced way. It’s headquartered in Oakes, where Brandi Malarkey recently caught up with muralist LesleyAnne Buegel. ~~~ What books best represent North Dakota? Prairie Public intern Nick Rommel spoke with bookstore representatives from around the state to get their thoughts. ~~~ Katie Hoerth is a poet, and she recently won an award from NDSU, their annual "Poetry of the Plains and Prairies" award. She talks with Bill Thomas about plains and prairies, metaphors, and poetically likening herself to a spent farm field.

Earlier this month, NPR asked prominent writers, librarians, and bookstore owners in all 50 states about books that "illuminated where they live." Inspired by this project, intern Nick Rommel asked independent bookstore owners across the state to nominate their favorite North Dakota book.

Thursday, June 23, 2022 - Special contributor Brandi Malarkey continues her series on American Rescue Plan Grant recipients with a tour of the Nome Schoolhouse. ~~~ Sue Balcom’s topic this week on Main Street Eats is “Dairy Month.”