Mar 18th, 2010 · Officials and homeowners throughout the Red River Valley raced to finish levees and lay sandbags as the Mississippi, Red and St. Croix Rivers began to overflow in some places. In Minnesota, Gov. Tim Pawlenty has called out the National Guard to help vulnerable communities prepare and officials in St. Paul declared an emergency.
Mar 4th, 2010 · Novelist Barry Hannah died earlier this week. A native of Mississippi, Hannah won the William Faulkner Prize for his 1972 novel Geronimo Rex. Today, we remember the Southern author, who appeared on Fresh Air in 2001.
Feb 8th, 2010 · The gospel singer was born about 100 years ago in New Orleans, and when she was 16, she traveled the well-worn path up the Mississippi to Chicago. Beginning in the 1940s, she was one of the first singers to take gospel out of the church, drawing white audiences and selling millions of records. In the process, she inspired generations of singers.
Jan 5th, 2010 · Lissie centers her work on her emotional strife and maturation, in a style that balances sass and sentimentality. At times upbeat and rollicking, and at others forlorn and crooning, Lissie has filled her new EP, Why You Runnin', with a wide range of styles and subject matter.
Dec 16th, 2009 · Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is being both applauded and scorned over his plan to downscale and merge five publicly-funded universities to addess a $700 million budget shortfall. But the proposal is being especially shunned by those who believe it unfairly puts Mississippi's minority students at a disadvantage. Three of the five schools included in Barbour's plan are historically black colleges — Alcorn State, Mississippi Valley State and Jackson State universities. George E. Ross, the outgoing president of Alcorn State, and Jackson State University president Ronald Mason, Jr., share their strong opposition to opposition to the merger and why they are fighting hard to block the governor's plan.
Dec 16th, 2009 · Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is being both applauded and scorned over his plan to downscale and merge five publicly-funded universities to addess a $700 million budget shortfall. But the proposal is being especially shunned by those who believe it unfairly puts Mississippi's minority students at a disadvantage. Three of the five schools included in Barbour's plan are historically black colleges — Alcorn State, Mississippi Valley State and Jackson State universities. George E. Ross, the outgoing president of Alcorn State, and Jackson State University president Ronald Mason, Jr., share their strong opposition to opposition to the merger and why they are fighting hard to block the governor's plan.
Oct 31st, 2009 · Driving his Chevrolet Nova up and down Highway 61 in Mississippi, William Ferris stopped at churches and juke joints and penitentiaries to record the music he found. In his new book, Give My Poor Heart Ease, Ferris explores the legacy of the "The Blues Highway."
Oct 13th, 2009 · The gritty Southern rock and blues band has its roots firmly planted in the Mississippi traditions of Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside. On Mountain Stage, it plays songs written by Burnside's son, Gary.