Activities Supported by the Minnesota Legacy Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund Minnesota Public Radio’s Fiscal Year 2018 July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018 Duluth-based multi-media artist Jonathan Thunder from a Class Notes Artists ensemble Concordia Wind Quintet invites a feature by MPR News arts reporter Marianne Combs Woodland Elementary (Alexandria) student to conduct them Photo courtesy Jonathan Thunder Photo by Mark Anthony for MPR Got to be Something Here book release event at The Fitz featuring Minnesota musicians who have contributed and currently contribute to the “Minneapolis Sound” Photo by Steven Cohen for MPR Dear Legislative Leaders and fellow Minnesotans, The Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund helps to enrich the lives of all Minnesotans and strengthens the vibrant culture that makes our state such a great place for our diverse residents to live, work and play. Through our innovative public service and programming, Minnesota Public Radio (“MPR”) delivers the Legacy Amendment’s mandate “to support arts, arts education and arts access, and to preserve Minnesota’s history and cultural heritage.” Reaching more than one million listeners each week, MPR and its three regional services—MPR News, Classical MPR and The Current®—produce programming for radio, digital and live audiences. MPR broadcasts on 45 stations which serve Minnesota, with 39 translators providing additional local coverage. Through this robust broadcast network, MPR exudes the principle of the Legacy Amendment’s public broadcasting priority to expand Minnesotans’ “knowledge, information, and access to arts, and Minnesota’s history and cultural heritage.” This Legacy Amendment principle is tied directly to MPR’s mission “to enrich the mind and nourish the spirit, thereby enhancing the lives and expanding the perspectives of our audiences, and assisting them in strengthening their communities.” MPR’s exemplary Minnesota arts programming is possible, in large part, by support from Legacy funds which are dedicated by Minnesotans and approved by Legislators to preserve and promote the state’s arts and cultural heritage. We feature talented Minnesota artists of many disciplines across all three of MPR’s regional services. MPR weaves our arts, culture and history into the fabric of daily Minnesota life, and works to ensure that the arts continue to thrive. In addition to broadcast and digital services, MPR’s in-person events and services offer unique educational experiences that provide students direct exposure to professional performing arts and artists. Highlights of MPR’s activities in the 2018 fiscal year include: • Classical MPR’s signature education program Class Notes Artists received rave reviews from students and educators alike. During the 2018 school year, Class Notes Artists engaged more than 29,000 elementary and middle school students statewide. Artists traveled across Minnesota to serve students in all corners of the state. We also launched a new Class Notes Workshops program geared toward serving older students. • MPR News covered arts events statewide. Marianne Combs’ weekly program Art Hounds highlighted Minnesota Artists from communities including Battle Lake, Bigfork, Ely, Montevideo, New York Mills, Silver Bay and Two Harbors. Euan Kerr covered stories highlighting the wealth of arts produced in Minnesota with features on musicians, filmmakers, writers and visual artists. • The Current produced Rock the Cradle, its annual free event for kids and their grown-ups. Along with partners Mia and Children’s Theatre Company, this no-reservations-needed event easily serves more than 4,000 people every year with kid-friendly activities featuring local artists and The Current’s DJs. We are honored by your continued support and trust in MPR to provide access to our state’s talented artists which contributes to the vibrancy of our communities. We look forward to serving Minnesotans for many years to come. Sincerely, Jon McTaggart President and CEO Minnesota Public Radio Page 2 of 29 Table of Contents Overview…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..5 Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund Activities Highlighting Minnesota Artists……………………………………………………………………………………………..……….7 Supporting Music Education………………………………………………………………………………………………………..16 Live Events Arts Experiences…………………………………………………………………………………………………..……20 Preserving Minnesota’s Cultural History……………………………………………………………………………………...25 Appendices Financial Report…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..26 Work Plan and Outcomes…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….27 MPR Board of Trustees………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..28 To alleviate printing costs, this report will be submitted online and available at MPR’s website. The estimated cost of preparing this report (as required by Minn. Stat. § 3.197) is $917.00. Minnesota is a culturally rich and diverse state. MPR’s programs are aligned with the goals of the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund to create and showcase “arts, history and cultural heritage programs that will bolster Minnesota’s reputation as a center for creativity, innovation and imagination, supporting the long-term vitality of our state.” MPR achieves the state of Minnesota’s goals through MPR News, Classical MPR, The Current, and live events programming. In 2008, Minnesota's voters passed the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment (Legacy Amendment) to the Minnesota Constitution. The amendment created four funds, one of which is the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund (“ACHF”). The ACHF receives 19.75 percent of the sales tax revenue resulting from the Legacy amendment to support arts, arts education and arts access, and to preserve Minnesota’s history and cultural heritage. Minnesota Public Radio is a proud that the Minnesota Legislature has chosen to allocate ACHF funds for our work across Minnesota. Following each fiscal year, MPR is required to submit an annual report to the Legislature detailing its ACHF activities and expenditures. This report covers MPR’s programs and projects conducted in our 2018 fiscal year and supported by the following ACHF Grant: • MPR Fiscal Year 2018 (July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018) – $1,470,000 total award o ACHF Grant administered by the Department of Administration (Minnesota Laws, 2013 Regular Session, Chapter 137, Article 4, Section 2, Subdivision 6) Page 3 of 29 Minnesota Public Radio Stations Page 4 of 29 Page 5 of 29 Minnesota Public Radio Overview Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) began broadcasting on January 22, 1967 with KSJR at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. Since then, MPR has grown into a renowned regional and national provider of news and cultural programming across three broadcast services and a variety of digital options. Today, MPR is the largest public radio network in the nation that serves nearly all of Minnesota and parts of surrounding states. Reaching 1.1 million listeners each week, MPR and its three regional services—MPR News, Classical MPR and The Current—produce programming for radio, digital and live audiences. MPR is supported in part by its 132,000 members, one of the largest membership bases in public radio. MPR News has long been recognized as one of the foremost journalistic organizations in the Upper Midwest, available to news consumers on multiple platforms (broadcast, online, mobile, On Demand, etc.). Reaching more than 500,000 listeners each week, the MPR News radio signal can be heard by 95 percent of Minnesotans, and is the only news station with bureaus located throughout the state. MPR News received numerous awards for its reporting and, in 2018, received a George Foster Peabody Award for 74 Seconds, about the death of Philando Castile. MPR News also received Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association Eric Sevareid Awards, Radio Television Digital News Association Edward R. Murrow Awards, and Society for Professional Journalists page One Awards for investigative reporting. Visit mprnews.org for the latest regional, national and international headlines. Classical MPR provides lively music and good company to listeners throughout the day. With weekly concert broadcasts from our region's world-class musical ensembles and national programs like Performance Today, SymphonyCast, and Pipedreams, Classical MPR offers its audience the best in classical music programming. Classical MPR can be heard at 99.5 KSJN in the Twin Cities and at various frequencies throughout Minnesota. In addition to a growing digital presence on YourClassical.org, and ClassicalMPR.org, we’ve deepened our impact for the communities we serve via a variety of music education initiatives for children, students, teachers and lifelong learners. These resources are available at no cost on MPR’s Music for Learning web page. The Current brings listeners the best authentic new music alongside the music that inspired it, from local to legendary, indie to influential, new to nostalgic. A non-commercial, listener-supported radio station, The Current has helped launch and support more than 600 Minnesota Artists during its fourteen-year history. City Pages readers have named The Current “Best Radio Station” in its annual “Best of the Twin Cities” awards regularly since the station began. The station's online music coverage has also been honored with two Page One Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. The Current also provides more music news and information online. In 2108, journalist Jay Gabler was recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists Page One