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Germany unveils a memorial in central Berlin to the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust. Politicians, Jewish leaders and Holocaust survivors were on hand for the solemn ceremony to inaugurate the monument designed by American architect Peter Eisenman. The opening ends 17 years of debate over how Germany should mark the darkest chapter of its past.

Melissa Block talks with John Reeves, self-described freeform industrial ice artist. Reeves is the artistic genius behind a 160-foot tall ice sculpture outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. Using strategically placed sprinklers, Reeves estimates that he flows about 6,000 gallons of water onto the sculpture every hour.

Boston drivers celebrate the opening of a major section of a 3.5-mile tunnel that connects major highways in the congested downtown, shaving time off many commutes. The "Big Dig" took a dozen years to construct at a cost of $6.5 billion. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Rich Kirkland of Metro Network Shadow Broadcasting in Boston.

Ahmir Thompson, aka Questlove, is the drummer for the Grammy-winning hip-hop group The Roots. The sextet melds musical styles: rock 'n' roll, jazz fusion, funk, poetry, shout-outs to hip-hop pioneers, black nationalism and groove-laden neo-soul musings. (This interview originally aired Feb. 6, 2003.)

The Florida Supreme Court ruled 6-1 Friday that maverick presidential candidate Ralph Nader can run as the Reform Party presidential candidate in the November election. Democrats fought to keep him off, but Republicans led the battle to keep him on. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and Bill Coterell, political editor for The Tallahassee Democrat.

Listening to the Oregon band's debut is like walking onto the set of an HBO show about fear, longing, betrayal and loneliness. Black Prairie was founded by two members of The Decemberists, and its songs evoke images of barren Midwestern landscapes. Hear Feast of the Hunter's Moon in its entirety a week prior to its release on April 6.

German Catholics are facing a stark choice: Pay a church tax or forget about receiving the sacraments, including baptisms, weddings and funerals. Germany taxes registered Catholics, Protestants and Jews. In 2011, the tax raised $6.5 billion for the Catholic Church alone. Many progressives and conservatives are up in arms over the German bishops' decree.

Annie Knight is the conservation specialist and grants manager for Northern Waters Land Trust and has been co producing KAXE/KBXE's Conservation Conversation series. Knight joined Heidi Holtan for a conversation about her work with NWLT and what gives her passion to work in the field of conservation. To hear the full conversation, click the "Listen" player at the top of the page.

On Saturday, June 4th, Grand Rapids band Wild Horses, is headlining Festival Rialto. The all-day festival features bands from around northern Minnesota (and beyond), and will take place at Rapids Brewing Co. in downtown Grand Rapids, MN. To learn more about how the festival came to be and why live music is served best with cold beer, Heidi Holtan and Kari Hedlund were joined in the studio by Bill Martinetto, General Manager at Rapids Brewing, and three members of the Wild Horses: Jed, Arianna, and JJ. Click the player at the top of the page to hear the entire conversation.

Candidates in the St. Louis County Sheriff's race met in The Northland Forum, produced by WDSE -WRPT. KAXE/KBXE's News Director, Heidi Holtan moderated the conversation between candidates Jason Lukovsky and Gordon Ramsay in this hour-long special.

Wild Horses is headlining the Festival Rialto at Rapids Brewing Co. on Saturday, June 4th. Ahead of the festival, the band stopped by the KAXE studio in Grand Rapids and played a special live, in-studio set. Click the player above to listen to the whole set and get yourself thoroughly excited for the Festival on Saturday.

For five years, Down Beat has named Joey DeFrancesco the industry's top jazz organist. In addition to enjoying a successful solo career, he's also played in bands with Miles Davis, John McLaughlin, and Pat Martino, to name a few. Hear an interview and a solo performance from KPLU.

The California primary is a free-for-all. Voters can pick any candidate, regardless of party, and the top two vote-getters will advance to the general election. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with University of Southern California associate professor Christian Grose about the state's "jungle primary" system.

Laura Womack of member station W-A-M-U in Washington reports the Pentagon is in the midst of a two billion dollar renovation project to update outmoded electrical, water, and sewage systems. The main problem for the workers is working in areas with a lot of top secret material and not compromising national security.

NPR's Mike Shuster reports from Sarajevo that the top NATO commanders are now convinced that the former warring military leaders are committed to peace. British General Sir Michael Walker tells Shuster that although the military leaders are on board, there are still questions about the committment from the civilian politicians.

Robert talks with tennis commentator Bud Collins about the upcoming action this weekend in the Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon. Most of the world's top-seeded players have been eliminated from the tournament, so this weekend's finals will focus on some of the less-familiar players on the world tennis tour.

John Dillon reports Vermonters are worried the results of last week's election might be felt in the Green Mountain State. Vermont enjoyed significant power while Democrats controlled the United States Senate. Now the GOP's on top, and Sens. Jim Jeffords and Patrick Leahy may be out in the cold.

The Dixie Chicks are one of the top selling country artists of all time. Will Hermes, a senior contributing writer for Spin magazine, says their first CD in three years,Home, has a less commercial sound than their other offerings, but still may be one of the best pop CDs of the year.

The U.S. government has been criticized for many aspects of its handling of the Iraq war. But Douglas Feith, an architect of the war, says one of his biggest regrets is not convincing top Pentagon officials to pay more attention to law and order immediately after the fall of Baghdad in 2003.

People in the northeastern U.S. are digging out from the second Nor'easter in less than two weeks. The storm dumped up to two feet of snow on top of the three feet already left by a Christmas Day snowfall. North Country Public Radio's Brian Mann reports.