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Hector Berlioz's monumental Symphonie Fantastique dominates our 23rd edition of the show - Kevin Noe conducts a November 2012 performance from the Wharton Center.  Also, more of Pavel Kolesnikov's new release of his performances fom the 2012 Honens International Piano Competition....and the Moscow Quartet with Beethoven.

Berlioz/Symphonie Fantastique/MSU Sym, Noe/MSU recording

Beethoven/String Qt No.11/Moscow Quartet/Finer Arts

Beethoven/Piano Sonata #14 "Moonlight"/Kolesnikov/Honens

Telemann/Sonata in A minor/Field and Franz Duo/Yellow Tail

Today on Current State: Health insurance co-op Consumers Mutual; the East Lansing Art Festival's 50th anniversary; a local author discusses his book on canoeing and kayaking; and "Ten Buildings That Changed America."

The Affordable Care Act has yet to materialize in concrete changes that most Americans can actually notice, but that is about to change very soon. Here in Michigan, one of the first major signs of the new world order in American healthcare is the new East Lansing-based  Consumers Mutual.  

CEO of the new East Lansing-based business, Dennis Litos, explains his role in the upcoming changes, how the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan works, and what this means for Michigan residents, both insured and uninsured.

The 50th annual East Lansing Art Festival kicks off this weekend from Saturday, May 18 through Sunday, May 19. Event organizer Corinn Van Wyck joined Current State to discuss all the festival has to offer, and what the 50th anniversary means to the city.

Since his college years, Doc Fletcher has been canoeing and kayaking the countless waterways in Michigan. One of his favorite places to paddle is on the Pere Marquette River, while exchanging stories with his wife Maggie underneath the blue herons and bald eagles up above.

“10 Buildings That Changed America” takes viewers on a journey across America to examine  ten influential American buildings that changed the way we live, work, and play.

Current State’s Peter Whorf talks with the show’s creators Geoffrey Baer and Dan Protess about their show and how they picked those ten buildings. The show airs Saturday at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on WKAR World.

A fight over American Indian-themed school mascots could result in a three million dollar budget cut for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.

Today on Current State:  Entrepreneurship's expanding in Michigan; life on Mars;  Neighbors in Action features the LCC Foundation; and author, and Lansing native, Edward McClelland discusses his new book.

Economic developers in Michigan suggest there may be a silver lining to the Great Recession and the state’s well-documented decline in manufacturing.  Some point to a greater awareness of entrepreneurialism and to more interest in small business start-ups around the state. 

Former Michigan State basketball great and current Turner Sports broadcaster Steve Smith joins Al to discuss his life at MSU, his life in the NBA and as a broadcaster. Other topics include Jay Harris, Titus Young and a debate about boxing.

In order to find out more about the potential for life on Mars, some scientists aren’t looking up, but down. A team of researchers are examining meteorites to help determine if conditions on Mars were ever able to sustain life.

MSU geological sciences professor Michael Velbel is part of the research team. He joins Current State from Washington D.C, where he is currently serving as a senior fellow at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History.

This week, Neighbors In Action features the Lansing Community College Foundation, which offers more than 300 scholarships to students in need.

Dan McKean, LCC Foundation executive director, and George Garza, an LCC student and scholarship recipient, discuss LCC’s need-based scholarships and the merits of a community college education.

Author Edward McClelland got his start as a writer working on the Lookout, the campus newspaper at Lansing Community College. His new book “Nothin’ But Blue Skies: The Heyday, Hard Times and Hopes of America’s Industrial Heartland,” recounts the Midwest’s industrial growth and decline in the second half of the 20th century. He will be at Everybody Reads bookstore in Lansing on Saturday.

Today on Current State: Rally urges more state dollars for early childhood education; a new documentary about ice and the Great Lakes region; MSU student film looks at hard-hit Marine battalion; and residents and businesses collaborate in Lansing's Genesee neighborhood. 

A few thousand supporters of early childhood education are gathering at the State Capitol today.  

Participants in the annual "Star Power" rally will encourage state lawmakers to approve a proposed $130 million increase to the state budget for families-in-need who want to participate in Michigan’s Great Start Readiness Program. Currently, the program can afford assistance for only about half of those eligible statewide.

The Great Lakes formed thousands of years ago  when a glacier moved across the region and melted. The film "Project:Ice" depicts the important role ice continues to play in the Great Lakes Basin. 

Bill Kleinert, the documentary’s executive producer and director, discusses the importance of ice to the Great Lakes region. 

In 2010, the Third Battalion, Fifth Marine regiment deployed to Sangin, Afghanistan.  Nicknamed the “Darkhorse Battalion,” the Three-Five was sent to patrol a region of the country known as a Taliban refuge and a center for the opium trade.  During the deployment, the battalion achieved a somber record.  That single unit suffered the highest casualty rate of any in the Marine Corps.  

Two planned projects In Lansing’s Genesee neighborhood have triggered a forward-looking discussion among residents and business people there.   Earlier this year, the Michigan Association of Broadcasters and the non-profit Zero Day announced plans for new offices and facilities on Butler Street, which runs less than a half mile near the Capitol.

Today marks day number two of Current Sports. We kick off today's show with MSU Alumn and Senior Vice President and General Manager of four Atlanta based sports networks, Jeff Genthner. Al also discusses the Tigers, Brady Hoke, and the NBA playoffs. Lastly, Al has a conversation with Matt and Alex about what it takes to have Sports Journalism as a career. 

The Buena Vista school district in Saginaw County will not resume classes. That’s one of the decisions made Monday at a meeting of state and local education officials.