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May 20 - 24, 2002
[ Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday ]
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Monday, May 20, 2002 |
Vikings, Twins pick apart stadium bill
While Gov. Jesse Ventura ponders whether to accept a Twins ballpark bill now sitting on his desk, fallout from the last-minute deal continues to accumulate. Vikings owner Red McCombs says he's disappointed a football stadium was given only cursory treatment -- and he now says he'll explore options to sell or relocate the franchise. Meanwhile Twins president Jerry Bell says the team will push to have a roof added to a ballpark. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo has the latest.
With Legislature adjourned, it's Ventura's turn
Gov. Ventura says he will make a quick decision on which projects he'll cut from the Legislature's $979 million bonding bill. Ventura said the bill is too large, especially after lawmakers overrode his veto of the budget balancing bill. The governor also says he has concerns about a proposed requirement that would require students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.
Midwest dairy farms get a boost from farm bill
Dairy farmers across the country are trying to figure out what the new farm bill means for them. The bill was signed by President Bush a week ago. While many Minnesota farmers agree with the President when he says the bill isn't perfect, some say it's a step in the right direction. Mainstreet Radio's Laurel Druley talked with some milk producers in southeastern Minnesota.
Schunk has one district left to visit
Three and a half years ago, when Mae Schunk took office with Jesse Ventura, the lieutenant governor vowed to visit every school district in the state. Since then, the former school teacher has toured 346 districts. She has just one left -- the South St. Paul School District. On Friday she plans to join Gov. Ventura on his weekly radio show from South St. Paul High school to talk about what she's learned from her statewide tour.
Schunk says many schools, especially in rural areas, are troubled by declining enrollment.
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Tuesday, May 21, 2002 |
Administration urged to step-up refugee resettlement
Refugee advocacy groups across the country are asking the Bush administration to speed up the refugee resettlement process. The number of refugees coming to America has slowed dramatically since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Kathy Thoreson is the administrative director of New American Services in Fargo. She says the president capped the number of refugees who could be resettled this year at 70,000. But she says the Immigration and Naturalization Service is taking so long with security checks that very few refugees are getting into the United States.
Kelly downplays ballpark competition
As analysts digest the stadium legislation Minnesota lawmakers passed over the weekend, most have concluded that the bill gives St. Paul an inside track over Minneapolis as the more likely home for a new Minnesota Twins ballpark. But St. Paul's Mayor Tuesday declined to call his city a frontrunner. Randy Kelly says there's still much to do to keep the Twins in Minnesota and says he does not consider the effort a competition between the Twin Cities. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports.
State still faces economic challenges
Economists meeting in Winona say the national picture is looking brighter, but things aren't so great for the state. Financial analysts spoke Tuesday at Winona State University's Economic Summit. Minnesota Public Radio's Laurel Druley reports.
Referendum required for ballpark financing
If the Twins reach a deal with St. Paul or Minneapolis, a referendum would be held asking voters if they want to approve a food and beverage tax to help pay about $12 million a year toward the ballpark. St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly says his city is beginning to work with a group called Touch 'em All Saint Paul, which will campaign in support of a tax hike. Dan McGrath of Progressive Minnesota, a citizens group opposed to public ballpark funding, says the referendum is the key to the ballpark issue.
Cris Carter to retire
Former Vikings wide receiver Cris Carter announced his retirement today from football. Carter will join the sportscasting team on HBO's Inside the NFL. Carter voided his contract with the Minnesota Vikings before the start of this year's free-agency period. He was hoping to sign with a team closer to winning a Super Bowl. It appeared Carter was set to sign with either the St. Louis Rams or the Cleveland Browns in early March, but those deals fell through.
St. Paul Pioneer Press sports writer Sean Jensen says Carter's decision to retire doesn't come as a surprise, but he will definitely be missed on the field.
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Wednesday, May 22, 2002 |
New deal could save Fingerhut jobs
Ted Deikel and Tom Petters have signed a non-binding letter of intent to buy most of Fingerhut from its parent, Federated Department Stores. Terms of the potential deal were not disclosed, but it brings renewed job hopes to Fingerhut workers, and to the city of St. Cloud, which was bracing for the closure of one of its largest businesses. A deal would put Deikel back in charge of a company he had helped build into one of the nation's largest catalog retailers.
Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg reports.
Ventura cuts capital projects by more than one-third
Gov. Ventura today vetoed more than one-third of the bonding bill passed by lawmakers on Sunday. Ventura vetoed 116 projects totaling more than $300 million, and said he won't release all of the funding for another three projects. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum joins me now from the Capitol with an update.
MnSCU approves tuition hike
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees Wednesday approved a 10 percent average increase in tuition and fees.
MnSCU officials blame the increase on the slow economy and the additional $23 million the Legislature cut this session from the system's state subsidy.
Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.
Bears in the backyard
Black bears have been showing up recently on the outskirts of the Twin Cities. Residents in northern Anoka, Washington and Dakota counties have reported bears roaming through backyards, and sometimes rummaging around porches.
The Department of Natural Resources says black bears are big, but rarely attack people. Bryan Lueth, the urban wildlife specialist with the DNR, says he's received more than 20 calls this year. He says that bear sightings in suburban areas are becoming more commonplace.
Lessard announces retirement
Another of the Legislature's longest serving lawmakers, state Senator Bob Lessard, Wednesday joined the list of retiring legislators. A large number of the retirements have come from lawmakers who represent northern Minnesota, prompting some to worry that the region's issues won't get the same attention that they did in years past. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.
News Council examines women's sports coverage
Tomorrow night, athletes, journalists and the public will discuss whether a bias exists in the coverage of women's athletics. The Minnesota News Council is holding a public forum to talk about concerns brought up by the Women's Athletics Advisory Council at the University of Minnesota.
News Council Executive Director Gary Gilson says members of the U of M's Advisory Council approached him to talk about how local sports writers have covered three specific issues.
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Thursday, May 23, 2002 |
The art of leaving
Today we're bringing you All Things Considered live from Liberty Park, in Marshall with a look at life in southwestern Minnesota. Coming up, we'll have a story about the only park in the state that's home to Bison and a look at the dynamic writers community in this region.
Every highschool senior in southwestern, Minnesota faces the same decision: whether to stay or leave after graduation. Census estimates released last month show that while Minnesota as a whole is the fastest growing state in the Midwest, nearly every county in the southwest is losing population. We visited Murray County Central High School in Slayton and Bold High School in Olivia, to get a sense of whether graduates will stay or go and how their decisions will shape the region's future.
A visit to Blue Mounds
If there is one Minnesota state park that breaks the mold its probably Blue Mounds, near Luverne. While most Minnesota parks are covered with trees, Blue Mounds is mainly open prairie. In a state famous for its natural lakes, Blue Mounds' only lake is manmade. But visitors say those differences are the park's strengths. It's a storehouse of rare plants and animals, touched by a hint of mystery.
Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports.
Brandenburg, DNR work to save prairie
A sprawling prairie restoration project is underway in Minnesota and Iowa. The first remnant is near Luverne, the southwestern Minnesota hometown of photographer Jim Brandenburg. Brandenburg is famous for pictures of wolves and other images published on the pages of National Geographic magazine. As often as he can, he returns to Luverne where he has a gallery and a pet project. Brandenburg is working with the federal government to help reclaim the first piece of Northern Tallgrass Prairie Project in an area called the Blue Mounds.
Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.
A writer's colony
Author and Poet Bill Holm says for some strange reason, all anybody does in Marshall is write books. He has a point. Some of the country's best-known, and best-loved, writers have come from Marshall and the surrounding area. Fredrick Manfred, Robert and Carol Bly, Faith Sullivan and Tim O'brien are just a few.
And Holm himself lives in the town where he grew up: tiny Minneota, just 20 miles or so northwest of Marshall. He says he didn't always appreciate his hometown.
Interview with Joe Amato
Few people have written more about southwest Minnesota than Joe Amato. Amato is a professor at Southwest State University here in Marshall and founder of the school's Center for Rural and Regional Studies, and he joins me now.
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Friday, May 24, 2002 |
FBI memo no surprise to Peterson
The chairmen of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees said today they would examine allegations that the FBI missed warning signs of an imminent terrorist attack in the weeks prior to Sept. 11. The committees will also investigate the climates at the FBI, CIA and other agencies to determine why they didn't put the pieces together.
Minneapolis Agent Coleen Rowley, at the FBI's field office in Minneapolis has made the latest allegation. Rowley has written a memo describing how agents were held back when they attempted to aggressively investigate the arrest of Zacarias Moussaoui. Moussaoui was taken into custody in August, weeks before the attacks.
Congressman Colin Peterson, is a member of a new joint congressional intelligence committee that's looking into the 911 attacks. He says he's known about the Rowley memo for months and is concerned that it was leaked to the press. But he has praise for local FBI officials.
Burnett hailed as hero
The family and friends of Thomas Burnett called him an American hero during funeral and burial services today in the Twin Cities. Burnett, a Minnesota native, was one of several men who resisted the hijackers who had taken over United Flight 93 and caused the jet to crash short of the terrorists target on Sept. 11. Government officials believe the passenger jet which carried Burnett and 44 others was heading for the White House. And those who knew Burnett say they're not surprised at his selfless act. MPR's Brandt Williams reports:
Lessons from a firefighter
Out of 11,500 firefighters in New York City, only 25 are women. Twin Cities native Brenda Berkman was the first female firefighter admitted to the department 20 years ago. Earlier this month, she was promoted to the rank of captain. Berkman is back in the Twin Cities this weekend to speak at commencement ceremonies at her alma matter, St. Olaf College.
Life after Oldfield
The University of Minnesota hired a new women's basketball coach today, more than a month after Brenda Oldfield jilted the Gophers by leaving town after one unforgettable season. The new coach is Pam Borton, a former assistant at Boston College. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen has more.
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