Monday, May 15

You may never have heard of the Johnson Institute Foundation, but William Cope Moyers hopes to change that. Today is Moyer's first day as president of the Minneapolis-based alcoholism and addiction think tank. Since 1966, the foundation has been working behind the scenes, pioneering treatment programs and educating the public about addiction. Moyers, who is leaving the famous Hazelden Foundation to take the job, says the Johnson Institute foundation is ready to become a more visible.

Governor Jesse Ventura today gave final approval to more than a billion dollars in tax relief by signing this year's tax compromise. Despite a midnight deadline for action, the governor has yet to announce his intentions on the remaining budget bills. Meanwhile, lawmakers are prepared to return Wednesday when they'll consider any unpopular vetoes and revisit a deal to fix the Profile of Learning graduation standard. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

The Minnesota department of Children, Families and Learning says 86 percent of the state's public school sophomores have passed the writing portion of the basic standards test. The results basically mirror last year's numbers in terms of who passed the test, and who did not. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.

The debate over biotechnology seems to get louder with each passing month. Critics of bioengineered crops say they're a threat to consumers and the environment. Most scientists dismiss fears about the health risks of genetically altered crops. But there is no scientific consensus when it comes to their environmental impact. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure has the next report in our series, Seeding the Future.

Researchers in northwest Minnesota think the secretive American bittern may hold the key to better management for a whole family of marsh birds. Marsh bird populations have been declining for 30 years. Wildlife managers are uncertain how to increase the population because so little is known about the reclusive birds. Biologists at the Agassiz wildlife refuge north of Thief River Falls are trying to fill in the blanks. Minnesota Public Radios Dan Gunderson reports.

Most of DFL candidates hoping to unseat Republican U.S. Senator Rod Grams met for a debate this morning in north Minneapolis. As at most candidate forums so far, the Democrats reserved their harshest criticism for Grams. But the forum at Lucille's Kitchen also allowed them to focus on issues considered important by African Americans. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports.

Legislative leaders say it's unlikely they'll override Governor Ventura's vetoes of funding for two arts organizations. Ventura canceled $3 million to help the Guthrie Theatre build a new home on the riverfront in downtown Minneapolis and Lanesboro's Commonweel Theater lost $1 million for a new Arts Center. We'll hear from Guthrie Artistic Director Joe Dowling and Commonweel's Artistic Director Eric Bunge.

Governor Jesse Ventura has signed Minnesota's controversial wolf management bill into law. The legislation could ease the way for wolves in Minnesota to be taken off the federal endangered species list. But it faces strong opposition from some environmental groups, who may take the issue to court. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.

After years of providing live piano music to soothe the savage shoppers brow, Dayton's is packing away the pianos in its Twin Cities stores. The department store is hoping to acquire a hipper image with trendier recorded music. Pianist Lorie Line got her start at Dayton's in the late eighties and early nineties. She says she understands why Dayton's made the decision but is sad young musicians won't have a shot at her same path to success.

Advocates of using genetic engineering to develop new food crops say the new techniques have almost limitless potential. They believe Genetically Modified Organisms or GMOs will increase production, help farmers earn more money, and give consumers nutritional and health benefits. Critics point instead to feared environmental or health dangers. What's often lost in the heated arguments between the two camps is just how common foods containing GMO's have become on supermarket shelves. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Reha has the next report in our series, Seeding the Future.

Minnesota today became the first state where irradiated meat is widely available in supermarkets. Some Twin Cities stores are selling irradiated hamburger: meat exposed to low levels of radiation designed to kill dangerous bacteria. As Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Stucky reports, supporters say it will save lives.

Writer Nancy Cobb knows first-hand how the death of a loved one changes your life forever. Her father committed suicide, her mother died after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease and her close friend Elaine died of cancer. Cobb's personal experiences with grief are the inspiration for her new book In Lieu of Flowers: A Conversation for the Living. The book is part memoir and part advice column. Cobb wants people to accept the "divine intersections" where the living meet the dying. She spoke with Minnesota Public Radio's Greta Cunningham about her new book. She says she wrote it as a way help her deal with her overwhelming grief.

The Minnesota Legislature is still at work trying to complete what is supposed to be the final day of the 2000 session. Lawmakers have been considering the bills Governor Ventura vetoed earlier this week and have voted to override a few items. They're also trying again to work out a compromise on the Profile of Learning graduation standard. MPR's Michael Khoo joins us now.

With legislative leaders still working behind closed doors to resolve the Profile of Learning debate, lobbyists wait anxiously in the capitol for any news of a deal. Various interest groups are looking for different results from the debate over high school graduation standards. But whatever the outcome, most say they do not expect this to be the end of the Profile controversy. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

A judge's gag order has not prevented Patty Hearst from speaking out about the bomb plot case of former Symbionese Liberation Army fugitive Sara Jane Olson. Hearst discusses Olson's upcoming trial in the June edition of Talk Magazine, which the family business, Hearst Communications Incorporated, partly owns. Hearst was the captive-turned-comrade of the Symbionese Liberation Army. She complains she's being dragged into the Olson case, telling the magazine she's talking publicly because she's "fed up to the eyeballs." Olson is accused of planting pipe bombs under Los Angeles police cars in 1975, and was a fugitive for two decades until her arrest in St. Paul last year. Olson's attorney says he plans to file legal motions as early as this week asking a judge to hold Hearst and LA District Attorney Gil Garcetti in contempt of court. Garcetti recently disclosed that he might have "inadvertently" violated the gag order during a recent interview on Southern California Public Radio. Lori Levenson, is a Loyola Law School professor who's been following the case. She says the judge won't be pleased with Hearst's comments.

Farmers are on the front line of the biotechnology battle. Most see genetically modified crops as a way to make life easier and save money. But they're faced with the difficult task of sifting through the conflicting information offered by supporters and critics, and many are unsure what to make of the raging international debate over how safe these high tech crop varieties are. Minnesota Public Radios Dan Gunderson has the next report in our series, Seeding the Future.

You can count on mealtime in the Boundary Waters offering spectacular scenery, but let's be honest, the campfire fare seldom measures up to the view. Meals have a tendency to become a gloopy, re-hydrated mess of carbohydrates. But Minneapolis restaurateur Lucia Watson says with a camp stove, a little planning and some creativity, you can improve your menu dramatically. Watson has been taking trips in the BWCA since she was 12 years old. She says that after many years of slogging through typical camping fare, she decided to take action.

Officials in Northeastern Minnesota are bracing for the potential of catastrophic wildfire. Last summer, a powerful storm ripped through the Superior National Forest and the popular Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Flattened trees are piled in a tinder-dry blanket on nearly 500,000 acres of forest. Recent rains have helped, but when asked about the potential for a conflagration, fire officials say it's just a matter of time. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports on how residents in Minnesota's arrowhead are preparing.

The 2000 legislative session ended about 12 hours ago, and the 2000 legislative re-election campaign is already underway. Both Republicans and Democrats are taking credit for the results of the session but Republican House leaders say they'll campaign on a pledge to work closer with Governor Ventura next year. Minnesota Public Radio's Mike Mulcahy reports.

A newly released study by a Hamline University professor shows explosive growth in unregulated soft-money political donations in Minnesota over the past several years. Campaign finance reform advocates say, more than ever before, the numbers underscore the need for new laws to help close what many view as an enormous loophole in campaign finance laws. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports.

The University of Minnesota wants to become a leader in biotechnology. That includes developing new generations of genetically engineered crops. It also wants to transfer potentially lucrative breakthroughs to private companies. But some professors and students worry that commercializing the U amounts to a troubling change in its traditional mission. Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg has the next report in our series, Seeding the Future.

A General Accounting Office report says thousands of employers are violating a federal law that requires health plans to provide similar coverage for people with both mental and physical illnesses. The report comes at a time when Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone is pushing tighter regulations mandating parity in mental and physical health care coverage. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.

Teachers and school administrators throughout Minnesota are reacting today to the state Legislature's fix of the Profile of Learning graduation standards. Lawmakers ended the session early this morning by modifying the two-year-old system of demonstrated learning. Some educators are applauding the changes, while others say it's not enough to ease their frustrations or end the political uncertainty. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

Among the thousands of schools across the country hosting proms this month there's one school where this rite-of-passage dance will be something completely new. In Minneapolis, the students at Abraham Lincoln High School will have a chance to attend their first prom ever. Talk about the big dance is a major topic in a student body of refugees and immigrants. Some are wondering what they'll wear or if they'll go at all. Others worry that this most American stepping-stone may be just too American for them. Minnesota Public Radio's Lynette Nyman reports.

Governor Ventura today lashed out at state lawmakers for refusing to put his unicameral legislature proposal to a ballot question for voters to decide. In an interview with Minnesota Public Radio, Ventura pledged to work to unseat lawmakers who did not support the idea. Ventura also angrily defended his efforts to serve Minnesotans amid criticism he failed to engage himself in the legislative process this Spring. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports.

The proposal to raise the passing score for the Minnesota bar exam has prompted vehement opposition by law schools and minority bar associations. They say it would hamper the efforts of people of color to enter the legal profession. Minnesota Public Radio's Patty Marsicano reports.

The notion that farmers operate in a world economy has never hit closer to home than in the furor over genetically modified crops. While American farmers have enthusiastically embraced the fruits of biotechnology, Europe, Japan and many other countries limit or even reject growing or importing the crops. The restrictions these countries maintain will go a long way in deciding whether genetically modified foods dominate the marketplace or become an interesting, but failed experiment. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Steil has the final report in our series, Seeding the Future.