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February 9 - 13, 2004
[ Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday ]
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Monday, Feb. 9, 2004 |
Lawmakers debate longer sentences for sex offenders
A judge on Monday dismissed a challenge to Gov. Pawlenty's executive order preventing anyone from being released from Minnesota's sex offender treatment program unless through a court order. Pawlenty issued his order last July, after a newspaper report said the state was considering releasing some of the 200 offenders in the state's two secure psychiatric hospitals. Meanwhile, Minnesota lawmakers began debating longer prison sentences for sex offenders.
Al-Qaida suspect ordered held without bail
A federal magistrate has ruled Minneapolis college student Mohammed Warsame will remain jailed until trial. In the ruling released Monday), Magistrate Franklin Noel said Warsame is a potential flight risk who could pose a threat to public safety.
Minnesota's low income kids need new daycare options
Minnesota residents talk a lot about the great quality of life they have. The state has enjoyed a national reputation for good schools and supportive children's programs. But that image has taken a hit lately. Funding for low income daycare has been chopped. Lawmakers will struggle again this year to make up a deficit that could total $500 million. It's a situation that may leave some families, scrambling to pay the daycare bill.
Downsizing state government
In last week's state of the state speech, Gov. Pawlenty asked lawmakers to explore ways to rein in the growing cost of state government. He suggested capping spending increases to an amount based on inflation and population growth.
That would be consistent with the Minnesota Taxpayer's League proposed Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR). It would limit spending increases on both the state and local level, and is based on an amendment to the Colorado constitution passed in 1992.
University of Wisconsin professor Andrew Reschovsky opposes the plan and says the real objective of TABOR is to downsize government.
Dance Theatre of Harlem to perform at Northrop Auditorium
The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired many Americans to stand up and fight discrimination. It moved others to become more politically active. Arthur Mitchell was motivated to create the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
In 1969, Mitchell started a school that he hoped would give disadvantaged children in Harlem a chance to experience the world of dance.
Now, over three decades later, the Dance Theatre of Harlem is known around the world for its innovative approach to classical ballet. This week the company will perform at the University of Minnesota's Northrop Auditorium. Mitchell says part of the program is inspired by a trip the troupe took to South Africa.
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Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2004 |
Pawlenty makes surprise trip to Iraq
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and five other governors arrived in Baghdad Tuesday morning for a two-day trip to Iraq, which was arranged by the Bush administration. Pawlenty says the governors want to visit troops stationed in Iraq and learn more about the U.S. mission. He says the Bush administration plans to send more Minnesota National Guard troops to Iraq later this year.
Howard Dean's last stand?
Supporters packed a Superior, Wisc., school auditorium to hear former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's pitch to the Badger state's most northern Democrats. Dean is focused almost exclusively on next week's Wisconsin primary. He hopes to pull off an upset win that might revitalize his struggling campaign. But Dean lost key endorsements, including from a veteran northern Wisconsin congressman.
Biotech has potential in rural Minnesota
There are only a few places in the country considered hotbeds for emerging biotechnology industries. Minnesota isn't one of them. Gov. Pawlenty hopes to change that with an initiative to strengthen a biotech corridor in the Twin Cities and Rochester. But some say biotech businesses could also spur economic development in rural Minnesota. Leaders in Bemidji are exploring ways to develop a mini biotech cluster of their own.
Dancing to the sounds of the Duluth harbor
Most people who visit Duluth spend some time sight-seeing on the waterfront. But the sounds of the harbor can be just as inspiring as the sights. A young composer has turned those sounds into music.
Teen accused in Cold Spring shooting to be tried as adult
Jason McLaughlin, the 15-year old accused of killing two fellow classmates in a school shooting last fall in Cold Spring, has been ordered to face trial as an adult.
Dominick Argento wins the grammy for Casa Guidi
The only one Minnesotan won a Grammy Sunday night, composer Dominick Argento, took the award for best classical
contemporary composition for Casa Guidi. The Minnesota Orchestra recorded the piece last year. Most grammy award winners celebrated on the night. But Argento told Minnesota Public Radio Classical music host John Birge, he didn't learn of the award until the day after.
The Trial of Osama bin Laden
What if Osama bin Laden is eventually caught and brought to trial in the United States? That's the question Peter Goldmark has been pondering and imagining in a new play he calls ---simply---The Trial of Osama bin Laden. The fictional dramatization is about what makes a terrorist tick and it's also about America's sense of itself after the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center.
This week the play will get a test-reading before a private audience in Minneapolis. Theater patrons will help producers gauge the appeal of the play, and if the audience likes it, Minneapolis may be the site of its first run.
Subpoenas on Antiwar Protest Are Dropped
Federal prosecutors today withdrew a subpoena ordering Drake University to turn over a list of people involved in an antiwar forum in November. Subpoenas ordering four activists to testify before a grand jury were also dropped. The U.S. attorney's office declined further comment.
The case gained national attention from activists who viewed the subpoenas as an attack against civil liberties.
Monday night, U.S attorneys issued a statement saying the subpoenas were linked to an investigation involving a trespassing case at an Iowa National Guard base -- not to the anti-war protest.
Minneapolis lawyer Bruce Nestor represents the National Lawyers Guild. Members of its local chapter organized the Drake forum and were among the participants in the antiwar protest. Nestor filed a motion yesterday to quash the federal subpoena. He says the government still needs to prove the merit of its investigation.
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Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2004 |
Pawlenty wraps up Iraqi visit
Gov. Tim Pawlenty wrapped up a two-day trip to Iraq Wednesday. Pawlenty and five other governors spent a second day in Baghdad at the invitation of the Bush administration. Pawlenty says he leaves Iraq convinced that President Bush was right to go to war against Saddam Hussein's regime.
North Dakota expects big things from nanotechnology
The Red River Valley is best known for growing wheat and sugar beets. But North Dakota officials hope to produce a bumper crop of high tech jobs in the next decade. Many of those jobs will be built around a nanotechnology research initiative at North Dakota State University.
Dancing "Dracula"
Vampires are not exactly a fresh idea for a movie, but Winnipeg filmmaker Guy Maddin breathed new life into the Transylvanian count's story. The Walker Art Center in Minneapilis is screening his film, 'Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary.' It's part of a retrospective which is one of the Walker's final events in its building before it closes for a year for renovation.
Legislative politics
Minnesota lawmakers are into the second week of this year's legislative session with a host of bonding proposals and some contentious social issues on the agenda and for members of the House, elections looming in November.
It's no surprise that lawmakers enjoy distributing money in an election year, but when it comes to policy issues, history shows politicians prefer to talk more and vote less.
Lilly Goren is chair of the political science department at the College of St. Catherine. She says there tends to be a disconnect between rhetoric and action when elections are near.
Virtual medicine
Colon cancer is almost 90 percent curable if it's caught early. Still, it takes the lives of more than 55,000 Americans each year and is second only to lung cancer when it comes to cancer-related deaths.
Doctors say embarrassment and the fear of discomfort keep many people from being screened for the disease. They're hoping a procedure known as the virtual colonoscopy can help change that.
Dr. Jon Hallberg is medical director of the Primary Care Center at the University of Minnesota. He says the virtual colonoscopy relies on computer imagining and is less invasive than a traditional colonoscopy.
Robots and us
In movies and literature, the classic robot is often modeled after a human being. But a new exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota shows that robotics engineers draw on a variety of living things for design ideas.
Biologist Robert Full served as an advisor on the new robot exhibit. He studies everything from cockroaches and poisonous centipedes to scorpions and geckos. His research into the movement of such critters has helped shaped the way engineers build robots today.
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Thursday, Feb. 12, 2004 |
Funeral held for Minnesotan killed in Iraq
Funeral services were held on Thursday in Elk River for Patrick Dorff, an Army helicopter pilot who crashed in northern Iraq late last month and apparently drowned in the Tigris River. Dorff, who grew up in Buffalo, Minn., joined the Army to gain flying experience and to earn money for college. The 32 year old left behind a wife and a young daughter along with a long list of friends and admirers.
U of M researchers create ethanol-to-hydrogen energy reactor
President Bush and Congress have committed the country to lessening our dependence on fossil fuels by developing hydrogen as an alternative power source. However, most hydrogen is made from fossil fuels. Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a way to make hydrogen from ethanol, a renewable fuel. But not everyone agrees making hydrogen from ethanol adds up. Observers say it takes a lot of energy to make ethanol.
Rural veterinarians in short supply
It's getting harder for farmers and ranchers in Minnesota to find a veterinarian when they need one. As older vets retire, there are fewer young vets who want to take over rural practices. It turns out more vet students are choosing to work on small animals in urban areas after graduation. The change has the state facing a shortage of vets who specialize in livestock.
Senate passes stricter DWI limit
The Minnesota Senate Thursday voted to lower the state's drunk driving limit. Minnesota is one of just three states in the country that does not have a drunk driving standard of .08 blood-alcohol content. The Legislature has debated the lower limit for years, and many observers think this year, it will finally become law.
Citizen's League seek solution to fractured mental health system
All this week, Minnesota Public Radio is airing a series of reports called, A Bad State of Mind: Minnesota's Fractured Mental Health System. The reports examine a system in which families facing mental health crises may have to wait months for treatment, at the same time health care organizations are closing mental health treatment facilities.
A task force convened by the Citizens League today released a progress report on its work to fix the problems in the system. The Minnesota Mental Health Action Group is moving forward on what its says are solutions to problems that include widespread social stigmas, flawed accountability and a system whose very complexity keeps people from getting help.
Gary Cunningham co-chairs the group. He says Minnesota's mental health system is in crisis.
U of M student moonlights as political pundit
Move over, George Will and James Carville-- Mitch Mosvick is in the political pundit business.
Mosvick is a University of Minnesota student. He has been chosen by Newsweek magazine to write a semi-regular column for its website on the 2004 election. Newsweek's initiative, called "Genext" is intended to take the political pulse of first-time voters.
Mosvick is one of five young people from around the country providing the analysis. Mosvick says most of his classmates are less passionate about politics than he is, but he says there are some things that get them fired up.
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Friday, Feb. 13, 2004 |
More troop deployed
It was another day when a group of soldiers and their friends and families gathered to say goodbye. Several hundred soldiers from an Army Reserve engineering battalion leaves tomorrow for training at Ft. McCoy in
Wisconsin.
Mainstreet Radio's Tim Post was at a send off ceremony Friday at the armory in St. Cloud. He talked with the Hoben family, for whom the deployment is another loss. They already have one family member on active duty. Dan is the battalion leader of the 367th. He is looking ahead to a deployment that will be unlike most trips he's taken.
Shortage of psychiatrists makes bad problem worse
Minnesota is suffering from a severe shortage of psychiatrists, with just one psychiatrist for every 10,000 people. Since 30 percent of the population will need to see a psychiatrist at some point in their lives, that's an enormous gap between doctor and patient. This shortage of psychiatrists contributes to the an array of problems in the state's mental health system. We hear about the shortage from the perspective of the next generation of doctors preparing to enter this ailing mental health system.
Wild and NHL slide toward possible "lockout"
After the carefree atmosphere of the NHL All-Star Game, professional hockey is returning to more serious matters. For the Minnesota Wild, this means salvaging a season that has left them near the bottom of their conference. There's also the more grave question of whether, one year from now, there would even be a season to salvage. A new report from the NHL shows deep financial losses at a majority of teams, and a contract dispute between NHL players and owners threatens to bring the league to a halt in the fall. The Wild may not be a part of the problem, but Wild fans and the Twin Cities economy could suffer the consequences.
Walker will be without walls for the next year
There's a big bash at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis this weekend. When it's over, they'll shut off the lights for a year. The Walker closure will allow the completion of its $70 million expansion project. It'll nearly double the size of the Walker and expand its urban campus to 17 acres. The yearlong closure doesn't mean Walker programming will disappear. The museum plans to stay culturally visible by organizing a range of activities and events around the Twin Cities.
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