Monday, May 5

When floodwaters overwhelmed Grand Forks and East Grand Forks many churches were also flooded. United Lutheran Church in Grand Forks still has about nine feet of water in its lower level. It may be months before the congregation can worship there again. Yesterday a small remnant of the congregation met in a local funeral home to begin the healing process. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Gunderson reports.

EVERY DAY, victims of domestic abuse looking for a way out quietly endure a frustrating search for shelter, only to hear repeatedly that there is no space available...they should call another shelter. What many women do not realize is that of the twelve domestic abuse shelters in the Twin Cities, there is almost ALWAYS a space somewhere. The challenge is finding it. But a new project underway this spring could make the search a little bit easier. Minnesota Public Radio's Lorna Benson reports.

Any dyed-in-the-wool scale model railroader will tell you that life in miniature is better. Time at one-eighty-seventh H-O scale runs eight times faster than normal...the streets are always clean and the trains run on-time. Douglas Hodgdon has been designing and building model railroads for more than 30 years in the Twin Cities. For our "Odd Jobs" segment today, Minnesota Public Radio's Todd Moe joined Hodgdon as he visited one of his client's model train dioramas that includes three-thousand feet of track and more than 25 trains.

Lobbyist John Knapp talks about St. Paul's interest in a stadium... and other goings on at the capitol as the legislature nears the end of the session.

Chris Farrell, MPR's senior business and economics editor, talks about what's behind the rebounding stock market.

Congress is considering a bill that would make it easier for Hmong people who worked with the C-I-A during the Vietnam War to become U-S citizens. Under the new welfare laws legal aliens would not be eligible for Supplemental Security income after August. The bill, which is being backed by Minnesota Congressmen Bruce Vento and Jim Ramstad, would waive English language and residency requirements for Hmong veterans and their families who wish to become citizens. We talk with Lee Pao Xiong, Executive Director of the State Council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans.

Transportation Department official Bob Weinholtzer talks about plans to expand a project to photograph drivers who run red lights at Twin Cities intersections.

And on Future Tense: IBM's chess-playing supercomputer, Deep Blue, has pulled evened with Gary Kasparov. Deep Blue defeated Kasparov in game two of the six game match yesterday. Deep Blue is an extreme example of how computers are chaning the old game of chess. James Eade, author of the book Chess for Dummies, says computers are making chess a very different game for all players.

Tuesday, May 6

The Minnesota Senate has approved a PERMANENT gas tax increase of four cents, along with an additional PENNY tax for ONE year to help pay for repairs to roads and bridges damaged in Spring floods. Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports.

For the last several decades... the federal government has spent billions of dollars each year to increase the number of public housing units and rent subsidies for poor people. Until this year. Under Congress's efforts to restrain spending and balance the budget...the federal government has stopped adding to its stock of subsidized housing. The government says a record number of Americans... five million households... now spend more than half their income on housing. And a growing number can't afford an apartment a place to live at all. Minnesota Public Radio's John Biewen reports.

ON Future Tense Jon Gordon reports on A NEW DIGITAL SOURCE FOR TWIN CITIES NEWS, ENTERTAINMENT AND ONLINE COMMUNITY.

State Emergency Management Director Jim Franklin discusses why the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area was declared a disaster area despite little damage due to the flooding.

Former Monkee Peter Tork and his singing partner James Lee Stanley talk about their act, The Monkees, Peter's days at Carleton and other fun stuff.

Wednesday, May 7

After floods recede, more than water is left in the basement. Homeowners and businesses are left with construction debris, ruined carpetting and other waste. Landfills that traditionally take municipal garbage won't be able to handle all the extra. We talk to Tom Halboch, waste management specialist at the University of Minnesota, about the biggest problems.

The stadium debate has turned into a discussion of whether Native Americans should continue to have a monopoly on casino gambling. Minnesota is one of the few states that does not get a portion of the profits generated by Indian Casinos. Richard McGowan, a professor of economics at Boston College, says if Minnesota expanded gambling to help fund a Twins stadium, it'd be the first state to compete against it's own indian tribes in the gambling business.

Following the midwest flood of 1993, several government agencies worked out a new strategy for managing the country's floodplains. One proposal was to relax flood defenses along agricultural land in order to lower the pressure of flooding on urban areas. Some parts of the plan have been implemented... and now the Clinton Administration is giving it another look. Jerry Rasmussen helped research the plan for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He says people have to remember that rivers need their floodplains every now and then to spill over.

And on Future Tense: John Hughes made the animals talk in "Babe." His digital special effects company, Rhythm and Hues of Los Angeles, is also responsible for those Coca-Cola polar bear commercials. Hughes is a native of Hibbing and attended the University of Minnesota. He was in Minneapolis last week to speak at the Minnesota Technology Awards. Hughes says digital technology is not changing film-making as much as you might think.

Thursday, May 8

By the end of this week, residents in East Grand Forks, Minnesota may be able to drink their water straight from the tap. The city's more than 8-thousand residents have been without drinkable water since flooding shut down their water treatment plant three weeks ago. As Minnesota Public Radio's Lorna Benson reports, city crews and an army of volunteers have been working around the clock to fix the problem and are now only days away from making life a little bit easier for everyone.

Dr. Keith Henry, director of the HIV clinic at St. Paul-Ramsey Medical Center, talks about a new U of M study that shows a combination of three AIDS drugs dramatically reduces the amount of H-I-V virus in lymph tissue. That's important because lymph tissue - including tonsils and the spleen - is where the virus is stored and reproduced.

Bob Potter tours Historic Fort Snelling with site manager Stephen Osman to talk about how a newly acquired map dating from 1823 sheds new light on the early days of the Fort. We also hear from Jeff Norton, a living historian, who acts as a guide and a fife player at the fort.

And on Future Tense: Toy Story represented something of a breakthrough in computer animation. But Pete Docter says it didn't seem like a big deal when he was helping to make the film. Docter is a Twin Cities native who works for Pixar Studios in California.

Friday, May 9

It's every parents' dream that when their children begin instrument or voice lessons, they might someday rise to the ranks of cellist YoYo Ma or opera diva Jesse Norman. The Elkina sisters, Julia and Irina, have made a name for themselves locally and around the world as duo pianists. You may not have heard the music of Christine and Sara Worrall, but as Minnesota Pubic Radio's Todd Moe reports, these Twin Cities teenage musical twins are about to capture the hearts of an international audience.

Hundreds of Federal Emergency Management Agency Inspectors have surveyed more than 20-thousand homes damaged by the blizzards or the recent Red River flooding. Heidi and Maurice Borud live south of Fargo along the winding Red River. During the flood, the water came over their earthen dike and permanent floodwall... first filling the backyard swimming pool, then the yard itself... and ultimately both floors of the house. Minnesota Public Radio's Hope Deutscher spoke with the Boruds and with a FEMA inspector.

Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad is offering to significantly increase the amount of money he'd kick in to build a new Twins stadium. Under a new plan, Pohlad would put up 100 million dollars from naming rights and other stadium revenue sources as well as a private contribution. The Legislature has ten days to close a deal or Pohlad says he'll try to sell the team, which means the Twins could leave Minneapolis. Senate Minority leader told Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste if a bill doesn't pass, he's ready to continue working on a deal into the next session.

Mark Seeley talks about how flood disasters have affected the insurance industry in the past 50 years. And... it looks like a lovely day for the fishing opener.

The National Hockey League is expected to award two new expansion franchises today. Among the cities that are hoping to get a team is St. Paul. Earlier this week the St. Paul City Council voted to invest 30 million dollars in a new hockey arena. In addition some folks at the Legislature are suggesting that St. Paul might be a good place for a new Twins stadium or a casino that would pay for the new stadium. We talk to Mayor Norm Coleman about all the talk surrounding St. Paul.

The DNR is imposing strict new fishing regulations on Mille Lacs to keep the overall harvest at a safe level. Chief of fisheries Jack Skrypek says the DNR estimates show the number of fish in the lake can vary greatly from year to year... and that the DNR usually does a pretty good job managing the catch.

And on Future Tense: There are thousands of web sites devoted to the webmasters' favorite TV shows and movies. But these web fanzines are coming under attack from corporate lawyers who argue many of the sites violate copyright laws. We hear from Future Tense trend watcher Bill Loving.

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