Monday, June 16

Just a few miles from downtown Minneapolis, on the eastern edge of Golden Valley, there's a little lake surrounded by a little piece of land that a lot of people feel very strongly about. For years, Twin Lake has been an undisturbed and secluded destination with a somewhat notorious reputation. But a developer is hoping to transform this wild lake into the setting for an upscale residential community. The Golden Valley City Council is currently evaluating that proposal. Minnesota Public Radio's Jim Bickal reports.

Party leaders say Bill Cooper's money raising ability is one reason Republicans selected him as state party chairman. They do not see his selection as a shift away from the socially conservative agenda advanced by Minnesota Republicans over the past decade. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson has more.

A St. Paul woman says she goes through--ten tons--of chocolate every year!! She runs a show that specializes in hand make truffles. In today's Odd-jobs segment Kathleen Hallinan takes us behind the counter of "Just Truffles"--to meet Kathleen O'Hare-Johnson...

Scrabble players from around the country challenged each other yesterday in Bloomington at a qualifying tournament for the main event this Fall. The players competed for a spot in the world championship Scrabble competition in Washington,D. C. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson has more.

Minnesota's main Internet access provider is hoping to merge with a company that represents two-thirds of the state's independent telephone companies. Together, the Minnesota Regional Network and Minnesota Equal Access Network Systems could pool resources to provide state residents and companies all kinds of services - from basic telephone to wireless to cellular to Internet access. The new company could also position itself to compete against national telecommuncations companies entering the local market. We talks to Dennis Fazio, executive director of MRNet.

The Great American Think Off held in New York Mills this weekend attracted national attention for the timeliness of its topic: "Is the Death Penalty Ethical in a Civilized Society?" We talk to organizer John Davis.

And on Future Tense: Bob Collins talks about a form of digital blackmail on the internet.

Tuesday, June 17

The Duluth School board decides today whether municipal buses should continue transporting some of the district's students. The death last winter of a young girl has raised parent's fears that Duluth Transit Authority buses aren't as safe as conventional school buses. City officials say municipal buses are safe, and the loss of the transportation contract would force a reduction in public bus service in Duluth and nearby Superior, Wisconsin. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports from Duluth.

St. Paul is going to get an NHL expansion team to begin play in the year 2000. The National Hockey League's expansion committee is expected to make the announcement today. The new team will mark the return of major league hockey to Minnesota. The North Stars moved to Dallas after the 1993 season. Nashville, Atlanta and Columbus, Ohio, reportedly are the other cities being recommended for expansion teams. We get reaction from former North Stars Vice President Pat Forciea.

The Metropolitan Airports Commission is considering a dramatic hike in parking rates at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport in order to relieve the crunch for parking spaces. The higher rates would also raise revenue to build new parking lots. Rates could jump about 50 percent for daily short-term parking and weekly parking at the lots in front of the main terminal. A final decision will be made in July. We talk to MAC chairman Sandy Grieve.

A 135-page plan that describes what St. Paul could look like in coming decades is being discussed by city leaders and residents this week. It details a long-term strategy to orient the city towards the Mississippi River. The plan envisions downtown as a group of urban villiages in which people live and work... and it aims to draw residents and workers back out into the open with a network of shaded sidewalks, parks and river bluff walks. A team of architects and urban designers developed the plan led by Ken Greenberg, an urban designer from Toronto.

And on Future Tense: A merger is in the works for Minnesota's leading Internet access provider and a company representing two-thirds of the state's independent telephone companies. The merger would allow the Minnesota Regional Network or MRNet and Minnesota Equal Access Network Systems or MEANS to pool their resources to provide bundled services to state residents and companies. Mike O'Connor, head of the St. Paul internet provider go-fast-dot-net says the merger would improve internet access in Minnesota in a number of ways.

Wednesday, June 18

The National Hockey League plans to return to the Twin Cities in the year two-thousand. The N-H-L's expansion committee has recommended the league put a new team in St. Paul that year. The recommendation is expected to be approved next week. Many state and city officials are celebrating the N-H-L's decision as a boon for the region. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports.

The Rochester Board of Education heard from a committee last night that is recommending delaying the start times of all the district's schools. Supporters of the plan say it will help adolescents get the sleep they need and keep elementary school students off the streets before the sun comes up. Minnesota Public Radio's Brent Wolfe reports from Rochester.

Not so long ago, high school debaters researched their cases in dusty libraries, pouring through old obscure books, magazines and government records. There's still some of that going on but now the personal computer and the Internet are the debaters' most powerful tools. The National Debate Tournament is underway in Bloomington, and Rosemount High School coach Bob Groven says these debaters are doing things in a profoundly different fashion.

Foreigners who move to the United States often have to take on low-paying or unskilled jobs just to get a foot in the door... even if they had professional careers in their native country. That was the case for Ruilin Li who came to the United States from China in late 1994 to join her husband, a doctoral student at the University of Minnesota. Li left behind a five-year career as a lawyer... and, after arriving in Minnesota took on a job as a hotel maid. But today, she's being sworn into the Minnesota bar as a foreign legal consultant... only the second person ever to hold such a position. She joins me now.

Thursday, June 19

The Minneapolis city council is considering changes to the civilian board that reviews complaints against police officers. Some councilmembers want to merge the Civilian Police Review Authority with another city department...a move supporters say could save a third off the agency's $460-thousand dollar annual budget. But even as hearings on the proposal begin...the effort seems to be losing steam. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Wareham reports.

Tonight, Mower County officials will consider whether to allow construction of the state's largest feedlot. Officials there have placed a limit on the number of animals any one feedlot can have, but only after a farmer's co-op sought a permit to house two-and-a-half million chickens. Residents near the city of Austin are fighting the project. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.

Starting tonight in locations around Loring Park in Minneapolis....a theater festival claiming to offer something for everyone. It's called the Fringe....36 groups....240 performances... in 11 days. As Mary Stucky reports, the Fringe is for audiences willing to take a risk.

James Rickabaugh is the Superintendent for the Burnsville School District. He says if the special legislative session planned for next week fails to produce an agreement for funding K-12 education, his district can borrow or use reserves to balance the budget for the next school year... but some districts may not have that option.

Senior citizens' groups are already protesting a plan passed by a Senate committee this week, that would require wealthier Medicare beneficiaries to pay a larger share of physicians' fees. A balanced budget agreement between Congress and the White House calls for the government to save 115 Billion dollars by reforming Medicare. Lawrence Jacobs, professor of political science at the University of Minnesota, says several significant and controversial changes in the program are being considered.

And on Future Tense: In Quebec, language is the law and the government is cracking down on web sites that do'nt translate their English pages to French. The watchdog agency - known as the Language Police among Quebec English speaking citizens-- gave the computer store Micro-Bytes until July 2nd to provide a French version of their web site or risk a $1,000 fine. The law requires businesses to use French...not English. Marc Silverman, a store manager, says many webmasters in Quebec are opposed to the government action...and many have replaced their French speaking web pages with English.

Friday, June 20

Austin's minor league baseball team, the Southern Minny Stars, goes into its home opener tonight at four and two, in sole possession of first place in the Prairie League. Minor league teams are getting more attention as fans shy away from expensive ticket prices at major league ballparks. But the Stars are getting more attention than most because their owner is only 20 years old and they have the youngest manager in professional baseball. Minnesota Public Radios Brent Wolfe reported.

Red Lake and Beltrami County are facing some tough challenges as the state gears up to meet the requirements of the new welfare-to-work laws. The area has a high number of welfare recipients and unemployment, and a chronic shortage of jobs. Forty percent of Beltrami County's 1200 welfare caseloads come from the remote Reservation. That means about 580 Red Lake welfare recipients will have to find jobs to comply with new laws. Minnesota Public Radio's Christina Koenig reported.

The Twin Cities two largest brokerages could be ripe targets for a takeover. Some analysts say Piper Jaffray and Interra Financial, the parent company of Dain Bosworth, have become quite attractive to banks since federal banking regulations were changed late last year. So far this year, plans have been announced for two mergers between major banks and brokerage firms. Bob spoke with Guru Baliga, a portfolio manager for American Express Financial Advisors located in Minneapolis.

The number of cases of Lyme Disease reported in Minnesota climbed 20% from 1995 to 1996. Bob spoke with Craig Hedburg, an epidemiologist, about the illness.

Future Tense: An underwriter for Lloyd's of London says clains arising from the Millenium computer bug could top one trillion dollars in the United States. It stems from computer programming in the 60s that sought to save memory by using only the last two numbers of a year when recording the date. That won't work when the year turns to ...zero-zero.

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