Monday, July 28

The Twin Cities Metro chapter of Habitat for Humanity is celebrating a milestone. The organization has begun rehabilitating its 200th home. As Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports, volunteers, neighbors and elected officials gathered for a celebration in front of the now boarded up house in north Minneapolis yesterday to kick off the project.

When lumberjacks first came to northern Minnesota to cut the pines and send them downriver, they had no idea what they would find in the forest. Apparently the bears and porcupines and pileated woodpeckers weren't bizarre or scary enough, because the loggers developed a mythology of their own. They told stories of an animal with lips so big it stepped on them if it tried to graze, a hard headed "splintercat" that smashed trees in search of honey, and the dreaded agropelter, which smacked unwary woodsmen on the head if they wandered into its territory. This weekend, visitors to the Forest History Center in Grand Rapids heard tales of agropelters, splintercats, and other mythical monsters. Mainstreet Radio's Catherine Winter reports.

Rod Fudge, of Perham, is a leech trapper. In fact, Fudge is the largest supplier of fishing leeches in the upper Midwest. Each year he ships 15 tons of the slippery critters to baitshops around the country. Leif Enger of Mainstreet Radio went leeching with Rod Fudge, and has today's odd-jobs profile.

Several important measures of the strength of the economy will capture the attention of Wall Street this week. The stock and bond markets are on a roll, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up more than 220 points last week to the 8100 level. Chris Farrell is Mn Public Radio's senior business and economics editor. He previews the week ahead on Wall Street.

Kevin Roberg, CEO of Value RX, a Minnesota company that manages prescription benefits, discusses why drugs have gotten so expensive.

Tuesday, July 29

Congressional and White House negotiators have reached a compromise on a balanced budget agreement. The bill would cut taxes and increase spending on some programs more than was first proposed. But Minnesota Congressman David Minge says he still thinks the agreement can work.

Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles-Belton and her opponent Barbara Carlson face off this morning for the first time in this year's election campaign. Carlson entered the mayoral race about two weeks ago. To the surprise of some pundits, the flamboyant former talk show host seems to be mounting a serious challenge to the popular mayor. We talk to Peter Bell, co-chair of the Carlson campaign and Scott Cooper, Sayles-Belton's campaign manager.

Naturalist Kathy Heidel of the Lowry Nature Center near Victoria, Minnesota, explains the importance of algae.

Wednesday, July 30

Software analyst Tom Berquist of Piper Jaffray discusses Lawson Software's place in the market and how stable the company is likely to be in the future.

New KTCA-TV President Jim Pagliarini discusses the future of Twin Cities Public Television.

Thursday, July 31

St. Paul City Council members have unanimously approved construction of a new downtown office tower that will become home to a growing software company now based in Minneapolis. The Lawson Softward Building, including a parking ramp and retail shops, will cost more than one hundred million dollars to build and will be owned by the city. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen has more.

Minnesota inmates are smoking up a storm this week, trying to inhale the last puff of pleasure from the last pack of cigarettes. Starting Friday, state prisons will be smoke free. State officials say the new law should curb spiraling health care costs. Prisoners, some of whom have smoked their whole lives, say eliminating their last source of pleasure is just another way to punish them. Rachel Reabe of our Mainstreet Radio team has the story.

Knowing that divorce is tough on kids and that parents might not be able to explain what it means, Hennepin county judges are requiring that all children whose parents are splitting up go through a class. The program, called Sandcastles, is used around the country. Gary Neumann created the class and Judge Diana Eagon will be in charge of running it in Minnesota.

Dr. John Shepherd of the Mayo Clinic discusses his research on "spousal arrousal syndrome," the impact of snoring on bedmates.

Friday, August 1

A new tobacco control bill goes into effect today that among other things, requires retailers to change their cigarette displays. Individual packs will no longer appear in easily accessible places such as counters. The statute is designed to make it more difficult for minors to get cigarettes. But as Minnesota Public Radio's Lorna Benson reports, some retailers think it's a toothless law.

Today is the beginning of the end of the Campbell soup chicken processing plant in Worthington. Slaughter operations at the plant end August today, with the plant expected to be completely shut down by the middle of the month. The plant closing means the loss of hundreds of jobs and an uncertain future for dozens of Southwestern Minnesota farmers who supplied chickens to the plant. Mark Steil of Mainstreet Radio reports.

A North Dakota law taking effect today allows the state to lock up people who are considered sexually dangerous..even if they have not been charged with a crime. State officials say its an important tool for protecting society. but the American Civil Liberties Union says the law is part of a troubling trend. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Gunderson reports.

Jeff Way, owner of North Country Lodge, a canoe outfitter near Ely, discusses the proposed legislation which would further restrict towboats in the BWCA and reopen some truck portages.

Carleton College Political Science professor Steven Schier analyzes the balanced budget deal worked out this week by Congress.

Meteorologist Mark Seeley talks about the crappy July weather and whether it will be much better in August.

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