Monday, October 6

Governor Carlson says the time has come for Minnesota to wrap up the two-year-old political battle over a new baeball stadium. Twins owner Carl ohlad also is running out of patience: He's agreed to sell the team to a North Carolina buyer if the Minnesota Legislature doesn't come through with money for a new stadium this month. But leaving Minnesota won't necessarily mean the end of the Twins' political headaches... in fact, the team may arrive in North Carolina just in time for a Minnesota-style, anti-stadium backlash. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman and State Senator Sandy Pappas squared off in their second public debate held over the weekend. As Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports, the issues revolved around the city's immigrant community and developing well-trained workers to meet the demands of employers.

Residents of small towns often feel they're on the periphery of the state's economy. In boomtimes like now, small towns are eager for some of the action but often find it difficult to cash in. Take the community of Good Thunder in south central Minnesota..... officials there would love to bring some jobs to town, but that just hasn't happened. For the past ten years, Minnesota Public Radio's Mainstreet reporting team has traveled the back roads of our region, with stories about small towns and rural life. This week, we mark that achievement with a 10th anniversary series... Mainstreet stories that look back on a person or a place to see what's happened since we last visited. Reporter Mark Steil takes a look at the continuing economic developement struggles on Main Street.

Tens of thousands of Minnesota archers take to the Minnesota woods each fall in search of the elusive whitetail deer. It's a physically demanding sport requiring long hikes through the woods carrying equipement, the ability to climb trees and sit motionless for hours waiting for the prey. For people with physical disabilities such challenges might seem insurmountable. But a growing number of handicapped hunters are taking to the field with help from ablebodied peers. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Gunderson went along on a hunt this weekend and has this report.

On Future Tense...School district 196 in Rosemount Minnesota has spent a lot of money to equip classrooms with the latest computer technology. But it's concerned that many of its students are being left behind because they don't have computers at home. Now, thanks to a federal grant, the district will buy laptop computers for selected low-income fourth graders. The computers will come loaded with software, and students and their families will be trained in their use. The families will get an e-mail account, and access to the Internet. District 196 technology coordinator Denise Griffith hopes the machines will help kids with their work, and forge a connection between the schools and parents.

The question on Wall Street this morning is whether things are going to settle down at all after a really wild day last Friday. Here's Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Farrell.

Tuesday, October 7

Remember the house of straw? Built by a hasty and foolish piglet, blown down with ease by a hungry wolf, the straw house was a warning to us all. Well in fact, it turns out straw makes a pretty good house. Nebraska farmers knew it a century ago, and now houses made of strawbales are making a revival that's reached from New Mexico, to New Zealand, to Northern Minnesota. Leif Enger of Mainstreet Radio reports.

For the past ten years, Minnesota Public Radio's Mainstreet reporting team has traveled the back roads of our region, finding stories about small towns and rural life. This week, we're revisiting some of the more memorable stories. Four years ago, we reported on the opening of one of Minnesota's first charter schools, in the tiny, remote town of Meadowlands. People in Meadowlands worked like mad to create a charter school because the district was planning to close their little school. They had to figure out everything from how to schedule buses to how to get grants and donations -- because charter schools have to survive on less money than other schools. Four years later, there are 26 charter schools in Minnesota, and the little school in Meadowlands still survives. Mainstreet Radio's Catherine Winter visited to see how things are going.

On Future Tense... Since Apple co-founder Steve Jobs returned to Apple this summer, he's made some controversial moves. One of those was putting the brakes on cloning - or licensing the Macintosh operating system to other manufacturers. Consumers generally liked cloning but it meant cheaper prices and more choices for Macintosh computers. Jobs explained his move late last week at the Seybold Publishing Conference in San Francisco.

Deb Brown says its okay if some of the needles fall off your evergreen trees and its a good time to plant bulbs.

Last week, an organization that accredits America's HMOs released a report comparing the quality of more than 300 managed care plans across the country. It showed that HMOs vary greatly in terms of performance and patient satisfaction across the country and even within regions. Health plans in New England got the highest marks. Only two managed care plans in Minnesota participated in the survey - Health Partners and Central Minnesota Group Health. Both were ranked better than average in effectiveness of care. Margaret O'Kane, President of The National Committee for Quality Assurance in Washington, discusses the report.

Bill Allen, coordinator of charter schools for the Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning, discusses the latest trends in charter schools.

Wednesday, October 8

Schools everywhere are looking for ways to improve standardized test scores and debating what students need to know to succeed. Some education reformers and parents say the key to student success is a focus on content rather than developing learning skills. A growing number of schools have embraced the content-heavy approach of the Core Knowledge Curriculum. A Rochester elementary school that made the switch now has a waiting list of students who want to enroll. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

Nine years ago Mainstreet Radio profiled the central Minnesota town of Pierz, located 10 miles east of Little Falls as part of a documentary on small town religion. This was a place where everybody was Catholic, mostly German Catholic, and community life revolved around the Catholic Church. In l997, Pierz, holding steady at a thousand people, is still a one church town, but things are slowly changing; in the schools, on mainstreet and in the church. Mainstreet Radio's Rachel Reabe returned to Pierz this fall and prepared this report.

On Future Tense Sun Microsystems takes Microsoft to court.

Naturalist Kathy Heidel introduces us to a plant called ghostpipe.

Cambridge resident John Krueger discusses the audit of his town's finances released yesterday.

Thursday, October 9

Eight years ago last month, 500 union supporters rioted in the northern border town of International Falls. The city's largest employer, Boise Cascade, was building a huge expansion of their papermill -- and bringing in thousands of non-union workers to do it. The town was divided: while local businesses boomed like never before, union workers and their families felt betrayed. Leif Enger returns to International Falls for an update.

On Future Tense... the Justice Department is currently investigating Intel corporation for anti-competitive practices. It's not the first time: the Feds cleared the computer chip maker after an earlier investigation. Likewise, Microsoft dodged a DOJ investigation once, and is being looked at again. But despite all the anti-trust talk, the government hasn't done any monopoly-busting lately. Future Tense news analyst Bill Loving of the Star Tribune says that's aprtly because it's hard to prove anti-competitive practices in court.

Buyouts of flood-damaged property in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks could grind to a halt if a class-action lawsuit against the cities goes ahead. That's according to Grand Forks City Attorney Howard Swanson.

Mary Knockbar, Bureau Chief of MN's State Fire Marshall Division, discusses the increase in youth arson.

Friday, October 10

A group of sustainable farmers, those growers and cattle-breeders who shy away from synthetic additives to augment their production, hopes to tap into the food service business at Minnesota colleges and universities. The idea, which they're calling "Feed the Saints," has so far been limited to the sale of one cow to Saint John's University in Collegeville, but supporters envision a potential new market for struggling farmers. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

On Future Tense... musician Thomas Dolby on technology.

Meteorologist Mark Seeley discusses the unusually warm weather we've been (and won't be having anymore) and whether it is a product of El Nino (it's not).

Political commentators Tom Horner and Bob Meek discuss the political implications of Governor Carlson's decision to try and get in on the national tobacco settlement, a position Attorney General Skip Humphrey opposes.

Naturalist Kathy Heidel shows Bob how to find mold on a walking trail.

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