Monday, October 20

A new survey shows 78-percent of Minnesotans rank their families as "very" or "exceptionally" strong. The survey was sponsored by the Minnesota Public Radio Civic Journalism Initiative, Family and Children's Service of Minneapolis and the Minnesota Historical society. The findings seem to run counter to popular notions that families are falling apart because of rampant teen drug use, domestic violence and divorce. Minnesota Public Radio's Lorna Benson reports.

Barbara Carlson, who is challenging incumbent Sharon Sayles Belton for mayor of Minneapolis, says the city needs 300 more police officers. Sayles Belton says the city has enough police. The key to crime prevention, she says, is how they are used. Carlson and Sayles Belton have different views on crime fighting, neighborhood development and race relations. Today we begin a series of reports on the issues in the Minneapolis mayor's race - first crime fighting. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

It can take many forms, but generally it makes you achy, feverish and sick to your stomach. The flu probably won't appear in Minnesota until November but now is the time to get your flu shot. Diane Peterson, acute disease programs chief at the Minnesota Department of Health, says the vaccine is designed to cover several different strains of flu.

Exports from the Twin Cities to foreign countries jumped last year by 1.3 billion dollars - the largest increase measured in all but two other metropolitan areas across the country. The Twin Cities is the country's 8th largest urban center for international trade with annual exports of 12.4 billion dollars. We talk to Ronald Cramer, director of the Minneapolis U.S. Export Assistance Center... run by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The financial markets are going to be jittery again this week over worries about interest rates and earnings. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Farrell says interest rates and inflation aren't a problem... but the escalating pace of mergers and acquisitions may be.

This week, General Motors rolls out GM-BUYPOWER, an internet service where you can research GM cars, schedule test drives, check on dealer inventories, and apply for financing. GM is the first major auto company to come out with such a web-based program. GM Marketing manager Ann Pattyn describes why the company is doing it.

Tuesday, October 21

The candidates for mayor in Minneapolis and Saint Paul have often been sounding like they're running for school board. Public education issues have played heavily in mayoral campaigns in both cities, even though neither city government controls the schools. But mayors CAN influence education policy. State and local education officials say city leaders should be concerned and they welcome the attention. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

During the past year the MPR Civic Journalism Initiative, the Minnesota Historical Society and Family and Children's Service have asked some 2,000 Minnesotans what makes for strong healthy families. Today in the second of our series of reports... we examine how the family has changed. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Gunderson reports.

The St. Paul School Board yesterday voted to spend half a million dollars on a plan to increase school attendance. Truancy has been identified as a major problem affecting student achievement in St. Paul. Last year, almost nine percent of students in the district were absent from school each day. We talk to school board chair Mary Thornton Phillips.

People often complain - especially during election seasons - of politicans' inability to solve our most serious problems. In the business world and many other public institutions as well, there's concern over a perceived lack of leadership, and a sense that individuals are no longer willing to take the risks to implement visionary ideas. The Citizens League is organizing a series of talks to examine public leadership in the Twin Cities region. We speak with Duane Benson, executive director of the Minnesota Business Partnership.

Governor Carlson is presiding over the University of Minnesota's Digital Technology Summit this week. Jon Gordon asks Carlson what problems the summit is supposed to solve.

Wednesday, October 22

The state's Legislative Commission on Planning and Fiscal Policy failed to recommend a plan to pay for a new Twins stadium yesterday. As Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports, the commission's gridlock is bad news for the stadium's supporters.

They're still a rare sight in most of the state, but timberwolves are making a comeback in Minnesota. Held strictly to northeastern forests a few decades ago, wolves are now spreading west and south, toward St. Cloud, Grand Forks, Elk River. Wildlife officials estimate there are more than 2,000 of the animals in the state -- so many, they may soon lose federal protection. As Mainstreet Radio's Leif Enger reports, biologists are now using satellite technology to forecast where wolves will show up next.

With all the talk of money and politics and taxes and gambling, it's easy to forget that a stadium is a place to watch baseball. For some, watching baseball is a just an occaisional pastime, but to others it is a passion. One of the game's most passionate observers is Bill James. He has written many books analyzing the game and its history. His latest is called The Bill James Guide to Baseball Managers From 1870 to Today. He spoke with MPR's Jim Bickal about why he wrote a book about managers and also about his expectation that the Twins will end up moving out of Minnesota.

The House Ways and Means Committee today is expected to approve a plan for restructuring the Internal Revenue Service. There's strong bipartisan support for a bill that would create a board of private citizens to oversee the IRS. The Clinton Administration first opposed the bill, but changed its position yesterday when sponsors agreed to let the President retain the power to appoint the IRS commissioner. The bill would also strengthen the hand of taxpayers by shifting the burden of proof from individuals to the IRS in tax disputes. We talk with Minnesota's 3rd district Congressman Jim Ramstad, a sponsor of the bill.

Governor Carlson delivers the keynote address at the University of Minnesota's Digital Technology Summit today in Minneapolis. The summit is aimed at recapturing Minnesota's once-prominent place in the computer industry. One of Carlson's biggest technology initiatives has been creating the Minnesota Office of Technology, a cabinet-level department. Jon Gordon talks to Carlson about the future of the office.

Thursday, October 23

The Minnesota House and Senate meet in special session today to consider subsidizing a new Twins baseball stadium. Governor Carlson called the special session, saying he wants the Legislature to go on the record and VOTE on the issue. But as lawmakers get ready to meet, a straight-forward yes-or-no vote is looking unlikely. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

Minneapolis mayor Sharon Sayles Belton says the way to help poor people buy a home is to let them use housing welfare or Section 8 money as a down payment. Barbara Carlson who is challenging Sayles Belton for mayor wants to expand the urban homestead program where poor people can buy vacant homes cheaply. Here's the next in our series of reports on issues in the Minneapolis mayors race. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

Advocates of a new stadium have spent millions of dollars trying to convince citizens and Legislators that public money should be spent on a new stadium. But this week's poll shows that a majority of Minnesotans think funding a stadium is not important. So why hasn't this sales job been successful? We talk to independent public relations consultant Leonard Lee.

Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad took out an full page ad in today's Star Tribune, pledging that if he ends up selling the team to a North Carolina businessman Don Beaver, he'll donate all the profits to local charities. Pohlad also made a last-ditch plea for public funding for a new stadium. We discuss the ad with Dave St. Peter, communications director for the Twins.

On Future Tense: Dwight Silverman of the Houston Chronicle discusses Internet browser wars.

Friday, October 24

A pool of toxic coal-tar is nearly sealed in place at superfund site at a former Duluth steel plant. Neighbors had hoped the large river-front industrial area would be redeveloped for new manufacturing, but they now fear permanent presence of toxic chemicals will leave the region uninhabited and dangerous to people and wildlife. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports.

State lawmakers sent the Twins stadium financing question BACK to committee yesterday. The Rules Committees in each chamber have until TUESDAY to try to come up with a politically viable plan -- something all previous committees and commissions have failed to do. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

Groundbreaking ceremonies are scheduled tomorrow for the second phase of NSP's wind farm in southwest Minnesota. When completed next year it will generate enough electricity to supply about 40 thousand homes. Several other smaller wind projects are also in the works in the same part of the state. Wind supporters say its a major step forward for their industry, which they say is competitive with coal and other methods of generating electricity. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports.

If you travel Interstate 494 in Bloomington you've probably noticed a mini-mountain jutting 55 feet into the air, surrounded by glass and steel. It's an artificial rock for climbing, part of an enormous new outdoor sports store. It officially opens to the public today and as Mary Stucky reports, the climbing pinnacle, one of the tallest in the country, is generating much of the excitement.

Alumni of the Univeristy of Minnesota Band from across the country are performing a concert this Sunday in honor of former band leader Frank Bencriscutto who died last summer. In his 32 years at the U, Dr. Ben did much more than simply conduct music - he wrote and arranged songs, led tours of the Soviet Union and China, and became a mentor to many students who went on to develop careers as professional musicians. We talk with Bruce Paulson who has played jazz trombone with Doc Severinsen's Tonight Show Orchestra and other famous ensembles.

With hard frosts and snow becoming a regular part of weather forecasts these days, you might think it's too late to do anything in your yard or garden. But University of Minnesota Extension Horticulturalist Deb Brown says it's not time to put away the gardening tools just yet.

On Future Tense: Many web designers it seems can't resist some fancy graphics and multimedia. As we've heard, multimedia is troublesome for some disabled folks, and for many others it's just annoying - you have to wait too long for a page to show up on your browser. Part-time web designer Peter Ruckelshaus of Philadelphia finds beauty in the simple web design - mostly text, few graphics. He recently held a contest: the challenge was to design pages that use very little Internet bandwidth.

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