Monday, February 2

A new era of crime fighting begins this month in Minneapolis. It's similar to the strategy used by police in New York City where its credited with double-digit decreases in crime rates. The plan supplies police with daily reports of crime hotspots so they can send officers there to investigate. The plan also relies on more extensive questioning of suspects. And that feature of the strategy worries some people. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson has more.

Arne Carlson will deliver his last State of the State message on Wednesday. State of the State speeches tend to be long on rhetoric and short on details. But Carlson's speeches over the years reflect the changing fortunes of the state and the ups and downs in Carlso's relationship with state lawmakers. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Stucky reports.

The next step in Minnesota's future management of the timberwolf begins next month. The Department of Natural Resources will assemble a roundtable of citizens representing many viewpoints on the wolf issue and in turn they will advise the agency as it prepares to assume management of the wolf in 1999. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil has a preview of the group's work.

Future Tense, a chronicle of the digital age.

There'll be plenty of stuff for stock and bond traders to watch this week. One worry they won't have is about the Federal Reserve. MN Public Radio's Chris Farrell tells us why.

Honeywell spokesperson Melissa Young discusses the strike which began today in the Twin Cities

MPR reporter Bill Catlin reports from one of the Honeywell picket lines.

MPR reporter Martin Kaste previews the week ahead at the Capitol.

Auto-by-tel: buying a car over the Internet.

Naturalist Kathy Heidel introduces us to a kestral that lives at the Lowry Nature Center.

Tuesday, February 3

A chemical engineering professor is set to testify about the ingredients in cigarettes today at Minnesota's tobacco trial. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports.

Sportfishers have a new gadget to try out, if there's any room left in the boat. A Brainerd man is introducing a device that goes beyond sonars and depth-finders, and actually lets you watch the fish take your bait -- or ignore it, as the case may be. Leif Enger of Mainstreet Radio reports.

On Future Tense: Minnesota and ten other states have subpoenaed Microsoft for documents about how Windows 98 will include Microsoft's Internet Explorer software. New York Attorney General Dennis Vacco says the states are focusing on whether Microsoft is forcing users of its operating software to use its Internet technology. The Justice Department is making the same case in federal court in Washington D-C. Chris McKenna is a spokesman for the New York Attorney General.

It's usually only a dollar or a dollar-fifty a pop, but those bank fees for using some Automated teller machines can add up. Last night a House Committee voted in favor of a bill that would limit those fees. Joining me now is the author of the bill, House banking chair Irv Anderson.

How does the Honeywell strike fit into the rest of Minnesota Labor history? Joining us now is Tom O'Conell, political science professor at Metro State University.

Geneva Smitherman of Michigan State University, John Rickford of Stanford, and Barbara Shin of the Mpls School system discuss the place of Ebonics in American education.

Jo Ann Shroyer discusses her book Secret Mesa about the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Wednesday, February 4

An expert witness in Minnesota's tobacco trial says secret industry files show tobacco companies viewed themselves as drug companies and acknowleged they would be out of business if nicotine was taken out of cigarettes. Tobacco industry attorneys are expected to cross examine Stanford chemical engineering professor Channing Robertson today. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports.

National Football League owners are expected to give final approval of the sale of the Minnesota Vikings to novelist Tom Clancy next month. Clancy has purchased a 30-percent share of the franchise, and along with several other investors, is paying a total of more than 200-million dollars for the team. That makes the deal the most expensive team purchase in NFL history. Minnesota Public Radio's Perry Finelli has more.

A federal judge has ruled logging can go ahead on the hundred- year- old pines known as the "Little Alfie" stand in the Superior National Forest. The decision is a setback for defenders of the state's few remaining stands of old growth timber--but they say they'll fight the same battle over again in other places. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.

The Asian financial crisis and the potential danger to Minnesota's economy will figure prominently in Governor Arne Carlson's State of the State address today. Also on the Governor's agenda are the USS Des Moines project in Duluth, the higher education and job training, and improvements for state parks. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports on the Governor's priorities for 1998, and how he picked them.

Ice dams--words to strike terror into homowning hearts. Ice dams cause an estimated one billion dollars damage each year in Minnesota alone. They form when snow melt runs down a roof to make a puddle which freezed underneath the shingles. The results can be expensive leaks and frantic calls to a roofer. Minnestoa Public Radio's Mary Stucky reports about the myths, legends and cold hard facts of ice dams.

On Future Tense: Computer games as a spectator sport. That's the idea behind the Professional Gamers League. THE PGL held its first national championship last weekend in Seattle. Reporter and columnist Dwight Silverman covered the event for the Houston Chronicle.

Tracy Moos is the owner of an unusual property that's for sale in Saint Paul. She had a hard time finding a buyer for her work-of-art, a shoe-covered home...but now has two bidders lined up. HOWEVER, she is still holding out for her dream....someone to turn the place into a museum. She bought the house after her husband, Malcolm Moos, the former University of Minnesota president, died. Moos gave me a tour and told me how the building came to be part of an "Outside Art" exhibit in 1996.

Yet another Twins stadium package has emerged at the Capitol. Senator Roy Terwilliger introduced a bill, yesterday, that would fund a 270 million dollar outdoor stadium. The private sector would have to raise a third of the money, the rest of the money would come from the taxes raised by player's salaries. In addition Twins owner Carl Pohlad would turn over the team to a charitable foundation which would sell stock to the public. Lobbyist and former State Senator Kevin Chandler has been following the activity at the Legislature this Session. He says this bill will have a tough road to hoe.

Thursday, February 5

An expert witness in Minnesota's tobacco trial told jurors at least one cigarette company genetically altered tobacco plants so they'd produce twice the amount of nicotine. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports.

Millions of Americans are infertile, and many are willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars on new, high tech treatments to help them have babies. New clinics are opening around the country to tap into that market. Some doctors and medical ethicists fear competition among the clinics is turning doctors into hucksters. In the next installment of our series, "The Fertility Race," Minnesota Public Radio's Catherine Winter reports on the explosive growth of the fertility industry.

One former and one current employee of the Koch refinery in Rosemount charge that the company continues to pollute soil and groundwater, despite public declarations it is fixing its environmental problems. The two men have filed suit against the company, saying it retaliated against them after they reported environmental violations to the state. The refinery is now under investigation by state officials. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.

On Future Tense: Over the last few years, technology used to search the bottom of oceans, lakes and rivers has progressed dramatically. One of the main tools of underwater archaeologiests and treasure hunters is called Sidescan Sonar. A vessel will tow the machine on a cable, and it sends back pictures to a computer on board the ship. Like a medical ultrasound machine, Sidescan Sonar takes pictures with sound waves. Marty Wilcox with Marine Sonic Technology says Sidescan Sonar's images keep getting better.

During his speech, Governor Carlson endorsed a proposal that would bring the USS Des Moines to Duluth as a tourist attraction. The debate over the USS Des Moines veterans' park in Duluth shows a city in transition. In the past few decades, the city has staged a metamorphosis from an industrial center to the state's biggest tourist town. But residents are still ambivalent about Duluth's direction and the Des Moines proposal brought many of those tensions to the surface. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports.

As the tobacco trial continues here in Minnesota, Attorney General Skip Humphrey is headed to Washington today to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on civil liability as it relates to the National Tobacco Settlement. Despite a lot of fanfare last year when the settlement was announced, no national settlement bill has been introduced in Congress yet. Joining us now with an update on where things stand in Washington is Minneapolis Representative Martin Sabo.

Carleton College Political Science Professor Steve Schier joins us now with his analysis of the Governor's State of the State speech.

The Opening Ceremonies for the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan will be held tomorrow night. Most of the athletes have been in Japan for a few days now getting ready for the Games. Andy Erickson of Minnetonka is there preparing to compete in the biathlon, the sport which combines cross country skiing and rifle shooting. Erickson says there will be a short race, a long race and a relay and he'll find out soon which races he'll be competing in.

Friday, February 6

MPR News Director Bill Buzenberg moved to the Twin Cities from the East Coast just before Christmas. He has this commentary on what he's found, weatherwise.

National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue will settle the dispute over ownership of the Minnesota Vikings. The NFL says team president Roger Headrick formally asked the league Wednesday to review the validity of his counteroffer to novelist Tom Clancy's bid of about 200-million dollars. The current owners say they have a signed agreement with Clancy. Minnesota Public Radio's Perry Finelli reports.

A new state report to be released this morning says all the studies of Twin Cities transit options done so far do not make a convincing case for the expensive proposals before lawmakers this session. The report from the Legislative Auditor raises questions about the predictions of car congestion on Twin Cities roadways. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson has more.

On Future Tense: Eagan based Cray Research, a division of Silicon Graphics, says it will speed the development of its supercomputers to better simulate nuclear explosions. The federal government has awarded a five million dollar contract to Cray Research, as part of a program to ensure the safety of the country's nuclear stockpile. Mark Goldman, director of business strategy for Cray Research, says today's supercomputers aren't powerful enough to do what the government needs them to do.

Republican gubernatorial candidates made their pitch for the environmentalist vote last night. State Senator Roy Terwilliger and former State Representative Allen Quist took questions from the League of Conservation Voters, a group that's trying to get all the candidates on the record on issues ranging from nuclear waste storage to wetlands. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

The soulful sound of Slack Key guitar is little known beyond its hawaiian home... but it's considered one of the world's great music traditions by some. Slack key players loosen their guitar strings to produce their characteristicly mournful sound. Some the finest slack key performers are touring the mainland, and perform in the Twin Cities tonight. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Stucky reports.

When the Iowa septuplets were born last November, many experts in reproductive medicine reacted with mixed feelings. The mother, Bobbi McCaughey, got pregnant using a powerful fertility drug that stimulated her ovaries so much that she produced seven babies. Some infertility specialists say that the chance of multiple births--and other risks with infertility medicine--might be lower if not for a long-standing ban on federal support for human embryo research. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephen Smith reports.

Mark Seeley discusses one of the mildest winters ever.

Jay Weiner reports from the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

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