Monday, March 30

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Tuesday, March 31

Saint Paul school district officials turn to the public this week for help in their search for a new superintendent. An advisory committee will host three meetings to give district residents and employees a chance to share their opinions about the district's future leader. Superintendent Curman Gaines will step down on June 30. School board members want his successor in place by fall. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

The U-S House today takes up a massive highway funding bill that over the next six years will direct billions of dollars to the states. The bill would provide Minnesota 140-million dollars for special projects like roads, buses and trails. Of that amount, more than half is earmarked for projects in the 8th Congressional District, the District represented by Jim Oberstar, the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation Committee. Constituents credit Oberstar with bringing home the bacon; while critics say he's handing out pork. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports from Duluth.

Most St. Peter residents will spend today clearing debris and beginning to rebuild their town after Sunday's tornadoes. Utility crews and emergency workers continue repairing the worst damage and trying to restore electricty. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes has this report.

State legislators lost no time responding to Sunday night's storm damage. A Senate committee has already passed one piece of disaster-relief legislation, and more relief is in the works. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

Officials of the national weather service are still analyzing the storm that sawed through southern Minnesota on Sunday. The storm killed two people, injured more than 3 dozen, and left a trail of ruin over at least 4 counties. The weather service says it appears a single so-called super-cell thunderstorm was responsible for the tornadoes, but it's not clear exactly how many tornados there were. We asked Bill Catlin to trace the storm's path through Minnesota.

On Future Tense: downloading music from the Internet could have a bright future. It doesn't take as long as it used to, and the sound quality is getting better. Plus, it's cheaper on a per-song basis than cd's. AT&T smells cash - its division called a2b music is working to expand the market for digitally-delivered music. Here's an example of one song you can get from the a2b website -- it's near-CD quality.

Officials in St. Peter say gawkers posed a significant problem yesterday, and they are clamping down today. Brad Coleman, who serves as the emergency management director for the city of St. Peter, spoke with Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin.

Like other parts of town, Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter was severly hit by Sunday's tornado. Many buildings on campus were damaged including the chapel... which lost its 137-foot spire. Most of the school's three thousand students left town last week for spring break. They're being asked not to return to campus until maintenance crews have cleaned up and assessed damage to school buildings. Classes were to resume next Monday but now they may be pushed back until after Easter weekend. Greg Aune is choral director at Gustavus. He says the campus has been transformed.

Competition in the World Figure Skating Championships gets underway today at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Michelle Kwan and Todd Eldridge are about the only big name skaters who haven't dropped out of the event. Star Tribune sports writer Jay Weiner has covered figure skating for a number of years and he joins us now by phone.

Wednesday, April 1

Hard on the heels of the controversy over underwater television cameras for anglers, a new fishing row appears to be brewing. Minnesota Public Radio has learned of an attempt to bring the little known but possibly illegal European practice of fish-grooming to the Midwest. Minnesota Public Radios Euan Kerr reports.

State's attorneys resume cross-examining a tobacco scientist today in Minnesota's tobacco trial. R-J Reynolds head of product development David Townsend testified yesterday his company added ammonia to cigarettes to improve flavor; the state claims the industry used ammonia to hook smokers by giving cigarettes a stronger nicotine kick. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports.

Officials are trying to put dollar figures to the damage that tornados wreaked in southern Minnesota sunday, and a few preliminary damage figures are beginning to trickle in. Early ... partial reports have come in with losses guaged in the tens of millions of dollars. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin has this look at the economic impact of the storms.

Today officials from the Minnesota Historical society will visit St Peter to survey tornado damage to the city's historic buildings. Hundreds of homes business and civic buildings were badly damaged Sunday night. Many others were destroyed. Some of those buildings were part of St Peter's early history, a town once chosen as the state capital. Minnesota Public Radio's Lynette Nyman reports.

Senate negotiators have a plan to help pay for a new St. Paul hockey arena. A House leader says the proposal's worth considering but the Governor says he doesn't like it. Minnesota Public Radio's Eric Jansen has more from the state capitol.

Southern Minnesota extension officials say Sunday's tornadoes damaged more than 200 farms. Dairy farmers have been especially hard hit. In Brown County dairy farmers are scrambling to care for their cows, which must be milked twice a day. With barns destroyed and electricity out, some are selling their herds. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports.

In his new book Slaves in the Family Edward Ball tells a quintessentially American story. It begins in 1698 when Ball's ancestor, Elias Ball leftEngland for South Carolina to claim his inheiritance: a small rice plantation and twenty slaves. The author follows the story of the Ball family and the story of the Ball plantation slaves and their descendants. Ball started his research with records from his ancestor's plantation... and used them to track down the living kin of the slaves that worked the land. He told Minnesota Public Radio's Perry Finelli how the slave descendants reacted when he made contact with them.

On Future Tense: Later this year a California company will offer a new product called "mp-man." The small device, which can fit in the palm of your hand, is for storing music you download from the internet. The "mp-man" uses an audio standard called mpeg-3, that's near-cd quality sound. You can plug the device into any stereo. Kent Kiefer is ceo of nordic entertainment worldwide, the company that will sell the "mp-man"...and that currently sells songs on its website, for as little as a quarter. kiefer says downloading music from the web saves money ... and waste.

That's a clip from last night's "Lateline," a new sitcom which features real politicians poking fun at themselves. In past weeks, House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich and even Minnesota's own Governor Arne Carlson have made cameo appearances on the program. Political commentator David Brauer likes the concept... but he'd take it even further.

Thursday, April 2

Nicollet is one of four counties included in President Clinton's disaster declaration. St Peter residents now have access to federal money to help repair and rebuild after Sunday's tornado. Governor Arne Carlson also sent a team from the state historical society to help calm fears that the twister robbed the city of it's original charm. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.

A House-Senate conference committee has once again deadlocked over abortion issues. A coalition of non-profit agencies says the impasse jeopardizes state funding for a wide range of health and social services. Minnesota Public Radios Eric Jansen reports from the state capitol.

An R-J Reynolds cigarette designer testified his company used freon to process tobacco without conducting long-term research on the chemical's effect on health. Freon is a toxic refrigerant that when burned can form the nerve gas, phosgene. Freon was banned because it's also linked to destroying the ozone layer. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports.

On Future Tense: So your web page looks nice, and it's a good read...but how does it SOUND? Thomas Dolby Robertson is out to make the web a friendly place for the ear. The singer of the 1980's quirky hit song "She Blinded Me With Science" makes his living these days as a multimedia artist and composer.

St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman says demolition of the city's existing arean will not begin until financing of a replacement building is arranged. A legislative conference committee is considering whether the state should fund half of the 130 million dollar cost of a new arena, which would be home to Minnesota's National Hockey League expansion team. Yesterday, Coleman assured city coucil members that St. Paul's 25 year old arean will not be torn down before the legislature's bonding committee makes a funding decision. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports.

The tornadoes this week have brought memories back for the residents of Chandler in southwest Minnesota. A tornado in 1992 wiped out nearly all of the town. They have rebuilt their town and gone one with their lives but the memories and emotions are still strong. Minnesota Public Radio's Cara Hetland reports.

The tornadoes that blew across southern Minnesota on Sunday flattened buildings, trees, and cars... and left behind tons and tons of garbage. Dan Hannon is an emergency response specialist with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. He's coordinating the gathering and disposal of debris left by the storms.

A new government report shows that 43 percent of High School students smoke cigarettes, cigars or chew tobacco. In an effort to try and reduce those numbers there will be a nationwide anti-smoking crusade today. It's being called "Kick Butts Day." Minnesota Attorney General Skip Humphrey will be speaking with students at South High School in Minneapolis today. Yesterday, Minnesota Public Radio's Jim Bickal stopped by South High and talked with some students.

At Mounds Park Academy in St. Paul students will be handing out anti-tobacco literature today. Helen Nelson is a health teacher at Mounds Park. She says the way to reach kids is to be honest with them.

Friday, April 3

At the Minnesota tobacco trial yesterday, State's attorneys showed industry memos that suggest companies knew low-tar cigarettes could be as dangerous as full-flavored cigarettes but never told the public. Attorneys introduced the memos during cross-examination of defense witness--David Townsend, a vice-president for R-J Reynolds. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports.

In Washington, a comprehensive tobacco bill, which a U.S. Senate committee approved this week, could go to the Senate floor next month. The action underscores the tobacco industry's eroding political influence--and hints at the national importance of information being released during the Minnesota trial against big tobacco industries. Minnesota Public Radio's Karen Louise Boothe reports.

On Future Tense: Jaron Lanier has been called a Renaissance Man of cyberspace. He's in inventor, programmer, artist, filmmaker and musician. He pioneered virtual reality, and in fact coined the phrase. Lanier currently serves as the lead scientist for a coalition of universities studying the next generation Internet. Tonight at the Ordway, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra will be performing a Lanier composition it commissioned, called "Mirror/Storm.". Lanier says there is a thread tying all his work together.

Koch Refining Company will pay a 6.9 million dollar fine for environmental violations at its oil refinery just south of Saint Paul. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.

The city of St. Peter endured a fifth night without power. Most businesses remain closed, and residents remain occupied with clean-up and repair of their damaged homes. But there are signs that normal life is on its way back. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.

The campus of Gustavus Adolphus College sustained considerable damage from the tornado that hit St. Peter Sunday. The campus is closed to everyone except cleanup crews. College officials say they plan to open for classes within two weeks. Some say that's an optimistic estimate. Minnesota Public Radio's Lynette Nyman reports.

Governor Arne Carlson is asking the state legislature to quickly approve a 27.6 million dollar relief package to help tornado victims in southern Minnesota. The proposal provides enough state and local money to qualify for 27 million dollars in matching federal aid. It also allocates 13 million dollars to cover agricultural needs, business and housing assistance and infrastructure costs not covered by the federal aid. Kit Hadley is commissioner of the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency.

Power is snapping back on in St. Peter neighborhoods, five days after tornadoes killed two people and destroyed much of the town. Residents are emerging from the disaster, and wonder if their city will ever look the same. Minnesota Public Radio's Lorna Benson met up with some locals at the Treaty Sity History Center on the edge of town.

Meteorologist Mark Seeley discusses tornadoes: earliest, how many in March, most severe, most expensive, duration on the ground, how many we usually get in Minnesota.

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