Monday, April 27

All this month, in a series of reports and commentaries, Minnesota Public Radio is exploring religious issues in everyday life. At a time when church attendance is declining, many Americans are searching for greater spiritual meaning through non-traditional practices such as meditation, environmentalism and even WORK! Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports on what ONE person is doing to find a greater meaning in the work HE does---ADVERTISING.

The transportation bill being finalized in Congress contains money for a light rail transit line in Minneapolis. State and Hennepin county taxpayers are also investing tens of millions in the project. The proposed $370 million LRT line from downtown Minneapolis to the airport would run ten miles along Hiawatha Avenue. It would open for service in 2003. What can people expect? Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson visited St. Louis, a metropolitan area about the same size as the Twin Cities, to find out.

More than a year after floodwaters swept through hundreds of homes in the Red River Valley... some people have yet to begin rebuilding. A combination of construction complications and fear of another flood are stalling repairs. Minnesota Public Radio's Hope Deutscher reports.

On Future Tense: Jaron Lanier is a pioneer in virtual reality. He coined the phrase, and has invented numerous virtual reality techno-gadgets. Fortune 500 companies pay Lanier handsomely for his views on where digital technology is going. I asked Lanier what's on his mind lately.

A public hearing will be held today to discuss the fate of the Shubert Theatre which has stood in downtown Minneapolis since 1910. The Theatre is on Block E which is where a massive new entertainment complex is being planned. The Minneapolis City Council will have to decide whether to move the theatre, tear it down or leave it where it is. Gary Shiff is the director of Save Our Shubert, a group that is advocating that the theatre should be saved and not moved. He joins us now by phone.

Some experts believe the stock market could be in for a slowdown. After hitting an all time high mid-week, the Dow Industrials would up lower by 103 points, and begin trading this morning at 9065. Here's how Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Farrell sees things.

Tuesday, April 28

The Department of Natural Resources and other agencies predicted a severe fire season in northeast Minnesota, and over the weekend they were proved right. Fire fighters finished "mop-up," or putting out remaining embers, on wildfires near the towns of Cotton and Grand Marais late Monday. And the continued dry weather is keeping the DNR and the Forest Service on alert for more. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports from Duluth.

State and federal money allocated for light rail transit has brought the Twin Cities closer to a new transportation option. But travelling around town on rails is not really a new developmnt at all. There was once a time when five hundred miles of rails criss-crossed the Twin Cities, carrying all types of people to all sorts of places. In part two of our series on transit, Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen has this look back at the Twin Cities streetcar days.

Mental health experts say talking is the best way to recover emotionally from a disaster. And that's the advice the people of Comfrey and St. Peter are getting as they rebuild following last month's tornadoes. Talking about loss and suffering is especially important for children. Minnesota Public Radio's Cara Hetland reports.

On Future Tense: Encryption software scrambles messages so only the intended recipients can read them. The U.S. government forbids the export of such programs, fearing they could be used by enemies. The regulations also forbid electronic distribution of encryption code over the internet. Law professor Peter Junger of Case Western Reserve University has taken the government to court, seeking the right to post bits of encryption software on his web page as a teaching tool for a course on computers and the law.

Faculty at Minnesota's state universities have authorized a strike against MnSCU - the State Colleges and Universities system... although a strike date has not been set. The Inter Faculty Association, which represents more than 3 thousand faculty members, has been negotiating since its contract expired last June. The union's demands include higher pay raises and less reliance on part-time faculty. Ann Weyandt is chief negotiator for MnSCU.

On Thursday the state of Minnesota will release the results of the 1998 basic skills tests for reading and math. The tests are designed to measure whether eighth graders are meeting the minimum requirements for graduation. But a new study shows that the tests are harder than the public has been led to believe. A study commissioned by an association of 24 metro-area schools also shows that many students who failed the basic skills tests scored above the national average on national tests. Mark Mallander is the Executive Director the Association of Metropolitan School Districts and he joins us now.

Wednesday, April 29

What is organic food? That question is at the heart of a fight between the U.S. Agriculture Department and organic farmers. New rules proposed by USDA leaves open the chance "organic" may include genetically modified food and items currently banned from carrying the label. A public comment period on the nation's first organic standard ends Thursday (April 30). Thousands have commented, a majority oppose a broad definition of "organic." Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports.

Each day there's another boarded up window reglazed rafter nailed into place in St. Peter. But complete recovery from the tornado last month is a long way off. While many residents are concerned with the immediate work... some are looking to the longer term future. Minnesota Public Radio's Lynette Nyman reports.

Should religion play a role in American public life? What does it mean to separate church and state? Is that possible? These are some of the challenging questions considered as part of the "Public Religion Symposium," a joint effort between MPR's Civic Journalism Initiative and the Public Religion Project headed by University of Chicago theologian Martin Marty. As part of the collaboration, yesterday 100 Minnesota leaders joined Marty in the Twin Cities to talk about the role of religion in public life. Mary Sticky reports the symposium revealed conflicting views on a subject - religion - that's still one of our most sensitive subjects.

Rumors are rampant about a possible settlement in the Minnesota tobacco trial. Bob spoke to Gary Black, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein and Company.

Bob gets tour of wildlife clinic at the U of Mn to find out what to do with animals you may find this spring.

Mindy Ratner talks with Bob about her year long broadcasting job in China. She leaves today.

Thursday, April 30

Advances in medicine give physicians better tools to heal the sick, but some patients feel their humanity gets overlooked by doctors focused on equipment, medication, and the pressure to see more patients. Studies show a relationship between faith and health. In the final story in our series on religion in everday life, Minnesota Public Radio's Brent Wolfe reports many medical schools are teaching doctors how to use spirituality as another tool to heal.

Corporate America may find it difficult to raise prices, and consumer inflation may be tame. But Wall Street is increasingly obsessed with a different kind of inflation--a stock market bubble. A growing number of people fear that today's inflated stock market has become a bubble--one of the more dreaded terms in finance. We asked Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Farrell to find out what is a stock market bubble--and how worried should we should be.

The Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning has just released the results of this year's basic skills exams in reading and math. This is the third year for the tests and the first time that all eighth graders have taken them. Minnesota Public Radio's Education Reporter Tim Pugmire has had a chance to look at the numbers and he joins us now?

A failed guitarist and a former punk girl find love in the new local film, "Snow." Dialogue and character drive the film more than action, but there is still plenty to look at. Shot in black and white, the Twin Cities landscape in winter looks stark and beautiful. Minneapolis filmmaker Eric Tretbar based his story on the people he knew in the Twin Cities music scene and what they did when they got a little too old to rock-and-roll. The movie makes its Twin Cities premiere tonight as part of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Film Festival. Eric Tretbar Joins me now in the studio.

Congress is considering changing immigration law to allow more college-educated foreigners to work temporarily in the U.S. Currently, up to 65-thousand temporary work visas can be issued each fiscal year. But that supply is expected to run out next month because of demand by employers...especially in the high-tech industry. Attorney Sam Myers is a principal with the Minneapolis firm Myers Thompson which handles immigration and employment issues.

Friday, May 1

A citizens group is trying to stop the re-routing of Hwy 55 in south Minneapolis because they say it will destroy seven acres of park land, a stand of old oak trees and an artesian spring. But city officials say citizens approved the plan years ago, and delay for further review would jeopardize safety and a light rail project. Minnesota Public Radio's Eric Jansen reports.

The major candidates for Governor will be covering a lot of ground tomorrow: the two big political parties are holding congressional district conventions in eight cities, and most of the candidates will try to put in appearances at as many sites as possible. Congressional district conventions are not a formal part of the governor's race, but the candidates know better than to ignore them. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste has more.

Mark Seeley says it's likely to stay dry through mid-May...but the lovely spring weather should continue.

The Timberwolves are going back on the road after losing last night to the Seattle SuperSonics 92 to 88. The fifth and deciding game of the series will be played tomorrow in Seattle. The SuperSonics lost the previous two games by blowing second-half leads...but last night the team held its own. We talk to Brit Robson, who writes about the Timberwolves for City Pages.

Representatives of the state of Minnesota, Hennepin County and the city of Minneapolis are looking into the possibility of working together to create a "community court" in Minneapolis. The court would be designed to deal so-called livabilty crimes like vandalism or prostitution. One of the models for such a court would be the Midtown Community Court which operates in New York City's Times Square. John Feinblatt is the Director of the Center for Court Inovation which started the Midtown court in 1993.

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. An estimated 35-thousand Muslims live in Minnesota. Their numbers have been growing due to an influx of immigrants from Africa, Asia and Europe...but many native Minnesotans also practice Islam. Hesham Reda directs the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Washington D.C. He also lived in Minnesota for 25 years and was a leader in the Twin Cities Muslim community. He's in town for a conference tomorrow about challenges facing the Muslim community in Minnesota.

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