Monday, May 4

While much of the state is concerned about the fire danger caused by the dry spring, residents around some northwestern Minnesota lakes are scrambling to protect their homes and resorts from rising water. Several lakes are at or above their high water marks, in some cases higher than at anytime this century. The high water highlights some public misconceptions about water management, and clearly shows the result of poor planning in the past. Mainstreet Radio's Dan Gunderson reports.

Gubernatorial candidates Mike Freeman and Norm Coleman added to their victories in district convention straw polls over the weekend. Democrat Freeman overwhelmingly won the informal ballot in the Eighth District in Northern Minnesota, while D-F-L challenger Skip Humphrey won in the Seventh. Republican Norm Coleman continued to chalk up straw poll wins with the metro-area Fourth and Sixth Districts, but Joanne Benson and Allen Quist each took outstate wins. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes has this wrap-up of the weekend's district conventions.

People participating in a recent Minnesota Citizens Forum don't want any "no new taxes" pledges from the candidates running for governor. They recognize tax policy is complex and developed questions for the candidates that seek to get them to expound on how they might change the state's tax system. Minnesota Public Radio's Brent Wolfe reports.

On Future Tense: The best-selling author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has returned to the computer games industry with "Starship Titanic," a new graphic adventure game. Douglas Adams wrote several text-based games in the 80s, but "Starship Titanic" uses the latest interactive, multimedia technology. Adams hopes it will launch a renaissance for adventure games. Todd Moe reports.

Steven Schier, chair of the Carleton College Political Science Department, analyzes the results from the party conventions over the weekend.

The Seattle SuperSonics will host the Los Angeles Lakers tonight in the first game of their second round NBA playoff series. The Timberwolves are done for the year after losing to the Sonics on Saturday in the fifth and deciding game of their series. By nearly upsetting the Sonics, the Wolves showed they are a team with a lot potential. The challenge in the off-season will be keeping that team together. Joining us now to discuss the future of the Timberwolves is Brit Robson who writes about the team for City Pages.

A new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says Volkswagen's new Beetle is the safest small car on the road... and many people think it is also the cutest. The Beetle is the hottest new car of the year. Edina resident Bill Bowles was one of the first people in the Twin Cities to get one. He says the car has attracted a lot of attention from the day he brought it home from the dealer.

Wall Street traders worried about interest rates will be on the edges of their chairs until Friday, when key jobs data are released. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Farrell anticipates more volatility in the markets.

Tuesday, May 5

Health officials in the Red River Valley are reporting a dramatic increase in deaths, miscarriages and other illnesses. Some are blaming last year's flooding, but researcher say it will take months of study to know for sure, or even the extent of the problems. Minnesota Public Radio's Hope Deutscher reports.

A proposal for a publicly funded baseball stadium is on the ballot today in North Carolina. Voters in Guilford and Forsyth Counties will decide whether to spend upwards of 140 million dollars of public money on the project. A yes vote is SUPPOSED to make it easier for the Minnesota Twins to leave the Twin Cities, assuming Major League baseball allows the move. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports from North Carolina.

Neither side in Minnesota's tobacco trial will confirm or deny a published report that settlement talks are underway. But many trial observers say the state would be smart to settle with tobacco companies, with the case scheduled to go to the jury later this week. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

On Future Tense: The San Francisco Chronicle reports blacks and Hispanics are being left out of the technology boom in Silicon Valley. The newspaper says blacks and Hispanics are more likely than whites to hold factory jobs. And according to Labor Department records, less likely to hold professional positions. Reporter Julia Angwin co-wrote the story for the Chronicle.

Are Minnesota's basic skills tests ensuring kids can function after they graduate from high school, or do they show that schools are failing to teach the basics to a large number of kids? A subcommittee of the Minnesota House holds a hearing today to hear opinions about school testing. Results released last week showed that the passing rate for Minnesota 8th graders climbed this year from 59 percent to 68 percent in reading and from 70 percent to 71 percent in math. Students must pass the test in order to graduate.

Under the terms of a possible settlement outlined yesterday in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the tobacco industry would agree not to market to minors and to refrain from activities that could be considered anti-competitive, like joint research between companies. If a cigarette maker violated the agreement the state could act quickly to seek damages. Hamline University law professor Joe Daly has been following the Minnesota tobacco trial.

Wednesday, May 6

As Minnesota's tobacco trial enters its final days, attorneys for the state and Blue Cross Blue Shield have introduced into evidence a final batch of formerly-secret tobacco industry documents. They include research into the smoking motivations of children, and lawyers' memos about smoking and health research. The state contends tobacco companies marketed to underage smokers, and covered up research linking smoking and disease. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

Nationally-known testing experts are joining state education officials in defending Minnesota's 8th grade reading exam. The basic skills test came under fire last week, when the Association of Metropolitan School Districts claimed it's harder than an 8th grade reading level. Representatives of the association and state leaders squared off yesterday during a House subcommittee hearing on the test debate. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

Voters in North Carolina's Triad region have overwhelmingly REJECTED a local tax to pay for a new baseball stadium. Don Beaver, the prospective new owner of the Minnesota Twins, says the resounding NO-vote means he will NOT move the team to the Triad, but he still hopes to move the Twins somewhere else. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

Warm, dry weather has helped spring fieldwork progress rapidly in the Dakota's and Minnesota. At least 81 percent of Minnesota's corn crop is in the ground -- one of the earliest planting seasons ever. In South Dakota, about 20 percent of the corn is in the ground...and the dry spring is allowing some South Dakota farmers into fields they haven't planted, for years. Minnesota Public Radio's Cara Hetland reports.

On Future Tense: Weblab, a new group that looks for innovative ways to uses the WWW, has awarded $150,000 to eight different projects. They include sites exploring adoption, suicide, working life and the cold war. Marc Weiss, creator of the PBS series P.O.V., is the founder of Weblab. Weiss says all the sites Weblab is funding have something in common.

The history of organized crime in the Twin Cities and the life of St. Paul's most notorious grandmother is the focus of a documentary tonight on the A&E Cable TV channel. For some 50 years, "Ma" Barker has been known as the leader of the Barker-Karpis gang and the mastermind behind a series of local kidnappings and bank robberies in the 1930s. But St. Paul author Paul Maccabee contends Barker was framed by the FBI for crimes she never committed. Maccabee presented his theory in his 1995 book John Dillinger Slept Here. He's also featured in tonight's documentary.

Thursday, May 7

One of Duluth's most widely-distributed exports is in danger, as are the jobs of dozens of sight-impaired Minnesotans. For ten years, about 50 workers at the Lighthouse for the Blind have been making toilet tissue purchased almost exclusively by the Federal Government, under a program intended to help employ disabled workers. Some changes in paper prices, put in place BY the government might force the Duluth facility to close production and lay-off sight-impaired people. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports.

Tobacco company attorneys present their closing arguments this morning in St. Paul amidst rumors of settlement talks. Minnesota Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Skip Humphrey sounded like he'd prefer to settle Minnesota's tobacco trial but also said he's prepared to let the jury decide. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports.

On Future Tense: Wall Street is dismissing a report that somd wild trading might occur if the Dow Jones Industrial average if it goes over 10-thousand. The Gartner Group, a research firm, calls it D 10 K, short for Dow Ten Thousand. Gartner says computer-based trading would misinterpret 10,000 as 1,000 or zero, and thus as a catastrophic crash. However, Wall Street traders say Gartner is just trying to drum up consulting business by causing a scare. And Tom Oleson, research director at International Data Corporation, says there's proof that computers will be able to handle such a changeover.

Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babitt wants to remove the timber wolf from the endangered species list. The animal is thriving in Northern Minnesota...they're doing so well some Minnesotans think that they are a nuisance. Nancy Gibson doesn't think the wolf is a nuisance. She is the co-founder of the International Wolf Center in Ely.

Three states - Mississippi, Florida and Texas - settled lawsuits with the tobacco industry before their cases went to trial. Florida settled its case last August when cigarette companies agreed to pay 11 billion dollars over 25 years and to take down cigarette billboards across the state. But the settlement quickly bogged down in a dispute over how much to pay the attorneys who fought the state's case. Kim Tucker is deputy general council with the Florida Attorney General's office.

A Canadian company has abandoned plans to export water from Lake Superior to Asia after the idea sparked an international controversy. The Ontario government recently permitted the company to ship 158 million gallons of water a year to Asia to help relieve drought. But Canada's federal government opposed the project. The Michigan-based Great Lakes Commission represents the 8 states that border the Great Lakes. Michael Donahue is commission's executive director.

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