Monday, June 1

Contract talks between Northwest and the pilots' union have broken off. The airline has been in negotiations with all its unions since 1996. Northwest made the pilots an offer to match salary increases at United, American and Delta airlines, but they rejected the proposal. The federal mediator overseeing the talks has not yet decided whether to declare that an impasse has been reached...a move which would allow the union to strike after a cooling off period. We talked with Pilot Union spokesman Paul Omodt.

This spring's unseasonal warmth has helped farmers get their planting done early. For the past three years residents of Aitkin County have watched a new crop go in, as an East Coast company tried to establish cranberry bogs. Cranberries take deep pockets and sturdy patience, but now -- after three years and hundreds of thousands of dollars -- the Aitkin County bogs are ready to produce. Leif Enger of Mainstreet Radio reports.

A skittish stock market opens for trading in a little over half an hour with the Dow Jones Industrial Average below the 9000 level in some time. The popular index slid more than 200 points last week to 8899. Here's what Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Farrell thinks is on the minds of Wall Street traders.

N-S-P crews are working to restore power to the 118-thousand homes in the Twin Cities still without electricity after Saturday nights' severe storms. Many Minnesotans spent yesterday cleaning up the mess left by the high winds. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

Downtown Minneapolis is experiencing a building boom not seen in at least a decade. The city's community development agency says there are more projects and a wider variety than ever before. But some critics say Minneapolis must be careful its downtown doesn't turn into just another business campus. Minnesota Public Radio's Eric Jansen reports.

The Church of St. Louis, King of France - otherwise known as the Little French Church - in downtown St. Paul recently introduced it's brand new pipe organ to the public with two sold-out concerts. The organ is the centerpiece of a campaign to renovate the church, which was designed by French architect Emmanuel Masqueray in 1909. Masqueray also designed the St. Paul Cathedral and the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, but he called the Church of St. Louis his "little gem," and church officials say the new organ will be its crowning jewel. Minnesota Public Radio's John Bischoff reports.

The Twins want a new stadium...the Vikings need a new owner...in the midst of these battles over the future of professional sports in Minnesota, the Sports Facilities Commission needs to renegotiate leases on an arena neither team likes...the Metrodome. Sports commentator Jay Weiner joins me now.

Tuesday, June 2

There's a mix of glitz, glamour, and politics over the next few days as representatives of the nations seniors gather in Minneapolis. Astronaut Shannon Lucid and entertainer Debbie Reynolds are among the celebrities appearing at the American Association of Retired Persons' national convention running through Thursday. The A-A-R-P is the nation's leading organization for people 50 and older. Convention organizers say even though most of the seminars will focus on issues important to seniors, the event is inter-generational. Minnesota Public Radio's Todd Moe reports.

Utility crews, housing inspectors, and law enforcement officers are combing many Twin Cities area neighborhoods damaged by last weekend's storm. Clean-up is underway in cities including Shakopee, Minneapolis, Bloomington, Burnsville, Saint Paul, Newport, and Woodbury. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen visited with residents of the Saint Paul neighborhood hit the hardest by Saturday night's winds. He has this report.

The March tornadoes in southwestern Minnesota forced many farmers to ask some very tough questions about their future. Rebuilding a farm operation broken apart by a tornado is difficult, and this years' recovery is complicated by low grain, livestock and milk prices. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports.

The Who's Song "My Generation"spoke for many baby boomers in the sixties, who couldn't envision the day when they'd be their parents' age. Thirty years on, it's happened. According to the American Association of Retired People, one person every eight seconds turns 50 in the United States. Over time, the impact of baby boomer numbers has changed schools, the workplace and family life. And now, officials in Minnesota and throughout the country are trying to anticipate what kind of impact they'll have on the greying of America. Minnesota Public Radio's Gretchen Lehmann reports.

The Minneapolis Park Board is still trying to clear an estimated thousand fallen trees from city parks and boulevards following Saturday night's thunderstorm. That number DOESN'T include trees that fell on private property. South Minneapolis suffered the worst damage from this latest bout with severe weather. Ralph Sievert, the Park Board's director of forestry, says that the trees were a big loss.

Today, voters in Woodbury will decide whether the city should raise property taxes in order to buy and protect open space. The five-million dollar referendum would let the city buy 400 to 500 acres of land that would be preserved from future development. Other Twin Cities suburbs have held similar referenda including Maple Grove, which passed a five million dollar open space plan in 1995. Patty Anderson is an administrative management aide for the Maple Grove parks and recreation department.

Wednesday, June 3

If today were election day, Minnesotans would pick Attorney General Skip Humphrey to be their next Governor. That's assuming a race between Humphrey and the current Republican front-runner, Norm Coleman -- one of several possible match-ups tested on voters in a new poll by MPR, the Pioneer Press and KARE-11. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste has more.

There's change taking place in Saint Peter. Since the tornado hit March 29th, businesses and homes are slowly rebuilding. It seems the storm affected everything and everyone. And for some people reinvention rather than replication from the rubble heals best. In the past few weeks we've been following the recovery through the eyes of two St Peter residents. Today Minnesota Public Radio's Lynette Nyman talks again with resident Nancy Jordet.

The annual AARP convention in Minneapolis this week is for members 50 and older. But one campaign being launched at the convention is aimed at babies. For the last few years health educators have been teaching parents about ways to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS. Now, as Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Stucky reports, medical authorities believe it's especially important for grandparents to get this message.

The last Minuteman missile will be removed today from the U-S Air Force base in Grand Forks, North Dakota. To many in the civilian world...the thought of being the soldier responsible for pushing the button that launches nuclear war seemed...well...unthinkable. But day in and day out...year in and year out...teams of specially-trained Air Force "missiliers" fanned out across the Dakotas to stand watch over America's nuclear arsenal. In July 1988, Minnesota Public Radio's Stephen Smith observed an average day in the life of a nuclear missile crew based at Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. He found out that there is no button to launch a nuke...it's actually a set of keys. And keeping the keys was pretty dull work. He's the report Stephen Smith filed ten years ago.

Perry Finelli talks with Mary Heimstad to get an update on NSP repairs after Saturday's storm.

Perry also talks with political analyst Sara Janacek on women running for office.

Thursday, June 4

The DFL State Convention convenes Friday morning in St. Cloud. Topping the agenda is endorsing a candidate for governor. Most of the candidates say they'd gladly accept their party's endorsement, but only Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman says he'll drop out of the race if someone else wins the support of the delegates. However polls clearly show Freeman's popularity with party activists DOES NOT extend to the general public. Critics say Freeman will likely be the choice of delegates because he's the only candidate honoring their endorsement proecess. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports.

State Attorney General Skip Humphrey maintains a good share of support from Minnesota voters for his decision to settle the state's lawsuit against the tobacco industry. That's according to a new poll released by MPR, the Pioneer Press and KARE-11. Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports.

Vice President Al Gore helped raise $70 thousand dollars for the DFL with a twenty-minute stump speech in Minneapolis yesterday. The money is meant for DFL members of the Minnesota House. House Republicans are planning to go all out in their campaign to take the majority, and as a result, 1998 promises to be the most expensive election season in the history of the state House. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

Vice-President Al Gore says the residents of Spencer, South Dakota will receive immediate federal aid to help them recover from Saturdays tornado. Six people were killed by the storm which nearly leveled the town of 300. Gore visited the town yesterday and said he was amazed by the damage. After Gore left, most of the town's residents gathered in a city park for a worship service. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports.

Northern States Power now says as many as five-thousand customers still may be without electricity Sunday evening. And it probably will be late next week before all electricity is restored from last Saturday's storm. N-S-P says the storm may cost the company five million to ten million dollars, but it won't seek a rate increase. As of last night, 36-thousand-800 N-S-P customers remained without power. One of them is Ann Koontz. She has a two year old child and lives on the 18 hundred block of Jefferson Avenue in St. Paul.

Cities around the metro area are still tallying the damage from Saturday's storm. But state officials say the damage won't be enough to qualify for federal disaster relief for cleanup and repairs. The winds created by Saturday's storm appeared to cause the most damage Twin Cities suburbs. Twelve homes in Eagan were made uninhabitable. Almost 150 suffered serious damage. Doug Reed is Eagan's chief building official. He says the winds caused some unusual kinds of damage.

On Future Tense: The Federal Trade commission says the vast majority of sites on the World Wide Web fail to tell visitors how they use personal information collected during Internet surfing. In a new report, the commission also recommended that Congress enact laws restricting web sites from collecting information from and about children who use the Internet. Jeff Chester, Executive Director of the nonprofit Center for Media Education in Washington, applauds the FTC study.

Friday, June 5

About three thousand loyal Democrats are gathering in St Cloud today to kick off their state convention. Over the next three days, delegates will pick their favorite candidates for this fall's state-wide races, from governor on down to state auditor. But with five of the six gubernatorial candidates saying they'll stay in the race with or without the party's endorsement, this year's state convention is in danger of becoming irrelevant. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

DFL party delegates are assembling in St. Cloud to kick off their state convention today. Six gubernatorial candidates are seeking the party's endorsement. In order to avoid a bloody primary fight within party ranks, former DFL leaders have issued a plea for niceness. They're asking the candidates to sign a pledge NOT to launch "personal or negative attacks" against each other. Minnesota Public Radio Morning Show Host Dale Connelly used his own razor-sharp "Minnesota nice" skills to persuade party insiders to hand over a copy of the pledge.

Gubernatorial candidate Skip Humphrey is expected to announce his running mate today at the DFL state party convention in St. Cloud. News sources including the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press are reporting that Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe is joining his campaign. We talk to DFL political commentator Bob Meek.

Most Minnesotans support standardized basic skills tests as a way to make sure schools and teachers are doing their job. But people are ambivalent about whether schools should be penalized or rewarded based on test results. Those are the findings of a new poll released by MPR, the Pioneer Press and KARE-11. We get response from Joe Nathan, director of the Center for School Change at the Humphrey Institute.

Some Strawberry growers in the southern two-thirds of Minnesota will be opening up their fields this weekend to crowds of eager pickers. The season is running early this year and current cool temperatures could make it longer than normal, too. Cliff and Amy Rowe own Berry Hill Farm in Burns Township, about 10 miles north of Anoka.

"Keeping up with the Joneses" was a phrase coined to describe the effect the post-World War Two economic boom had on middle class families. Everyone wanted the same car, appliances, furniture and even vacations as their neighbors. But now, the middle class has left behind the Jones' and wants to obtain the lifestyle of people far richer than themselves. That's according to Juliet Schor, a senior lecturer at Harvard University and author of a new book The Overspent American.

Meteorologist Mark Seeley talks about weather warning sirens, June snow and more.

On Future Tense: The founder of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, says he hasn't figured out how he will spend his newfound pile of money. Earlier this week the MacArthur Foundation gave Berners-Lee a $270,000 dollar, no strings attached genius grant, saying he pioneered a revolutionary communications system requiring minimal technical understanding.

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