Monday, June 15

U-S Secretary of State Madeline Albright called on foreign nations and the U-S Senate to sign a nuclear test ban treaty. Albright made the comments at the University of Minnesota's college of liberal arts graduation ceremony yesterday in Minneapolis. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports.

The last of a series of "citizens forums" organized by Minnesota Public Radio, the Star Tribune, KTCA TV, and the Minnesota Journalism Center, developed questions about poverty and welfare to ask the gubernatorial candidates. The citizens want to know how each candidate would improve education, childcare, and transportation options for those in poverty. However their discussion shows their attitudes towards those using welfare vary widely. Minnesota Public Radio's Brent Wolfe reports.

Crack houses, crime and boarded up homes still plague some Minneapolis neighborhoods. But residents on the city's south side are claiming impressive results in cleaning up their area. The people participating in a five-year-long program to fix or build 150 homes say they are more than halfway to their goal. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

Anthony Vagnoni, Editor at large for "Ad Age" talks about new trends in cigarette advertising and how they are marketing to young people.

Metro Transit is expanding bus service in the Twin Cities today by adding a new route along University Avenue between downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul. In addition, the old Bus #16 along University Avenue will begin providing 24-hour service. Route 50 is the first line Metro Transit has added since cutting service in 1995. John Levin planned the new bus service for Metro Transit.

The number of homeless Minnesotans grew by 24-percent since 1994, according to a new study by the Wilder Foundation. Greg Owen is the author of the study.

The United States Soccer team makes its debut appearance at the World Cup soccer tournament in France today. The team goes up against Germany. For the first time, all 64 World Cup games will be televised in the US. Almost one third of the WORLD'S population is expected to tune in for the final next month, but interest among TV viewers is likely to be somewhat less. Despite the popularity of soccer as a school and amateur sport, professional soccer hasn't made many inroads among American sports fans. Steve Michener is president of the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association.

Tuesday, June 16

A subcommittee of the Minneapolis City Council has approved an affordable housing policy its advocates say will help remedy a housing crisis in the city. Many residents who spoke at a public hearing last night say the policy is a big step in the right direction. But they also say the city should be held accountable for its share of creating the problem. Minnesota Public Radio's Eric Jansen reports.

Lieutenant Governor Joanne Benson says she's confident she'll get the endorsement for Governor at this weekend's Republican state convention in Minneapolis. Many analysts think delegates will endorse Saint Paul Mayor Norm Coleman, but Benson is counting on a couple of factors to work in her favor - she's the only Republican gubernatorial candidate who's held statewide office, and the first woman to run for Minnesota Governor. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

Testimony in the firebombing murder trial gets underway this morning in Minneapolis. Yesterday, attorneys presented opening statements in the case of murder, conspiracy, interstate drug trafficking and the fire deaths of five young children in 1994. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports.

When the audience settles in to the Ordway Music Theatre tonight for a concert by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the lights will dim, concertmaster Romuald Tecco will carry his violin out on stage, tune the orchestra, and take his seat to the left of the conductor for the last time. After 26 seasons as the first fiddle of the chamber orchestra, Tecco has decided to retire. He came to the Julliard School in New York as a young man, after studying at the Paris Conservatory in his native France. In 1972, at the behest of his Julliard chum Dennis Russell Davies, he moved from New York to St. Paul to take the concertmaster position. As he recently told Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Crann, that move was not without some reservations.

Minneapolis police yesterday launched a month-long crack down on open-air drug dealing. Extra officers will patrol two crime-plagued areas on the city's north and south sides and even set up checkpoints on some streets in an effort to drive out drug peddlers and intimidate their potential customers. The operation is part of the city's "CODEFOR" program, which focuses police resources on high-crime areas. Stepped-up police investigations and anti-crime programs are changing how gangs operate in the Twin Cities. That's according to Sargent Jeff Rugle, a supervisor on the Minnesota Gang Strike Force.

Minnesota Public Radio Classical Music announcer Mindy Ratner is spending a year in China, working for the China Radio International English Language Service. She hosts a daily classical music program broadcast in Beijing and Shanghai and also helps edit english texts for cultural news programs. When Mindy left Minnesota more than a month ago, she promised to check in from time to time. So far, she's moved into her apartment, started work and even aquired a Chinese name.

On Future Tense: Ralph Nader is trying to plant an idea with the Justice Department: That Microsoft should allow computer makers to sell PCs with system software other than Windows. Nader says Microsoft forces PC makers to sell Windows, even if customers don't want it. Through an organization he leads, called The Consumer Project on Technology, Nader is urging the Justice Department to expand its anti-trust case against Microsoft. Jamie Love of The Consumer Project on Technology says PC makers should be free to sell machines with other operating systems, such as Linux for Freebsd.

Wednesday, June 17

Republicans expect to unite behind a gubernatorial candidate this friday at the party's state convention in Minneapolis. St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman, Lieutenant Governor Joanne Benson, Waverly businessman Dick Borrell and former State Reperesentative Allen Quist are all vying for endorsement. Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe met up with Allen Quist this week, and has this report.

Like every other state in the Union, Minnesota gets two Senators to represent the state in Congress' upper house. But few states have ever chosen Senators from such opposite ends of the political spectrum. Democrat Paul Wellstone and Republican Rod Grams differ so strongly in nearly every area -- from background to core beliefs -- that some wonder how Minnesotans voters could have elected them both just four years apart and how this pair of Senators works on Capitol Hill. From Washington, Emily Harris reports.

Northwest Airlines and its machinists have reached a tentative contract agreement after nearly two years of negotiations. The deal could avert a threatened strike by more than 27 thousand ground workers who are represented by the International Association of Machinsts and Aerospace Workers, the largest union at Northwest. However the TENTATIVE agreement has to be ratified by the rank and file for the contract to take effect, a process which could take 5 weeks. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports.

John Budd is an associate professor of human resources and industrial relations at the Univeristy of Minnesota. He says Northwest Airlines' tentative settlement with the machinists may give a boost to the company's negotiations with its pilots.

On Future Tense: The much disputed update to Windows 95 goes on sale later this month. Mike Langberg, computing editor at the San Jose Mercury news, says it makes sense to buy Windows 98 eventually, if you want to improve your Internet surfing.

Thursday, June 18

This summer the Duluth Public School system is preparing for the second year of its partnership with a private company. Since last fall the Edison Project has been running two of Duluth's public schools. From the beginning, the Duluth teachers' union and some school board members have been critical of the district turning over schools to a for-profit company. But as Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports, at least one of the schools has been a popular alternative for parents.

Thousands of Republicans will gather at the Target Center tonight for their state party convention. Like their DFL counterparts two weeks ago, the Republicans plan to endorse candidates for all of this year's state-wide races, with special emphasis on the race for governor. UNLIKE the DFLers, Republican delegates have real clout this year, because all the Republican gubernatorial candidates have promised to drop out if another candidate gets the endorsement. Republican leaders say maintaining that kind of party unity will be the key to beating the Democrats. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

The small southeastern Minnesota town of Viola holds its 124th annual gopher count festival today. The festival began when early farmers were looking for a way to deal with gophers digging up their hay fields. One group in town challenged another to see who could catch the most in a year and the losers had to provide a lemonade picnic for the winners. The picnic has grown into a festival with parades, carnival rides, and pie eating contests but catching gophers is still an integral part. Minnesota Public Radio's Brent Wolfe reports.

The D-F-L candidates for Governor yesterday sparred over issues important to cities at the Minnesota League of Cities Convention in Duluth. Candidates outlined positions on transportation, Housing and Economic Development. Most candidates favored the state taking a larger part in funding programs such as education, but they disagreed on how to pay for it. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher Reports.

Chris Farrell talks about the US Government's intervention to boost the Japanese yen and why Wall Street was so appreciative.

On Future Tense: Mike Langberg, computing editor of the San Jose Mercury News, has spent some time looking into Windows 98. He says for most people, the Microsoft updated operating system is NOT a must-buy.

Friday, June 19

Delegates in the state republican party gathered at Target Center in Minneapolis last night to begin the process of endorsing candidates for this year's statewide elections. Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports.

The North Dakota Higher education system is facing a crisis, which some say is threatening the future of college education in the state. This week the North Dakota board of Higher Education is meeting to hash out a 5-percent budget cut demanded by North Dakota Governor Ed Schafer...those cuts are in part, acatalyst for 2 university presidents departure this month. Minnesota Public Radio's Hope Deutscher reports.

Art and science are sometimes thought to be strange bedfellows; but in one southeast community there's a bed -- or at least a boarding house -- happily shared by both. The Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies is the legacy of A.P. Anderson, who tried to build a better world through physics, poetry, and puffed wheat. Anderson's mansion -- called Tower View for his lighthouse-like water tower -- lies just outside Red Wing, and for the last three years has housed artists and scholars from all over the world. Mainstreet Radio's Leif Enger reports.

Sunday is Father's Day, a day when men look forward to hearing from their children. And a few fathers in Minnesota are taking advantage of a new way to stay in touch with their kids. In January Minnesota established the Fathers Adoption Registry, a place where men can claim paternity and ask to be notified if the child is placed up for adoption. We get an update from Richard Smith, the Administrator of the Registry.

Lawsuits filed in Chicago and New York seek to hold gun manufacturers responsible in cases where their products have been used to kill. The idea of suing gun makers for damages is attracting more interest... partly because of the success of similar lawsuits like those against the tobacco industry and against car makers. Dr. Garen Wintemute directs the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California at Davis. He's a nationally recognized authority on gun violence and spoke recently at a forum hosted by the Minnesota Council for Preventive Medicine.

He only started the job on Wednesday, but William Ivey, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts is already in the thick of battle. A congressional house subcommittee yesterday took steps to eliminate the endowment. The House tried the same thing last year, but ended up appropriating 98 million dollars for the NEA. That's down from a budget of 175 million in 1993. William Ivey is in town to attend the American Symphony Orchestra League convention.

Meteorologist Mark Seeley says the beginning of this June wasn't the coldest such period in history... but it was close.

On Future Tense: Several factions in the dispute over junk e-mail are lending support to a compromise bill that would give consumers the right to insist their names be removed from mass marketers' lists. The bill would ALSO require senders of unsolicited e-mail to identify themselves, and provide a valid return e-mail address. America Online and the Direct Marketing Association are endorsing the proposal, as is a member of the Federal Trade Commission. But one group of Internet activists remains unhappy. The Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail says the bill would legitimize junk e-mail, also known as "spam." Coalition co-founder Ray Everett-Church says his group favors an all-out ban, as proposed by Representative Chris Smith.

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