Monday, June 22

Running out of room to store all your stuff? Why not build a cavern? That's what the University of Minnesota is doing to store some of its burgeoning collection of books and other documents. The Minnesota Library Access Center is being built in Minneapolis - under the University. Building the space is relatively cheap and easy because of the area's geology. Proponents say cavern space could be a new way to free up valuable surface real estate for public and private development. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson has more.

Gubernatorial candidate Norm Coleman emerges from this weekend's Republican state convention with his party's endorsement...PLUS the personal blessing of Governor Arne Carlson. This is no mean feat, since Carlson and the socially conservative party delegates don't usually agree on much else. But as Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports, Norm Coleman is counting on the alliance between Carlson moderates and social conservatives to hold -- and carry him to victory in November.

On Future Tense: If you use America Online, you are familiar with the little pop-up boxes telling you that you've been online so long, or idle for awhile, and would you like to stay connected? If you miss the message...you'll be kicked off. Well for 12 dollars you can download a little program called "Always Online" that automatically answers those annoying questions from AOL. The program, for Macintosh only, was written by a 17 year old boarding school student from Florida, Alex Rampell.

Lake Minnewaska near Alexandria is the 85th lake in Minnesota where Eurasian watermilfoil has been found. Once the plant gets into a lake it spreads quickly, crowding out native plants and interfering with boating and fishing. Dean Beck is the Area Fisheries Supervisor at the Minnesota Department of Human Resources where he keeps track of the milfoil problem and he joins us now.

Steven Schier, chair of the Carleton College Political Science Department, discusses the race for governor.

The financial markets will probably focus on Japan again this week. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Farrell says Wall Street will be watching for signs of a turnaround in the Japanese economy.

Tuesday, June 23

This summer strange bubble-shaped vehicles are likely to be seen quietly zipping around the streets of Fargo...They are the brainchild of a new company aiming to break into the nascent electric car market. Minnesota Public Radio's Hope Deutscher reports.

When most people travel between the United States and Canada they pass through a port of entry, staffed by customs agents. But in between those ports of entry are thousands of miles of farmland and woods, often called the longest unguarded border in the world. It's inviting for a growing number of people entering the U-S illegally. The U-S border patrol is charged with monitoring all that empty space. But with thousands of miles and only a few hundred agents, it's a tall order. In Minnesota and North Dakota, 22 agents based in Grand Forks struggle to cover 917 miles of border and eight surrounding states. Mainstreet Radio's Dan Gunderson discovered those agents are hard pressed to stop illegal traffic.

The race for Governor is officially underway now tht the major parties have held their conventions and chosen an endorsed candidate. Yesterday, most of the candidates increased their campaining. And that will continue later today. We have several reports. First, Minnesota Public Radio's Brent Wolfe with the Coleman campaign.

St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman passed two key litmus tests for Republican party delegates to win their gubernatorial endorsement last weekend. He told delegates he opposes legal abortion and says he'd sign a bill repealing the 1993 state human rights amendment protecting gays and lesbians. But as Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports, both gay/lesbian activists AND the party's christian conservatives have one thing in common: they both are doubting Coleman's views on civil rights for gays and lesbians.

On Future Tense: Concern over the year 2000 computer bug is growing. One example: House Speaker Newt Gingrich say's he'll seek four billion dollars in new funding to fight the problem. Another: A small but growing movement of Internet survivalists. People such as Gary North predict massive failure of the country's banking, energy and transportation systems as computers become confused about the date as the year 2000 approaches. North and a few others are preparting survivalist camps, with generators, water and food supplies. Richard Landes, Director of the Center for Millenial Studies at Boston University, says the level of alarm over Y2K will escalate.

The ceremonial groundbreaking for the Minnesota Wild hockey team will take place today. Prospective Vikings owner Bruce Llewellyn is coming to the Twin Cities on Thursday and slugger Mark McGuire and his St. Louis Cardinals arrive at the Metrodome on Friday. It's a big week for sports, both on and off the field... the kind of week that gets MPR Sports Commentator Jay Weiner thinking. And he has come by the studio to sahre some of his thoughts.

John Moriarity of Minnesota's Frog Watch discusses the discovery of a rare Northern Cricket Frog in Bloomington.

Tonight, the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Hubert Humphrey's landmark speech about civil rights at the 1948 Democratic National Convention. Journalist Bill Moyers, author Richard Rodriguez and NAACP chair Julian Bond will discuss the speech and its place in the struggle for civil rights. Here's an excerpt from that speech.

Wednesday, June 24

The campaign for Minnesota's First District Congressional seat is rumbling to life. Two years ago, the campaign to unseat then first term Republican Gil Gutknecht was the closest Congressional contest in the state..and the most expensive. Both sides spent a combined one and a half million dollars. This year, four term DFL state senator Tracy Beckman is challenging Gutknecht and Beckman vows a very different kind of campaign. Minnesota Public Radios Brent Wolfe reports.

The University of Minnesota's Humphrey Forum last night marked the 50th anniversary of Hubert H. Humphrey's famed civil rights speech to the 1948 Democratic national convention in Philadelphia. The late Senator and Vice-president, who was mayor of Minneapolis at the time, urged delegates to pass a civil rights plank that outlawed lynching and affirmed blacks' right to vote. Many historians say that speech changed the course of history. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

The financially-strapped South Washington County school district will ask voters again this fall to provide more money to operate schools and reduce class sizes. The suburban district includes the cities of Cottage Grove, Newport, Saint Paul Park and one of the state's fastest growing cities, Woodbury. Voters have already rejected three excess tax levy requests in the past four years. The District 833 school board is surveying residents this week on the issue and will likely finalize the ballot question by the end of July. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

On Future Tense: A new survey by the Information Technology Association of America says about 25 percent of Americans believe the year 2000 bug will force them to change their lifestyle. The survey finds more people now believe computers won't be able to read dates properly, resulting in massive computer failure. In the survey of 1000 people completed last week, 80 percent fear their financial records may be affected, and 60 percent foresee telephone and power outages. Richard Landes studies the year 2000 bug for the Center for Millenial Studies at Boston University. He says if there IS chaos on January 1, 2000, there will be safety in numbers.

And now we turn to a topic that may not be the most "burning" issue of the day, but it does have some folks in St. Paul smoking mad. The St. Paul City Council will vote today on an ordinance that would ban barbequeing on apartment building balconies. We talked to some people on the streets of St. Paul who have strong opinions on the subject.

City Council member Chris Coleman opposes the ban. He says there's no evidence that these kind of fires are a big problem.

Thursday, June 25

Minnesota courts began a pilot project this week to open child protection cases to the public. Many county officials admit to ambivalent feelings about opening the proceedings, which till now have been carefully shielded from public scrutiny. Minnesota Public Radios Dan Gunderson checked on how the project is going in Clay county in northwestern Minnesota.

Minnesota's Pollution Control Agency was a favorite target of Democratic Candidates for Governor in a Duluth forum on environmental issues today. Three of Four DFL contendors agreed they'd reorganize the MPCA and other state agencies with environmental oversite. Mike Freeman, John Marty, Mark Dayton and Ted Mondale debated before members of the Minnesota Bar Association at their annual convention. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports.

State Senate Tax chairman and gubernatorial hopeful Doug Johnson has added his name to a list of legislators who requested charitable donations from tobacco interests. Johnson asked the R. J. Reynolds Foundation to give $5-thousand dollars to his hometown hospital in Cook this past spring. Johnson made the admission after the Star Tribune reported three other legislators made similar requests of the R. J. Reynolds Foundation. The legislators say they did nothing wrong, but clean-government groups say Tobacco lobbyists made the donations to buy influence at the Legislature. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste has the story.

More homeowners are facing property damage this morning after two strong storm systems tore through Minnesota last night. The communities of Red Wing and Oakdale were among the hardest hit. 66 thousand NSP customers are still without power. Rich Nystad of the National Weather Service tracked the storms throughout the night.

Outgoing St. Paul Schools Superintendant Curman Gaines reflects on his tenure and the challenges head for the district.

Friday, June 26

Three months of unusually severe weather is causing some to ask about how the word gets out about potentially dangerous storms and tornados. There have been problems with sirens sounding either late or not at all: not all tv and radio stations carry warnings and many people don't have weather radios. And for some residents in Minnesota and nearby South Dakota many of these services aren't even available. Minnesota Public Radio's Gretchen Lehmann reports.

Minnesota baseball fans get a chance this weekend to see Mark McGwire in action when the St. Louis Cardinals play the Twins at the Metrodome. McGwire is on pace to break the record for most home runs in a season. That record was set in 1961 by Roger Maris. Even if the record is broken, Maris, who died of cancer in 1985 will still be a hero in his hometown of Fargo. There's Roger Maris Drive and the Roger Maris Museum. On Saturday the Fargo Moorhead Redhawks will retire the number Maris wore when he played in the old Northern League. Mainstreet Radio's Dan Gunderson reports.

A small catholic church in Winona County celebrates it last official mass this Sunday. The 122-year-old Immaculate Conception Church is the only remnant of the town of Oak Ridge. Church leaders are dissolving the parish because membership in the farming community is dwindling. But many remaining church members say the congregation has the vitality to hang on. They say closing the parish does harm well beyond the church doors. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes has more in this Mainstreet Radio report.

On Future Tense: Windows 98 is getting a lukewarm reception but don't let that fool you: for the next two years, it's likely that at least nine out of ten of all new computers sold will be Windows 98 machines. You have little choice, unless you want to buy a Macintosh. Jamie Love of the Consumer Project on Technology says that's just not right. Love and his cohort Ralph Nader are pushing alternative operating systems. Love says Windows is NOT the only software that will make your computer run.

Wednesday night's thunderstorm's in the Twin Cities were severe enough that the National Weather Service recommended turning on the sirens. Minnesota Public Radio's Kara Fiegenschuh talked to people yesterday about what they do when they hear the sirens.

Meteorologist Mark Seeley talks about the unusual amount of severe weather this year, the big temperature swing in June and the extremely dry conditions in Florida.

For more Morning Edition listings: