Monday, July 6

At the end of this week, the 6-1-2 area code will split in two. Phone customers in St. Paul and east to the Wisconsin border will be in the new 6-5-1 area code. Minneapolis and western suburbs will remain in the 612 area code. Minnesota Public Radio's Eric Jansen takes a look at the impact the change will have on residents and businesses:

A rundown section of Lake Street in south Minneapolis is getting a major facelift. The city's biggest athletic and community center will be built at Lake and 21st Avenue. The new Minneapolis YWCA facility is unusual for its size and for its sharing arrangement with the Minneapolis schools. Land acquisition for the $21.4 milion center begins today. Neighbors say the new facility will help revive the area. School officials say the center will supply a high quality athletic facility where there is none. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

Officals at Voyageurs National Park are moving ahead with plans for a park-wide ban on personal watercraft, or jetski's as they are more commonly known. The National Park Service has determined the machines are "inappropriate" for national parks. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.

Northwest Airlines officials meet with North Dakota business and government leaders today in Fargo to talk about reducing airfares. Limited, expensive airline service is a problem in rural areas across the country. North Dakota officials say it's beginning to stifle economic development in the state. In response to complaints, and some arm twisting, Northwest has agreed to reduce business fares for people flying out of North Dakota cities it serves. Details of the plan will be worked out at today's meeting. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Gunderson reports.

On Future Tense: Power companies in Europe are joining the race with phone and cable companies to deliver hi-speed data to people's homes. Some two-thousand computer users in northwestern England are testing a new system by plugging into the Internet over ordinary household electric wires. The system was developed by Norweb Communications in Britain and Canada's Northern Telecom - or Nortel. It's supposed to transmit data 20 times faster than high-speed modems. Brad Bradshaw is director of the energy practice at the Yankee Group, a research firm in Boston. He says when it comes to transmitting data, power companies theoretically have an advantage over phone and cable companies because electric lines remain the most ubiqutious connection with homes and businesses. But the technology may face some insurmountable hurdles - especially in the United States.

Maintainence crews all over Minnesota have been busy over the last few weeks hauling away the trees and brush that were knocked down by the recent storms. And now many communities are beginning the task of replacing the lost trees. The city of St. Paul will spend 500 thousand dollars this year on 300 new trees. One of the hardest hit areas of that city is along Highland Parkway. Minnesota Public Radio's Jim Bickal caught up with St. Paul arborist T.K. Walling as he supervised the tree planting along the Parkway.

In places where personal watercraft are allowed, operators are now faced with new rules about how they can be used. Starting June First, Minnesota Jetskiers were prohibited from riding too close to other boats or the shoreline or engaging in other forms of "aggressive boating." In addition, they have to be off the water from one hour before sunset until 9:30 a.m. These rules are spelled out on a sticker that is now required on all personal watercraft as well. Tim Smalley, Boat and Water Specialist for the DNR, says compliance is going well so far.

From all-terrain vehicles to motorcycles to four-by-fours, the sport of off-roading is booming in Minnesota. Off-roading is so popular, it's creating a demand for trails and putting pressure on the Department of Natural Resources to meet the needs of ALL outdoor enthusiasts. The state is now scrambling to develop a master plan for controlling OHV's access to public lands. Today the agency will hold a public meeting to review plans for an O-H-V recreation area in the town of Gilbert. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports from Duluth.

A coalition of Twin Cities' businesses, government agencies and non-profits is releasing a report today critical of the quality of news coverage in the Twin Cities. The report calls on news organizations to re-committ themselves to higher standards. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts reports.

On Future Tense: Three on-line brokerage firms recently agreed to pay America Online a total of 75 million dollars for prime space on its Personal Finance site. AOL said the deal was driven by an explosion in consumer demand for online financial services. Between 3 and 5 million people are trading stocks online, forgoing the investment expertise - and charges - of full-service brokers. That number is expected to grow to 10 million by 2000 according to Dave Kansas, editor-in-chief of Thestreet.com, an online financial publication. He says the biggest hazard for online investors is how to get credible information off the Internet.

This is day two of the annual AIDS Ride, a fundraiser in which volunteers ride their bikes from Minneapolis to Chicago. For bicyclists who aren't quite ready for a trip of that length there's a new book to check out. It's called Short Bike Rides in Minnesota. Author Mark Weinberger traveled all over the state and came up with 40 scenic bike routes. Minnesota Public Radio's Jim Bickal recently chatted with Weinberger as they rode their bikes down the Lilydale Park Trail which follows the Mississippi River in St. Paul.

The second session of summer school begins today in St. Paul, hard on the heels of the first three-week session which ended yesterday. This is the first year Saint Paul required summer school for students who failed the 8th grade basic skills tests. Minneapolis has the same requirement. Students throughout Minnesota are getting help with reading and math this summer, and they'll get another chance at the state tests at the end of the month. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

A couple of decades ago, a lot of frustrated urbanites lit out for the country to build their own homes, grow their own tomatoes, maybe raise some chickens. People called it the back-to-the-land movement. A lot of folks found a year or two of country living was enough, and they went back to the comforts of modern life. But Minnesota's north woods is still full of back-to-the-landers. Mainstreet Radio's Catherine Winter has this profile of one family that lives near Lake Superior's north shore.

On Future Tense: Apple's new iMac computer is the star of the Macworld Expo trade show going on this week in New York. The iMac's new technology, relatively low cost and spunky design are aimed squarely at the consumer market where Apple is trying to recover lost ground. Apple has only a 4% share of the US market and has been fighting its way out of a financial slump. Tim Bajarin is President of Creative Strategies, a high-tech consulting firm based in Silicon Valley. He says the iMac will help Apple compete in the booming field of low-cost PC's.

Texas businessman Red McCombs made his first public appearance in Minnesota yesterday. Last week the Minnesota Vikings accepted his bid to buy the team. At the Press Conference McCombs reiterated his intention not to move the team and charmed the local media with his stories. Here's a little bit of what he had to say.

Minnesota Public Radio sports commentator Jay Weinter was at yesterday's media event and he disucsses his impressions of Red McCombs.

An attorney for the Metropolitan Airports Commission says the Commission may be prohibited by federal law from contributing money to a proposed light rail transit line that would run from downtown Minneapolis to the airport to the Mall of America. But a Commission committee has found something it would like spend some money on: a replacement for the Hubert H. Humphrey Charter Terminal. The terminal primarily serves discount airlines which are becoming increasingly popular. Airports Commission member John Himle says he supports the new terminal.

White flight emptied the pews of a lot of inner city churches in the l960s. Urban unrest and fear of crime drove families and some churches to the suburbs. But Park Avenue United Methodist Church in Minneapolis stayed in the city and adapted to the changing population. The church started a summer gospel music festival to attract neighborhood residents. The event called Soul Lib is 25 years old and starts tonight. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

Civic and business leaders in Minneapolis seem to have reached agreement on a route for light rail tracks through downtown. A key city council committee and the Downtown Council, a business group, are expected to approve sending LRT trains east and west along 5th Street. Minnesota Public Radio's Eric Jansen reports.

The sound of crash cymbals can't help but demand attention - they're loud, distinctive, and engaging. A Minnesota composer has built a performance around cymbals, appropriately called CRASH, which opens tonight in Minneapolis. But the work of Mary Ellen Childs goes beyond the music of cymbals - she's created theatre by putting her musicians on wheels. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

On Future Tense: The Clinton administration is making it easier to export encryption software to foreign banks, but some businesses want the government to drop all restrictions on such exports. Encryption software scrambles data to safeguard communication over the Internet. In most cases, such software exported from the US must include a "key" so that law enforcement can break the code if its used by drug smugglers or terrorists. Businesses say such regulation is hindering the development of global commerce on the Internet. The issue is before the courts. But two federal judges have reached opposite conclusions on whether encryption software is protected under the First Amendment. Shari Steele is staff attorney with the Electronic Fronteir Foundation, a non-profit organization that works on electronic civil liberties issues.

This Saturday the largest event on the competitive ballroom calendar, Worldance 98, will be held at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Ballroom dancing, in particular swing dancing, is becoming increasingly popular in local bars, popular movies, and commercials. Marcy McHenry, the owner of The Dancer's Studio in St. Paul, will be competing in Worlddance. She joins us now.

It's the time of year that a lot of people look forward to: Farmer's Market season. And lots of Minnesota grown produce is starting to come to market. Kevin Edberg is the Director of Marketing for the Minnesota deptartment of agriculture and he joins us now.

Many farmers in southeastern Minnesota are watching over young soybean plants replanted over storm-damaged crops. County officials are pursuing disaster declarations to get low interest loans for uninsured farmers. The final extent of the damage won't be known for several months. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.

One more house was demolished in Saint Peter this week. It was old, built in the 1860's, and in need of restoration, but still, it was someone's home until the March 29th tornado. The current owner is Tom Gravelin. Minnesota Public Radio's Lynette Nyman has been following him through the recovery. His business is back up, while his home has finally come down.

On Future Tense: At a hearing this week in Washington, Senators chastised the cable and broadcast TV industries for failing to solve problems that could plague the rollout of high-definition TV. Digital TV sets going on sale this fall promise to bring viewers sharper pictures and better sound, but so far they're incompatible with cable TV boxes and other electronic equipment. The FCC is considering requiring cable companies to carry digital TV signals. But cable operators say that would crowd out regular channels. Gary Shultz is principal analyst for Multimedia Resarch Group in Sunnyvale California. He thinks concerns over the deployment of digital TV are overblown, among cable operators as well as TV stations.

Writer Jim Northrup is a member of the Anishanaabe people and he lives on the Fonddu Lac Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. He writes a newspaper column called The Fond Du Lac Follies and he has a new book out.

Meteorologist Mark Seeley talks about weather-related excuses for poor sales, women meteorologists.

Paul Omodt of the NWA Pilots Union says the contract talks with NWA are at an impasse.

Marta Laughlin is a spokesperson for Northwest Airlines. She says Northwest doesn't agree that the talks are at an impasse.