Monday, October 19

According to published reports, attorneys for Northwest and Continental airlines and the U.S. Justice Department met over the weekend to resolve government concerns about the planned alliance between the two airlines. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal report that the government could file a lawsuit as soon as today to block the deal, which involves Northwest acquiring an ownership stake in Continental. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin has this look at the alliance and the concerns it has generated.

A new stadium for the Minnesota Twins may be dead in the legislature, but it's become a key issue in one House race. In district 46A, which covers the Twin Cities' suburbs of Crystal, New Hope and Golden Valley, Republican challenger Lynne Osterman is focusing her campaign on DFL incumbent Ann Rest's authorship of a stadium bill. Republicans hope it's the ammunition they need to capture Rest's seat, as part of their bid to gain control of the House, but some political analysts doubt the stadium is enough to defeat a well-known incumbent. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

Indonesian music has been finding its way into Minnesota schools and concert halls. It's performed on a gamelan, a large collection of bronze gongs, drums and xylophone-like instruments. What draws many people to this music is its calming, meditative melodies; but recent interest here in Minnesota comes from more than just the sound of the music, but a unique chance to play the gamelan. Minnesota Public Radio's Gretchen Lehmann reports.

Students at ten Twin Cities area schools are learning to be good citizens by trying to solve public problems. The schools are part of Public Achievement, a citizenship program that began eight years ago at a Saint Paul Catholic grade school and is now spreading across the country. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

If all goes according to plan, a new spire will be installed on the church at Gustavus Adolphus College today, seven months after the March 29th tornado swept through St. Peter. The storm destroyed the old spire and engineers have painstakingly constructed a replica. Tom Morken, an engineer with Stillwater Metals in Saint Paul worked on the new spire. He says the design was based on the original blueprints.

They couldn't have planned it better: Less than a week after two brokers of the peace in Northern Ireland were named Nobel Peace Prize winners, a delegation from that country is urging Minnesota business to set aside its preconceptions and invest in the country. Minnesota Public Radio's John Rabe reports.

First district congressional candidate Tracy Beckman blames congress for low crop prices. In a debate in Rochester last night, Beckman differed sharply with Republican incumbent Gil Gutknecht over how the federal government should help farmers. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.

More than six months after a tornado smashed through Saint Peter, the town's residents and business owners are continuing their recovery efforts. But while the town has been busy rebuilding, some are worried there hasn't been much time to create an overall plan. Minnesota Public Radio's Lynette Nyman reports.

The House of Representatives will vote today on the 500 billion dollar budget agreement reached last week by the White House and congressional Republicans. The Senate votes tomorrow. Then members head home for two hasty weeks of campaigning for the November 3rd elections. Eight spending bills are part of the measure - including one that contains 6 billion dollars in relief for farmers. We talk with Republican Congressman Jim Ramstad and Democrat Congressman David Minge.

Norwest and Wells Fargo shareholders vote today on the merger of the two companies. If the shareholders approve it, the merger will become official in 15 days. The combined company would be based in San Francisco and called Wells Fargo. The 30 billion dollar deal would make Wells Fargo the seventh largest bank in the country. We hear from Jim Campbell, President of Norwest Bank-Minnesota.

A new poll shows gubernatorial candidates Skip Humphrey and Norm Colman are suddenly in a dead heat while support for 3rd party candidate Jesse Ventura has doubled. We talk about the poll numbers with Carleton College political science professor Steven Schier.

81-year-old Malcolm Myers is one of the grand old men of Minnesota art and he plans to keep right on painting. Meyers was one of the founders of the art department at the University of Minnesota, and his pictures are in collections around the world.

His most recent work is on exhibit at St. Paul's River Gallery. Myers says the secret to his longevity is that painting is still the thing that makes him happiest. He has a short list of other happy things - jazz, a good martini, and beautiful women - but painting, print making and teaching are at the center of his life. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Stucky reports.

Christmas came early this year for America's transportation interests. In June, Congress passed, and the President signed the country's largest transportation bill. The measure will send to states over the next six years an eyepopping $217 billion. Tuesday in Minneapolis federal officials paid a courtesy call to hear what state and local officials think of the measure. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

The Senate votes today on the omnibus budget bill, which includes $6 billion in emergency farm aid. Roughly $300 million of this emergency aid will be given to Minnesota farmers. Farmers in Minnesota have been hit hard by the dropping prices for crops, especially wheat. Noreen Thomas, a farmer in the Red River Valley, joins us now.

It's seems it's everywhere. "Swing"... its in the clubs, the stores, on television and, of course, radio. Swing is here. Again. Whether it's the east coast or west coast style, the country has seen a resurgence in swing dance in a way that's touching twenty- somethings more often then those who remember swing from the first time around. Minnesota Public Radio's Marianne Sullivan reports.

Minnesota Music legend Bob Dylan takes to the concert stage in Duluth tonight, marking his first public return to the town of his birth and the region where he grew up. Dylan was born in Duluth, but moved at the age of six 80 miles North to the town of Hibbing. Nowhere is the excitement higher than in Bob Dylan's hometown on the Iron Range, where he was once scorned as a rebel, but is celebrated now as a hero. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports.

Jesse Ventura's gubernatorial campaign got a boost earlier this week when a poll showed support for the Reform Party candidate has doubled since last month's primary. Third party candidates have done relatively well in Minnesota in recent years. For instance, in the 1992 presidential election, Ross Perot won 24% of the vote, a higher percentage than in most other states. Jeff Peterson is a professor of political science at Southwestern Oklahoma State University and he has studied why people support third party candidates.

A type of margarine made with wood-pulp extract can lower blood cholesterol by an average of 14 percent according to a Mayo Clinic study. The product, called Benecol, is already a big seller in Finland, where it was developed. The spread is expected to be on U.S. grocers' shelves in January. Some studies have shown that lower cholesterol levels reduce the risk of death from heart disease. Dr. Tu Nugyen is an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and helped lead the study.

Minnesota environmental groups and the states timber industry are proposing radically different futures for Minnesota's two national forests. The Sierra Club and National Audubon Society want to see much less logging, while a proposal by Minnesota Forest Industries calls for increasing the timber harvest in the Chippewa National forest, and doubling it in the Superior. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.

Hunters have a lot of choices this time of year. The seasons for duck, pheasant, grouse, and deer hunting are all closely grouped. In southeast Minnesota hunters also have a fall turkey hunt, a recent addition to the traditional spring turkey season. Hunters and game officials say the southeast turkey population is stronger than ever. Art Hughes accompanied a turkey hunter for this Mainstreet report.

U.S. Agriculture secretary Dan Glickman got a chance to sample the farm crisis first hand during a campaign visit for DFL candidates yesterday. Stopping in the Minnesota River Valley, Glickman also heard reaction to federal agriculture policy from a group of well-connected farmers. He was there on behalf of DFL gubernatorial candidate Skip Humphrey, second district congressman David Minge and first district hopeful Tracy Beckman. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Steil reports.

If republican Frank Taylor defeats incumbent Martin Sabo in Minnesota's fifth district congressional race, it would rank among the most shocking political upsets in state history. But Frank Taylor insists Minnesotans should prepare for exactly that. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen has this look at the fifth district congressional race.

A rash of embarrassments at major media organizations including the Boston Globe, the New Republic, and the Cincinnati Inquirer has increased public disenchantment with journalists. Yesterday, a group of journalists and non-journalists gathered in Minneapolis to discuss making the profession more accountable. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo has more.

In the next month or so, Department of Natural Resources researchers in Baudette will receive a piece of the six-foot-three-inch, 105 pound Sturgeon that was found in Lake Harriet this week. Their job will be to determine how old the fish was when it died. DNR large lake specialist Tom Heinrich says the biggest Lake Sturgeon on record was caught in Manitoba in 1905.

The Red River Valley is one of the areas of the state that has been hit the hardest by the farm crisis. The region is also considered a swing district where the outcome of the gubernatorial race is anything but certain. Republican candidate Norm Coleman spent some time campaigning in northwest Minnesota earlier this week. John Sundvor covers Minnesota politics for the Fargo Forum.

Meteorologist Mark Seeley describes an iceberg that is bigger than the state of Deleware.

Former Republican senator and presidential candidate Bob Dole was in Minnesota yesterday stumping for gubernatorial candidate Norm Coleman. At a rally in St. Paul, Dole said he supports Coleman's position on cutting income taxes and promoting educational choice. Dole also praised Coleman's stance on agricultural issues.

Norm Coleman says why he thinks people should vote for him for Governor.