Monday, November 23

The FBI reports serious crime has declined nationwide for the sixth consecutive year. The figures for Minnesota follow the national trend. In Minneapolis violent crime was down one percent. In St. Paul it was down 2.2 percent. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo has more.

The Minnesota Vikings are now ten-and-one with a three-game lead in the NFC Central after beating the Green Bay Packers 28-14 yesterday at the Metrodome. While Vikings fans celebrate, the players are taking the victory in stride and preparing for another game on Thursday against the Dallas Cowboys. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports.

Welfare reform has been described as the biggest sea-change in social policy in the U.S. since the 1930's, but so far there is little hard data on the impacts of reform. In Duluth last week, delegates to a national conference on domestic abuse were concerned by increasing anecdotal evidence that welfare-to-work can be a dangerous transition for women in abusive relationships. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports.

When crimes are committed in Minnesota, physical evidence is often sent to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's crime lab in St. Paul. It's the only one of its kind in the state, and BCA officials say the lab's location in the Twin Cities makes it inconvenient and expensive for northern law enforcement officers. As Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Robertson reports from Bemidji, the agency is considering a satellite crime lab in northern Minnesota.

The stock market just keeps barreling along. The Dow Industrials jumped 240 points last week, and start the new week at 9159, a four month high. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Farrell has these thoughts on the rally.

Now that 46 other states have reached a settlement with the tobacco industry, officials here will be examining the agreement to see if it has implications for the Minnesota settlement. That settlement included a so-called "most favored nations" clause which allows the state to add on provisions that are negotiated in the future. Tom Pursell is a Deputy Attorney General who helped negotiate the Minnesota settlement and he joins us now.

The Minnesota Vikings are now 10-and-one, with a commanding three game lead over the Green Bay Packers after beating the Packers 28-14 yesterday at the Metrodome. The game seemed to mark a changing of the guard in the NFC Central which has been dominated by the Packers in recent years. Don Banks covers the Vikings for the Star Tribune and he joins us now.

Duluth teachers are voting today on whether to accept a new contract. The Independent District 709 board approved the agreement Sunday, but board members worry how to pay for it. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports.

Cold winter winds usually signal an end to the construction season, but not in one southwest Minnesota community. Residents of Comfrey have been rebuilding at a furious pace since a March tornado bulldozed through town. In the next month they'll see a new grocery store open, the town's fire hall completed and ground broken for a new school. With virtually every business in town expected to reopen and most home-owners rebuilding, it appears the tornado will be remembered as a fresh start for the prairie village instead of the beginning of the end. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports.

Earlier this century, a wide variety of crops could be found in Minnesota farm fields. But after World War Two there was a push for U.S. farmers to increase production. Many streamlined their operations and focused on one or two cash crops. This shift has helped Minnesota's farmers compete in the global marketplace. But as a result, the Minnesota landscape has suffered a significant decrease in plant and animal diversity. Now farmers and agronomists are looking for ways to bring the diversity back. Minnesota Public Radio's Kathryn Herzog has this Mainstreet report.

The Minnesota Supreme Court is considering a proposal aimed at discouraging frivolous lawsuits. The court holds a hearing today on a new rule that would make it more difficult for someone to file a lawsuit if they have a record of repeatedly filing and losing suits in the past. It focuses specifically on people who represent themselves in court. Hennepin County district Judge John Stanoch joins me now.

A group of Twin Cities high school students is launching an advertising campaign designed to convince kids not to smoke. Students from Mounds Park Academy in St. Paul hope their message will get through to young people since it's coming from their peers. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

During this year's gubernatorial race, Republican candidate and St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman pointed with pride to the development in downtown St. Paul. It meant, he said, jobs. But some critics worry the bidding war cities and states engage in to attract businesses hurts the economy overall. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

Research shows Minneapolis high school students are getting more sleep and doing better in school than students in another urban district where the school day starts earlier. The Minneapolis Public Schools pushed back the start times for middle and high school students last year. Kyla Wahlstrom of the University of Minnesota presented her research to the Minneapolis School Board last night and she joins us now.

The debate over the authenticity of the Kensington Runestone has waged on for one hundred years. There's still no definitive conclusion on this rock which farmer Olaf Ohman unearthed on his western Minnesota farm back in 1898. Amateur sleuths have poured thousands of dollars of their own money into gathering evidence the stone is for real, and academics have spent decades trying to prove it's a fake. The one thing clear about this debate is that's its deeply rooted in faith, culture and community. Mainstreet Radio's Gretchen Lehmann reports.

The most recent Surgeon General's report finds American Indians have the highest adult smoking rates of any ethnic or minority group in the country. The report finds tobacco use among American Indians has soared more than 40 percent at a time when it has leveled off among other racial groups. As a result, more American Indians are dying of respiratory cancers than ever before. Health officials are alarmed, but as Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports, anti-tobacco programs take on new complexities for many American Indians who've long viewed tobacco as a sacred gift.

Today would have been the 86th birthday of Eric Sevareid, the longtime CBS reporter and commentator, and perhaps the greatest journalist to come out of Minnesota. Sevareid died in 1992 at the age of 79, and while his work and life are admired and respected by those who know about him, even his biographer questions his impact on American broadcast journalism. Minnesota Public Radio's John Rabe reports.

It's Thanksgiving and Minnesota Viking fans have a lot for which to be thankful. The team has already qualified for the playoffs and is ten-and-one going into today's game against the Dallas Cowboys. One slight problem; the game begins at 3:00 p.m., which is prime time for Thanksgiving dinner. Someone who's noticed the conflict is Marilyn McAlpine, a Home Economist with the Minnesota Turkey Council. She spent yesterday answering the turkey council's food preparation hot line and she's on the line right now.

Retailers are anticipating what one industry group says is an extremely positive picture for holiday sales. Today, of course, is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year. For retailers it's the start of the all-important Christmas shopping season. Minnesota Pubic Radio's Bill Catlin reports.

Some estimates show Americans rack up nearly $100 billion in credit debt between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Some economists warn consumers not to be lured into accumulating debt now as the economy softens and the likelihood of continued slowdown in 1999 increases. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports.

Workers at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Red Wing are building a 14-foot fence around the campus. The facility got its start as a training school for truants. But today it's home to the toughest juvenile offenders in the state and authorities say they need the fence to insure security. In recent years, Red Wing got a reputation as a warehouse full of young men destined for a life in and out of adult prisons. Now, corrections officials are developing counseling programs at the facility and trying to show they can give kids the tools to turn their lives around. Minnesota Public Radio's Brent Wolfe reports.

Climatologist Mark Seeley says the warm weather will stick around a bit longer before December comes.

The Minnesota Vikings are now 11-and-one after beating the Dallas Cowboys 46-36 yesterday. Rookie wide receiver Randy Moss caught three touchdown passes. The Vikings won despite the loss of running back Robert Smith who was injured in the third quarter. Don Banks covers the Vikings for the Star Tribune.