Monday, April 26

There's a boomtown atmosphere in the communities at the edge of the Twin Cities seven county region. Developers are buying land and people are snapping up new houses even before they're built. The growth at the edges is revitalizing some small towns. It also poses questions for how services will be delivered. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Bradley made a campaign swing through Minnesota and Iowa over the weekend, picking up the endorsement of Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone. Bradley lags behind Vice President Al Gore at this early stage of the race for the Democratic nomination. But many Minnesota Democrats say they're taking Bradley more seriously, now that Wellstone is backing his campaign. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

It could be another wild week in the financial markets. Good earnings reports propelled several stock averages to new highs last week. Here are Chris Farrell's latest thoughts on the markets.

Minnesotans concerned about the plight of Kosovar Albanians have been given the chance to contribute to relief efforts - and to tap their feet. Last night, the Minnesota Czechoslovak Center sponsored a benefit rock concert for Balkan refugees at the State Theater in Minneapolis. The event featured the rock band Three Dog Night and was briefly attended by Governor Jesse Ventura and Czech President Vaclav Havel. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

The Minnesota State Colleges and University System joined Ford and the United Auto Workers union to open a new training center yesterday at the Ford plant in St. Paul. The $7.3 million center will let workers and students train in state-of-the-art auto-building equipment labs. The center is designed, in part, to keep jobs in the state. Morris Anderson is Chancellor of the MnSCU system.

Home sales are booming thanks to low interest rates and a strong economy. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's an easy time to buy a house. Competition between home buyers has heated up right along with the market. George Karvel holds the distinguished chair in real estate at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

The Minnesota House has approved a bill to spend $7.8 billion on K-through-12 schools over the next two years. The bill is $90 million more than Governor Ventura budgeted, and spends almost $1 billion more than in the previous two-year period. Still, many Democrats say the legislation doesn't spend enough on all school districts. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

Tucked into agriculture bills before the Minnesota Legislature is a small proposal to study the merits of a publicly owned grain-loading facility in the port of Duluth. The idea comes from a Litchfield area farmer, who's frustrated with large grain companies, and those companies' domination of the grain export business. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports.

U of M Extension Horticulturist Deb Brown discusses shrub pruning, when to bring house plants outside and killing dandelions.

Teachers, parents and students throughout Minnesota are waiting today for results of this year's 8th grade basic standards tests. The tests measure minimum skills in reading and math and are a requirement for high school graduation. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports Minnesota school districts have spent a lot of time and money the past year to raise scores.

Forty-four percent of 11th graders in the Minneapolis Public Schools still have not passed one or both of the basic skills tests. David Heistad is the Director of Research, Evaluation and Assessment for the Minneapolis School District. He says a large part of that group are students who know English only as a second language.

Senate DFL leaders say they'll cut deeper into income tax rates than they originally proposed last week. The plan announced Tuesday cuts car tab fees and the lower two income tax rates. DFLers says the proposal is aimed at the middle class, but House Republicans scoff at the package, which is still about a billion dollars less than their plan. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

AT&T says US West is illegally preventing customers from transferring business to US West's competitors for in-state long distance calls. The charges and counter-charges are the latest dispute to erupt as deregulation reshapes the telecommunications industry. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin reports.

Minnesota lawmakers would be able to accept a cup of coffee or a cookie from a lobbyist, under legislation that passed the Senate yesterday. The Senate voted 42-to-19 for a bill relaxing the total ban on lobbyists gifts. But House Speaker Steve Sviggum says he won't let the provision pass the House. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

An ambitious plan to market Lake Superior Lamprey for the dinner table in Portugal has fallen through because of mercury contamination in the fish. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports.

Tales of torture and abuse are the stuff of nightmares: this weekend a such a story is being retold - but this has, if not a happy, at least a hopeful ending. The Macalester College theater department is presenting the world premiere of Return to Kanburi a remarkable story of how Eric Lomax, a British soldier tortured in by the Japanese during World War Two, found one of the men responsible decades later... and forgave him. Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr talked to Lomax.

While reading scores on Minnesota's eighth-grade basic-skills tests have been rising steadily, the number of students passing the math portion has changed little since the first year of testing in 1996. Arne Cutler is executive director of the Minnesota Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

A one-day summit will take place today in Minneapolis on the subject of road rage. Experts who have studied the phenomenon and ways to prevent it will participate. That includes Dave Willis. He is the President of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, a group that has just finished a study of the conditions most conducive to road rage. He joins us now.

The Minnesota House has approved a tax relief package worth $3.3 billion dollars over two years - potentially the largest tax cut in state history. House Republicans say the bill is just a "down-payment" on the tax relief promises they made during the election - but Senate Democrats say Republicans have gone too far. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said Minnesota's Supreme Court ruling on the Twins means the team can now focus on getting a new stadium built in the Twin Cities. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled unanimously yesterday the Attorney General cannot look through the Twins' private files to find out whether the team violated anti-trust laws when it threatened to move to North Carolina. Minnesota public radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports.

Preparations are coming to a close for this Sunday's May Day parade in Minneapolis - the 25th annual. Minnesota Public Radio's Eric Jansen takes us behind the scenes to hear some of the frantic, fun work by hundreds of volunteers, and to learn about the themes of labor and unity in this year's pageant in Powderhorn Park.

A report by the Minnesota Department of Transportation says the reroute of Highway 55 in Minneapolis will not disturb sites sacred to Native Americans. MNDOT says construction of the much disputed highway can go ahead this summer. Members of the Mendota Dakota disagree with the report's findings. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.

Meteorologist Mark Seeley on April weather and a fabulous weekend.

Theater critic Erin Hart talks about three plays that just opened.