Monday, May 24

Visitors to downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul yesterday morning saw a full-scale emergency in progress: police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, and national guard troops responding to a nerve gas attack on public buildings. The whole thing was a drill prepared months in advance to test how well prepared these groups are to respond to such an attack. Al Bataglia is assistant chief of the St. Paul Fire Department. He coordinated the drill in St. Paul and joins me now.

In Martell, Wisconsin, residents are organizing to stop a new dairy farm planned near one of the best trout streams in the Midwest, the Rush River, about an hour's drive east of the Twin Cities. Opponents say a manure spill from the farm's storage lagoons could wipe out the trout in the Rush River for years to come. Defenders of the project say such fears are based on emotion, not science, and that large-scale dairy operations are the way of the future in Wisconsin. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.

Interest rate jitters have put a crimp in the stock market, at least for the moment. Here's how Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Farrell sees things.

In a TV movie last night on NBC, people around the country got to see an actor pretend to be Jesse Ventura. Now, they'll have a chance to see the genuine article. Ventura is on tour promoting his new autobiography, I Ain't Got Time to Bleed. He kicked off the tour with a book signing at the Mall of America on Saturday. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

It looks like we're heading into a period of dry weather over the next few days. That's good news for farmers in southern Minnesota who have been trying to plant their crops amid one of the wettest Mays in Minnesota history. Kevin Paap farms in Blue Earth county, and he's on the line with us now.

While farmers are struggling to get all their crops in, homeowners are sitting back and watching their lawns and gardens thrive. Deb Brown is an Extension Horticulturalist with the University of Minnesota. She says Minnesota is starting to look like Ireland.

University of Minnesota President Mark Yudof says he will meet later this week with students who are concerned about the latest allegations involving student athletes at the University. Yesterday, about three dozen students protested on the University campus. Minnesota Public Radio's John Rabe reports.

St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman is floating an idea for a new outdoor ballpark for the Minnesota Twins. The mayor argues a stadium in St. Paul would help revitalize the city's downtown core. He hasn't offered any specifics yet, but already the proposal is drawing some criticism. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will break ground for a new Catholic high school in Victoria this morning, and it expects the school to open in the year 2000. After a decline in Catholic school enrollment in the '70s and '80s, the past decade has brought a resurgence of students to the archdiocese schools. Joe Nathan is the Director of the Center for School Change at the Humphrey Institute, and he's on the line with us now to discuss this trend.

Opponents of the reroute of Highway 55 in Minneapolis have suffered more setbacks. The State Historic Preservation Office issued a report confirming the Minnesota Department of Transportation's finding that the highway will not destroy sites sacred to Native Americans. Also, a federal appeals court dismissed an effort to stop the project. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.

Tonight the St. Paul City Council will discuss whether the Orpheum Theatre, Coney Island Restaurant and Seventh Place Apartments should be designated as historic sites. This is the latest chapter in the debate over whether the downtown Seventh Place block should be preserved or developed. While the St. Paul Companies, which had expressed interest in developing the block, has backed off, a new player on the side of restoration has emerged. The owners of Candyland, which is located in the same building as the theater and the apartments, have offered to buy the building for $1.6 million. Since Candyland first opened in that location in 1932, it has expanded to three other sites. I dropped by the store yesterday and talked with co-owner Doug Lamb about his business and his vision for the future. He says Candyland fills a unique niche in the candy market.

Before leaving for California to promote his autobiography, Governor Ventura closed the books on the 1999 legislative session by vetoing almost $110 million worth of state spending and borrowing. He cut most of the money with line-item vetoes in larger bills, affecting a wide range of programs and projects. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

The merger between US West and Global Crossing announced last week has met with skepticism from investors and questions about whether the deal might even fall through. Shares of both companies have posted significant declines since the largest phone service provider in Minnesota announced its marriage to a high flying telecommunications upstart. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin reports.

St. Paul school district officials say they're preparing for their largest ever summer school program. More than 15,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade are expected to enroll in the remedial sessions. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

Last night Governor Jesse Ventura spoke at the Society of Professional Journalists annual dinner. He started out talking about how he came up with the title for his speech. Here is a portion of his remarks.

Governor Ventura kicked off the Los Angeles leg of his book tour last night with an appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Ventura wasn't asked about the more salacious details of his autobiography. Instead, he talked about everything from his style of politics to the dreadful made-for-TV movie about his life. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

As Governor Ventura continues promoting I Ain't Got Time to Bleed nationally, his critics have focused on its revelations about his sex life. Supporters say it presents the unvarnished truth and is as honest as Ventura himself promised to be. But is the book worth reading? MPR Political Editor Mike Mulcahy has this review.

Legislators and special interests are still mulling over the 37 vetoes Governor Ventura dropped on them this week. The vetoes are far-ranging, and they cancel about $140 million of state spending and borrowing, depending on how you count them. The beneficiaries of specific projects are up in arms over the vetoes but legislative leaders are not so upset, now that they've had some time to look them over. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

The St. Paul City Council will soon decide the fate of the Orpheum Theater and several neighboring buildings in the city's downtown. Last night, the council took public testimony on whether to designate the theater, the building on and around 7th Place as historic. The debate has lost some of its urgency since the St. Paul Companies withdrew their proposal to build an office tower on the site, but as Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports, the opposing sides have not lost their intensity.

Minorities in Moorhead say city leaders celebrate cultural diversity, but deny racial tension. The Minnesota Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights just completed two days of hearings on racism in Moorhead. It's the first time in several years the panel has held a hearing outside the Twin Cities. Minnesota Public Radios Dan Gunderson reports.

In a survey released by IBM today, 93% of executives at small and growing companies say they see the Internet as an asset. Just five years ago, less than half of the executives contacted were even aware of the Internet's existence. Minneapolis-based Net Perceptions is an important player in selling on the web or e-commerce. It helps businesses track customers' buying habits and then personalize the information they receive. Steve Larson is the company's Vice President for Marketing.

As we just heard, some funding for public television was one of the appropriations vetoed by Ventura. Minnesota stations planned to use that money to switch to digital TV, following an FCC mandate that all public stations convert by May of 2003. Al Harmon is President of the Minnesota Public Television Association and General Manager of WDSE in Duluth. He is with us now.