Monday, June 7

Since the 1950s, Minnesota farmers have protested on and off over what they see as an unfair milk pricing system. Back in the mid '60's many farmers took the national spotlight when they spilled millions of gallons of milk on streets across the country. Since the '60s, protests have become less visible. Marisa Helms has this Mainstreet report on one farmer's solitary protest.

The airport is the next big financial challenge for the proposed light rail line from downtown Minneapolis to the Mall of America. Last month, LRT appeared headed for derailment at the legislature until lawmakers at the last minute approved another infusion of state money for the project. This month, the Metropolitan Airports Commission will be asked to contribute up to $70 million to keep LRT on track. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

The Minneapolis-based Honeywell corporation is merging with Allied Signal in a $14 billion stock deal. The new company will be called Honeywell, but the corporate headquarters will be moving to New Jersey. That means at least 1,000 jobs will be eliminated in Minnesota and a vacant building in the impoverished Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis. Honeywell is one of a number of companies investing millions of dollars to improve the neighborhood. Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton says the merger is bad news for the city.

Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin discusses Honeywell's commitment to the Phillips neighborhood.

Honeywell spokesperson Melissa Young discusses why the company merged with Allied Signal.

The loss of Honeywell also means the loss of one of the state's most respected CEOs. In addition to turning the company around in the '90s, Michael Bonsignore earned Honeywell a reputation as one of Minnesota's leading corporate citizens by launching a program called Minnesota HEALS to fight crime and poverty in the Phillips neighborhood. Gordon Springer is CEO of Allina Health System and he's worked in partnership with Bonsignore to improve the Phillips neighborhood.

Booster club gifts to University of Minnesota sports teams would require approval from outside the athletic department under a policy forwarded to university president Mark Yudof. Yesterday Yudof received recommendations from a task force on booster clubs. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports.

Republican Senator Rod Grams isn't up for re-election until fall 2000, but his campaign is now underway. Last night, Grams attended a dinner in Minneapolis to kick off the fund-raising. And already several prominent DFLers have lined up for the chance to challenge him. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

Minnesota has come out on the downside in the latest merger deal. Honeywell's corporate headquarters are moving to the east coast as part of its acquisition by Morristown New Jersey-based Allied Signal. Over the past couple of years the whole country has experienced an unprecedented wave of takeovers in many different industries. While Minnesota has long prided itself on the number of Fortune 500 companies based here, many are not big enough to stand alone in a marketplace which increasingly values size above all else. As a result, the Twin Cities has lost some companies - but it has also won some. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik looks at the Honeywell deal and the broader controversy over corporate relocations.

Honeywell's proposed merger and move to New Jersey worries many in Minneapolis, where the company's charitable giving and community activism is having a big effect on neighborhoods. Honeywell chairman and CEO Michael Bonsignore tried to reassure civic leaders the company will remain a strong presence when headquarters operations move east. But Minneapolis leaders worry that once the city, and especially the Phillips neighborhood, is out of sight of key executives, it will also be out of mind when it comes to community-building activities. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

Minneapolis will lose the headquarters of global Fortune 500 company and more than 1,000 jobs when Honeywell merges with New Jersey-based Allied Signal. It will also lose CEO Michael Bonsignore. Bonsignore joined Honeywell in 1969 and worked his way up to president of International Operations before taking over as CEO in 1993. He's credited with turning Honeywell around after several years of disappointing earnings in the mid-1990s. David Kidwell is Dean of the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota where Bonsignore helped raise money for the School's new building. Kidwell calls Bonsignore a charismatic leader who acted as a catalyst in his company and community.

Former Met Council Chair Curt Johnson discusses the Honeywell departure and what it signals for the future.

The loss of Honeywell also means the loss of one of the state's most respected CEOs. In addition to turning the company around in the '90s, Michael Bonsignore earned Honeywell a reputation as one of Minnesota's leading corporate citizens by launching a program called Minnesota HEALS to fight crime and poverty in the Phillips neighborhood. Gordon Springer is CEO of Allina Health System, and he's worked in partnership with Bonsignore to improve the Phillips neighborhood.

Booster club gifts to University of Minnesota sports teams would require approval from outside the athletic department under a policy forwarded to university president mark Yudof. Yesterday Yudof received recommendations from a task force on booster clubs. Minnesota public radio's William Wilcoxen reports.

Republican Senator Rod Grams isn't up for re-election until fall 2000, but his campaign is now underway. Last night, Grams attended a dinner in Minneapolis to kick off the fund-raising. And already several prominent DFLers have lined up for the chance to challenge him. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

Minnesota has come out on the downside in the latest merger deal. Honeywell's corporate headquarters are moving to the east coast as part of its acquisition by Morristown New Jersey-based Allied Signal. Over the past couple of years the whole country has experienced an unprecedented wave of takeovers in many different industries. While Minnesota has long prided itself on the number of Fortune 500 companies based here, many are not big enough to stand alone in a marketplace which increasingly values size above all else. As a result, the Twin Cities has lost some companies, but it has also won some. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik looks at the Honeywell deal and the broader controversy over corporate re-locations.

Honeywell's proposed merger and move to New Jersey worries many in Minneapolis, where the company's charitable giving and community activism is having a big effect on neighborhoods. Honeywell chairman and CEO Michael Bonsignore tried to reassure civic leaders that the company will remain a strong presence when headquarters operations move east. But Minneapolis leaders worry that once the city - and especially the Phillips neighborhood - is out of sight of key executives, it will also be out of mind when it comes to community-building activities. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

Minneapolis will lose the headquarters of global Fortune 500 company and more than 1,000 jobs when Honeywell merges with New Jersey-based Allied Signal. It will also lose CEO Michael Bonsignore. Bonsignore joined Honeywell in 1969 and worked his way up to president of International Operations before taking over as CEO in 1993. He's credited with turning Honeywell around after several years of disappointing earnings in the mid-1990s. David Kidwell is Dean of the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota where Bonsignore helped raise money for the School's new building. Kidwell calls Bonsignore a charismatic leader who acted as a catalyst in his company and community.

Former Met Council Chair Curt Johnson discusses the Honeywell departure and what it signals for the future.

Officials for BF Goodrich say they may try to block Allied Signal's pending buyout of Minneapolis based Honeywell, which was announced on Monday. Analysts say Goodrich is unlikely to succeed in blocking the deal, but they say the threat typifies the maneuvering going on as the aerospace industry consolidates. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin reports.

Devils Lake in northeast North Dakota has risen nearly 25 feet in the past six years. Nearly $300 million has been spent to protect roads, utilities and the city of Devils Lake. The lake is now starting to overflow into neighboring Stump Lake. That lake is expected to grow by thousands of acres. Within five years Stump lake could create its own outlet and send an uncontrolled flow of water downstream to cities like Fargo Moorhead and Grand Forks. North Dakota officials say building an outlet now will control the water. But outlet plans have been stopped by opposition from Minnesota, Canada and environmental groups. In the second part of our series Mainstreet Radios Dan Gunderson reports some officials say with time running out, they are prepared to take drastic action.

Only weeks after Mayor Norm Coleman proposed building a new baseball stadium in St. Paul, officials from Minneapolis and Hennepin County are floating a proposal of their own. Yesterday, city and county representatives met with Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad to present their case for keeping the team west of the Mississippi. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

University of Minnesota Attorney Mark Rotenberg discusses the negotiations between the University and Clem Haskins to terminate the coach's contract.

Attorney General Mike Hatch is accusing Minneapolis-based US Bank of illegally selling information about its customers to a telemarketing company. Hatch says the Bank's sale of social security numbers, credit card numbers and other personal information violates the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and he says the case is proof that financial institutions will continue to invade customer privacy unless the federal government intervenes. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

Ed Mierzwinski is a consumer advocate with the US Public Interest Research Group in Washington. He discusses banks and privacy.

Carol Johnson, Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools looks back on the school year and ahead to the summer and next year.

For the last 40 years, Ed Rusha has been taking the ordinary things of American life and making them extraordinary. Considered one of the most influential of American Graphic artists, he makes pictures of buildings, signs, and sayings, giving each a whole new meaning. This weekend the Walker Art Center opens a major retrospective of Rusha's work including his famous books of pictures of gas stations and parking lots. Rusha is in Minneapolis for the opening, and walked round the show with Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr.

Negotiators for Northwest Airlines and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have reached a deal both sides are applauding. Eleven-thousand teamster flight attendants will vote on the tentative contract agreement through a mail-in ballot. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports.

The mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul met separately with Governor Jesse Ventura, yesterday, to discuss their proposals for a new ballpark for the Minnesota Twins. The Minneapolis City Council is set to debate the Twins stadium issue today. As Minnesota Public Radio's Eric Jansen reports, City Council members have strong opinions about Mayor Sayles Belton's plan to team up with Hennepin County to keep the team in town.

The Reform Party and the Republican Party are both holding all-day conventions on Saturday, and both plan to elect new chairmen and party executives. One potential new leader says it's time for his party to grow up a little; another says "stay the course." Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

Also this weekend, Minnesota Lynx begin their first season in the WNBA when they host the Detroit Shock at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Saturday night. The Lynx are one of two expansion teams created in the last year as part of the Women's National Basketball Association. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

The Easy Chip Ice Scraper, the Soft-Touch Mouse Clicker and a modular electric guitar are just a few of the items on display this weekend at the 42nd Annual Minnesota Inventors Congress. Inventors from around the region are heading to Redwood Falls to test their products out on the public, to court potential investors and to learn about subjects like marketing and patent law. One of the inventions at the Congress is called a Human Energy Conversion System, or HECS, for short. It's an unconventional kind of bicycle. Minnesota Public Radio's John Bischoff talked with its creator.

Minnesota Public Radio's Jim Bickal talked with Sidewalk.com Music Critic James Deers about some of the highlights.

Meteorologist Mark Seeley discusses the frequency, size and season for hail.