Monday, June 14

At their State Convention in St. Paul this weekend delegates to the Republican Party of Minnesota elected Ron Eibensteiner as their new chairman by a two-to-one margin. He will replace Bill Cooper, who stepped down after helping the party raise $5 million over the past two years. Mr. Eibensteiner is a Minneapolis venture capitalist, and he's on the line with us now.

Three cities are joining Rochester in seeking major changes in an expansion plan by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad. Each wants the railroad to build a new line around the city rather than improve tracks already running through the community. Officials in each of the cities contend the increase in the number and speed of trains proposed by DM&E would be too disruptive. The bypass plans anger those whose land would be sacrificed for the new tracks. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.

Delegates to the Minnesota Reform Party's annual convention elected Mankato businessman Rick McCluhan as their new party chairman on Saturday. McCluhan says the insurgent third party is at a turning point in its history, and has to prove to voters that it's more than a "one-trick pony," as he puts it. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste has the story.

Honeywell's merger with AlliedSignal and move to New Jerseyannounced last week, brought to five the number of major corporate headquarters Minnesota has lost in the last year and a half. So, who's next? Speculation has buzzed around several local firms, but it's anybody's guess who will be next. As Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin reports, the forces driving takeovers are unrelenting.

Wall Street has a case of the inflation jitters. Traders are waiting to see if the Federal Reserve is going to raise interest rates. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Farrell says the inflation scare is tied to Japan.

A new poll financed by the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce finds that 62 percent of St. Paul residents are against building a new baseball stadium in that city. Despite that, St. Paul will start collecting signatures today on a petition which is the first step in creating a half-cent sales tax to pay for a stadium. Later this week Mayor Norm Coleman will host the first in a series of community forums on the merits of a new stadium. One of the people planning to attend is MPR Sports Commentator Jay Weiner and he joins us now.

Governor Jesse Ventura says state government needs to do everything it can to help Minnesota farmers and to prevent an economic collapse in rural areas. Last night, the governor participated in the first of four forums on agriculture this summer. He says he's open to several ideas including an anti-trust investigation of large farming conglomerates and the elimination of the state inheritance tax. Minnesota Public Radio's Brent Wolfe reports.

Generations of alumni of the University of Minnesota's Journalism School attended a reunion yesterday to mark the closing of the building that has housed the school for almost 60 years. When it opened in 1940, Murphy Hall was the first building in the country dedicated solely to teaching journalism. Now, it will undergo a $9 million, six-month renovation. Professor Cathy Hansen directs the Minnesota Journalism Center at the U of M, and I visited her out at Murphy Hall to get a look around.

Classes have ended for the year at St. Paul's New Arrivals School and the program for homeless and foster children might not return in the fall. District administrators, forced to make millions of dollars in spending cuts, eliminated funding for several programs next year including New Arrivals School. But they say those students will still get the help they need. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

The federal agency that regulates the nuclear power industry is changing how it inspects reactors. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission hopes to make the agency more efficient and at the same time help nuclear power plants compete once the electric utility industry is deregulated. Northern States Power's Prairie Island plant near Red Wing is one of nine facilities around the country where the NRC is testing the new inspection process. Agency officials explained the plan to citizens last night, and got a mixed response. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.

This summer on Morning Edition we'll be featuring a series called "Minnesota Sidetrips" in which you'll hear about out of the way places that you might want to visit if you're in the area. We begin today with the Harkin Store near New Ulm. Operated by the Minnesota Historical Society, the store is a relic preserved from the 19th century. Opal DeWanz is the Site Coordinator.

A tribal ordinance aimed at relieving chronic unemployment on the Leech Lake Reservation has ignited a firestorm of controversy. The Tribal Employment Rights Ordinance, or TERO, charges contractors a fee to work on the reservation and requires them to hire tribal members for their work crews. Some in the non-Indian community say the TERO is unfair, and claim the tribe is overstepping its bounds. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Robertson has this Mainstreet report.

The Minneapolis-based American Refugee Committee is moving into Kosovo to provide medical care and other services for returning refugees. Since April, the ARC has been organizing teams of doctors to care for Kosovar refugees in Macedonia and Albania. Now that NATO troops have entered Kosovo, many refugees are trying to go home, despite warnings that the situation there remains dangerous.

St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman launched his petition drive to put a ballpark question on the ballot in November, and then had to throw out the first 1,000 signatures when staffers discovered that the language on the petition didn't match the proposed ordinance. Coleman is trying to lure the Twins to St. Paul with a new outdoor stadium, but as Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports, his proposal is already drawing stiff opposition.

Kids and guns is the hot topic in Washington this week. After April's school shooting in Littleton, Colorado, members of Congress swamped a major juvenile justice bill with dozens of amendments to respond to the growing debate over gun control and causes of youth violence. The House took up the issue yesterday, and continues debate today. As Emily Harris reports from Washington, members of Minnesota's congressional delegation are finding it a very sensitive topic.

The 23-year-search for a suspected member of the group that kidnapped newspaper heiress Patty Hearst ended yesterday morning in St. Paul. FBI agents and police arrested Kathleen Soliah as she was driving near her home in the Highland Park neighborhood. The alleged former member of the Symbionese Liberation Army was leading a relatively quiet life as an actress and mother of three. Minnesota Public Radio's Eric Jansen reports.

Tonight, St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman will host the first in a series of community meetings to present his vision of a new downtown stadium for the Minnesota Twins. Organizers are promoting the forum as a chance to gauge public interest and receive community input, but opponents of the Mayor's ballpark initiative remain skeptical. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

The estate of journalist Charles Kuralt will announce today that it is donating radio stations WELY AM and FM in Ely to Minnesota Public Radio. Kuralt purchased the stations in 1995 after they went off the air because of financial problems. Since Kuralt's death in 1997, his estate has been looking for a buyer. Minnesota Public Radio is expected to use one of the stations to boost its signal in the Ely area which is currently served by a low-watt repeater station.

Talk of Governor Ventura's presidential qualities was in the air at the state capitol yesterday after the San Francisco Chronicle ran a story claiming more Californians knew and like Ventura better than their own governor. It turns out the newspaper story over-stated the case a little, but it forced Governor Ventura to explain once more that he has no intention of running for president in 2000. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

Today, June 17th, is the 90th birthday of former Minnesota governor Elmer L. Anderson. Few Minnesotan's who held public office are held in as high esteem as the 90-year-old Arden Hills resident. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

For the last seven decades watercolor artist John Cody has been obsessed with the nocturnal insects few people see. Cody is known as the "Audubon of Moths," creatures he says are misunderstood. More than 60 of Cody's moth paintings are on display at the University of Minnesota's Bell Museum of Natural History. Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr took a tour with the artist.

One of the largest charitable gifts in Minnesota history was made public this week. John Seeger Holl willed almost his entire estate, worth more than $80 million, to several colleges, trusts, hospitals and other groups, most of them in St. Paul. Seeger earned his fortune in the 1950s when he sold a family refrigeration business to Whirlpool. He was already known as a prominent philanthropist before his death in April at age 93. The largest part of his estate will go to Presbyterian Homes in Arden Hills, Macalester College in St. Paul and the St. Paul Foundation. Each organization will receive $25 million. Paul Verret is President of the St. Paul Foundation, and joins us now.

Honeywell CEO Michael Bonsignore says he does not think it would have been possible to keep the company headquarters in Minnesota in the pending merger with AlliedSignal. In an interview with Minnesota Public Radio Bonsignore also says it would be out of the question to sell the company's largest division, which will remain headquartered in the twin cities. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin reports.

There's no sign of snow in the weekends forecast, but winter, and the sound of roaring engines, will be a focus this weekend in Roseau. The northern Minnesota town of 2,300 will host more than 15,000 guests for a birthday bash - for the snowmobile. Minnesota Public Radios Dan Gunderson reports.

Meteorologist Mark Seeley usually joins us live in the studio at this time, but he's out of town this week. Before he left, I met up with him at the Twin Cities International Airport. The airport is preparing for new construction projects, and that means relocating the equipment that the National Weather Service uses to track the weather to another area on the airport grounds. Joining Mark and me at the airport was Dick Julien of the National Weather Service.

St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman has launched what he's calling a city-wide discussion on building a new outdoor ballpark. Last night, Coleman hosted the first in a series of community meetings to present his vision for bringing the Minnesota Twins to downtown St. Paul. But as Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports, the event's organizers may have underestimated the passion of the opposition.

A Ramsey County judge has refused to set bail for the St. Paul woman accused of being a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army. Authorities believe 52-year-old actress Sara Jane Olson is fugitive Kathleen Soliah, who allegedly tried to kill several Los Angeles police officers in 1975. Friends and family members packed the courtroom yesterday in support of Olson. MPR's Eric Jansen reports.

In Washington the nation's airlines have announced a plan they hope will pre-empt Congressional efforts to enact Airline Passenger's Bill of Rights legislation. The Air Transport Association, which represents major U.S. airlines, is promising a series of customer service improvements. The pledge has satisfied the concerns of some members of Congress. But others say the voluntary measures have more to do with improving the industry's image than real reform.

Nick O'Hara is Superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and also had a 30-year career with the FBI.

Bill Arthur of WELY radio station in Ely, Minnesota.