Monday, June 21

Greater Minnesota employers are starting to feel the pinch of a tight job market; much like that endured by Twin Cities employers for the past couple of years. But most say they're still in better shape than their Twin Cities Counterparts.Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports.

In the coming months, irradiated food will begin showing up more frequently on grocery store shelves in Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Health is hosting a conference this week on the process of food irradiation, which uses bursts of energy to kill organisms that can contaminate food. Health department spokesman Buddy Feruson says the conference is intended to address some common misperceptions about food irradiation.

At a church service yesterday in Minneapolis, friends and associates spoke in support of Sara Jane Olson. Olson was arrested last week on charges of attempting to murder police officers in the 1970s as part of the Symbionese Liberation Army. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

A pending investigation into academic fraud allegation and attorney meetings about the coach's future have cast a cloud of uncertainty over the university of Minnesota men's basketball program. The stakes in the basketball scandal involve the university's academic integrity and substantial amount of money: the gopher basketball team generated more than $6.5 million in profits for 1997-98, much more than any other big ten team. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports.

Monday Markets: The financial markets are relieved, now that Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan has all but promised an interest rate hike next week. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Farrell spoke with Bob Potter.

As Minnesota logs month after month of historically low unemployment, the jobless rate in the Twin Cities hovers at even lower levels. The metropolitan area has consistently posted the lowest unemployment rate among major cities since August of 1997. Last month it was just one-point-six percent. As Bill Catlin reports, the low unemployment rate is changing the balance of power between companies and workers.

Carlton County authorities have until noon to charge a 52-year-old Richfield man in connection with the disappearance of Katie Poirier. The man's arrest has re-energized the search to find the 19-year-old Barnum woman who was apparently kidnapped last month from a Moose Lake convenience store. On Monday the Carlton County Sheriff's Department organized volunteers to search land surrounding the suspect's vacation home east of Moose Lake. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports.

The debate continues over building a new baseball stadium in downtown St. Paul. Last night, Mayor Norm Coleman hosted his second community forum on bringing the Minnesota Twins across the river. The event was more orderly than the mayor's first attempt at presenting his ballpark proposal. That discussion, late last week, was disrupted when opponents interrupted several speakers. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports this time the process may have been more civil, but the two sides are as far apart as ever.

Like many Indian tribes, the Mille Lacs Ojibwe got an enormous boost from gaming in the 1990s. Its two casinos brought in millions of dollars annually, and hundreds of new jobs. Now the band is trying to broaden its economy. A tribal entrepreneur program has brought in restaurants and gas stations. The band invested in a bottled-water company, and has purchased two banks in three years. As Leif Enger of Mainstreet Radio reports, the Mille Lacs Ojibwe are looking ahead to a future without gaming.

The Richfield man arrested for Katie Poirier's disappearance in Moose Lake will be released today unless lab tests provide enough evidence to charge him with kidnapping. Authorities say the man was in Moose Lake without his family when Poirier disappeared from the convenience store where she worked. But no evidence was found at his Moose Lake cabin or his Richfield home linking him directly to Poirier. News that the man has a record of criminal sexual assault and kidnapping, however, has done nothing to ease the fears of area residents. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports.

Thousands of Kosovars are leaving refugee camps in Macedonia to return home. Meanwhile, some refugees are still arriving in the United States. About 45 Albanians who have come to Fargo in the past two weeks are now trying to decide if they should return home. Minnesota Public Radios Dan Gunderson reports.

A team of Minnesota high-school students recently won a national competition by building a car that got 882 miles per gallon in a test run. The feat is even more impressive when you consider they beat college teams from around North America to become the first high school ever to win the contest. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Potter visited St. Thomas Academy, an all-male catholic prep school in Mendota Heights, to meet the creators of the national champion super-mileage car.

How to discipline children and whether they should be spanked or not is the subject of a symposium to be held today in Minneapolis. Over 300 doctors will hear about the latest research on the effect of spanking on children. The symposium is the beginning of an initiative by Children's Hospitals and Clinics to raise awareness of the issue. Dr. Mary Braddock is the medical director of Community Health and Preventative Medicine at Children's and she joins us now in the studio.

Legislators from several Midwestern states including Minnesota are in Washington, D.C., this week, pushing for legislation that would require meat packers to disclose the prices they pay to producers. Some livestock producers suffering from low prices are calling for mandatory price disclosure in order to get a better idea what their hogs or cattle are really worth. Brian Burr is a professor of marketing and economics at the University of Minnesota.

Marta Laughlan of Northwest Airlines spoke with Bob Potter about radar problems at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport on Tuesday and their impact on Northwest flights.

Marta Laughlan spoke with Bob Potter again, this time for an update on the situation at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, where Laughlan says flights are no longer delayed due to radar problems at the airport.

Carlton County prosecutors formally charged Donald Albin Blom yesterday in the kidnapping of 19-year-old Katie Poirier from the Moose Lake convenience store where she worked. The felony charge carries a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison or a $50,000 dollar fine. At Wednesday's arraignment the Carlton County prosecutors also described the evidence gathered against Blom so far, including his conflicting stories of where he was when Poirier disappeared. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports.

Governor Jesse Ventura will testify before a congressional subcommittee in Washington today in support of a Clinton administration-backed plan to change dairy farm price payments. Ventura arrived in Washington yesterday for a two-day lobbying effort on behalf of Minnesota farmers. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports.

St. Paul City Council members asked some pointed questions of Mayor Norm Coleman during a discussion of a proposed downtown baseball stadium yesterday, but the council generally supported the idea of putting the ballpark question to a city vote. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports.

Minnesotan Kevin McHale will soon be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. The Hibbing native led all vote-getters in the class of inductees announced yesterday. McHale was a star player for the Gophers before spending 12 years with the Boston Celtics. Though McHale now seems an obvious choice for the hall, no one - not even the lanky Iron Ranger himself - seems to have considered him destined for the honor. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo has more.

Today is the deadline for out state residents to apply for their share of Minnesota's first ever sales-tax rebate. The legislature passed the rebate last session as a way to return some of the state's record budget surplus. State residents had to file a 1997 state tax return by June 15th to get money back. But non-residents have to submit receipts for any items bought in Minnesota in 1997 if they want to get a check from the state. Joseph Lefto is Sales Tax Rebate Project Manager with the Minnesota Department of Revenue.

Governor Jesse Ventura is back in Minnesota today after a two-day trip to the nation's capitol, where he tried to raise awareness about the problems facing farmers. Ventura met with Clinton administration officials and members of Congress. And he told Minnesota Public Radio critics of his high-profile style should take note of the attention he was able to garner as he lobbied on behalf of farmers. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports.

Clem Haskins is apparently on his way out as coach of the University of Minnesota's men's basketball team. The StarTribune reports that Haskins' attorney and university general counsel Mark Rotenberg reached agreement on a $1.3 million buyout late last night. But the paper says there will be no deal unless Haskins agrees to it. The university's Board of Regents meets later this morning to discuss the deal. Haskins has spent 13 years as the head of the men's basketball program and Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen has this look at the ups and downs of Haskins' tenure.

University of Minnesota Men's Athletic Director Mark Dienhart says that the basketball program may soon be looking for a new coach, and he talks about how the department might be affected financially if basketball coach Clem Haskins departs.

So far, searchers have been unable to find a trace of Katie Poirier, the 19-year-old woman who was abducted from a Moose Lake convenience store May 26th. On Wednesday, Donald Blom, a man with multiple sex crime convictions, was charged with kidnapping Poirier after several co-workers identified him from the store's surveillance video. A partial licence plate number and a description of a black pickup truck also appear to link Blom to the scene. Lawyers face a special challenge when prosecuting cases in which no victim has been found. In 1993, a jury acquitted Robert Guevara of kidnapping, rape and murder charges in the disappearance of 5-year-old Corrine Erstad, despite the fact the girl's dress was found in a locker rented by Guevara. Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom prosecuted that case. He joins me now.

Art Galleries are in the business of exhibiting art, but they're also businesses. KTCA Arts Producer Patty Hegman visited a few galleries in Minneapolis that are featuring new exhibits. She learned something about the business of art and about her own pre-conceived notions.