Monday, August 23

Guest Referee Jesse Ventura proclaimed that Mankind is the new champion of the World Wrestling Federation at last night's Summer Slam event at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Today, it's back to governing as he meets with Tribal Leaders at the Governor's residence. Ventura has not disclosed how much money he'll make for his WWF appearance, but some of it will come from Minnesota House Majority Leader Tim Pawlenty who paid $29.95 for the pay-per-per view broadcast and he joins us now by phone.

Governor Jesse Ventura climbed back into the ring last night and for a few fleeting moments, he actually did a little wrestling. Ventura's appearance as a "guest referee" at the World Wrestling Federation's "Summerslam" event has caused weeks of speculation and some criticism from the state's political establishment and as Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports, the Governor's actual performance was somewhat anticlimactic.

Last night's WWF SummerSlam received unprecedented media coverage in the days leading up to the event. But the intense scrutiny focused almost exclusively on Governor Jesse Ventura's role as a guest referee and consequently overlooked the most important question. What professional wrestling die-hards really wanted to know was simple: Would Ventura fulfill his promise to restore "law and order" to the ring? Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo talked to wrestling fans about their passion and the governor's performance.

The financial markets are watching to see what the Federal Reserve does with short-term interest rates this week. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Farrell weighs in with his guess.

About 700 Farmers gathered at the Carver County Fairgrounds in Waconia this weekend for "Rural Crisis Accountability Day." The rally gave agriculture and labor officials - along with politicians and clergy - a chance to air potential solutions for the current crisis in agriculture. Mainstreet Radio's Tim Post was there and has this report.

Canterbury Park finished up its 1999 season on Sunday. President Randy Sampson says he's pleased with the season, which brought a healthy increase in average daily attendance and betting handles from last year's levels. Shakopee's horse racing track hit hard times in the late 1980's, but has been on the upswing since it reopened with new owners in 1994. Ron Mitchell is a business reporter for Blood Horse, a magazine about thoroughbred racing. He's on the line now from Lexington, Kentucky.

Anglers on Mille Lacs Lake are seeing the best walleye catch in at least seven years. Half a million pounds of walleye have been taken from the lake this summer; another 200,000 pounds caught and released. While that's great for resorters and tourists, it also means the so-called safe harvest level for Mille Lacs has already been exceeded, with the popular fall fishing season still to come. Mainstreets Leif Enger reports.

The Minnesota State Patrol is looking for a man who forced a driver off a highway entrance ramp in Burnsville and then punched her in the face. Officials say this kind of assault is rare, but aggressive driving or road rage is becoming more common. People who are the victims of road rage often feel helpless to do anything about it, but the State Patrol does have a place to complain. Sergeant Russ Wicklund says when people report road rage, his office will usually send out a letter to the offending driver.

A unique display is planned for the new Gateway alumni visitors center being built at the University of Minnesota. One room will feature a wall of books - 5,000 of them stacked in columns, row upon row, from floor to ceiling. All were written by or about university alumni, students and staff and were donated by current and former members of the University community. The alumni association expects to begin constructing the wall this week. I spoke with Margaret Carlson of the U of M alumni association, at a warehouse where the books are being sorted and catalogued. She says the wall will be part of a 2,600-square-foot room called the Heritage Gallery.

It doesn't happen often, perhaps only a few times each year around the globe. But when a meteorite falls to earth, there's often someone with a good story and others who want to prove or disprove it. Mainstreet Radio's Tim Post has the rest of this story.

Last summer, some Minnesotans found themselves waiting up to three months to schedule a drivers license road test. Now, Governor Jesse Ventura and officials from the Department of Public Safety say the wait is over. Ventura says it's all part of a new focus on customer service. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

Years of war and brutal ethnic cleansing have left Bosnia-Herzegovina in ruins. Though much of the physical damage has been repaired, many say the spirit of the people hasn't rebounded. This week on a remote island in Minnesota's Northwest Angle, 37 Bosnian Muslims, Croats and Serbs are taking part in a peacemaking program that they hope will teach them to replace hatred and despair with the skills needed to rebuild their lives and their country. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Robertson reports from Bemidji.

The Minnesota State Fair begins today and 19-year-old Renae Jorgens of Boyd, Minnesota will spend her day at the Fair in a cooler getting her likeness carved into a 90-pound block of butter. Last night, Jorgens was selected as the 46th Princess Kay of the Milky Way. She will spend the next year representing the dairy industry. Betty Cole was at the coronation last night. In 1959 she was selected as the sixth Princess Kay and she joins us now by phone.

Hundreds of St. Paul city employees and union leaders rallied at city hall last night, urging the city council to pass an alternative to Mayor Norm Coleman's "compete St. Paul" proposal. the plan would allow private vendors to bid against city departments for the contracts to provide many services. a majority of the council joined in criticizing the mayor's plan and endorsing the alternative, which comes up for a vote next week. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports.

Searchers looking for the body of three-year-old Jessica Swanson found skeletal remains wrapped in a sheet yesterday evening at a site about ten miles from her former Cannon Falls home. Authorities arrested Swanson's mother and her boyfriend yesterday morning in connection with Jessica's disappearance four years ago. The Goodhue County Sheriff says the boyfriend confessed to killing the girl and led investigators to the site where they unearthed the remains. Minnesota Public Radio's Brent Wolfe reports.

The Duluth media market has a new player. Red River Broadcasting of Fargo has bought one television station and four radio stations in recent months. The move gives Duluth its first local Fox-TV affiliate plus a strong group of radio stations to help promote it. The company's entry into Duluth broadens the public's programming choices but will also heat up competition for advertising sales. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports.