Monday, October 4

For the second week in a row, the Minnesota Vikings played a game that wasn't decided until the final seconds. It didn't look like that would be the case after the Vikings jumped to a 21 - 0 lead in the first quarter. But the Vikings didn't score after the first quarter and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers scored two touchdowns and had a chance to tie the game at the end. That final drive fell short and the Vikings hung on for a 21-14 victory. Don Banks covers the Vikings for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and he's on the line now.

In less than a month St. Paul residents will vote on whether to raise their city sales tax to help pay for a new stadium for the Twins. The vote comes less than twenty years after groundbreaking ceremonies at the site of the Twins' current home, the Hubert Humphrey Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis. How did the Metrodome go from new to inadequate in less than two decades? Would a new ballpark have a longer life span? In part one of our series on the stadium referendum, Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen has this look at the Metrodome and its prospective successor in St. Paul.

The experts will tell you the three things that keep small towns alive are its school, its church, and its healthcare provider. This latter item, whether it be a doctor, a clinic, or a hospital is so vital the federal government has developed a program to keep rural hospitals alive. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Reha visited Mahnomen recently where residents believe the designation of their hospital as a critical access facility is a vital step in keeping the community healthy, both physically and economically.

Chris Farrell reads the financial tea leaves.

Ventura spokesman John Wodele responds to a new poll that shows Ventura's popularity is declining.

Geneticists from all over the country are at Gustavus-Adolphus College in St. Peter today for the thirty-fifth annual Nobel Conference. Scientists will discuss new concepts and techniques in genetics and the long-term effects these discoveries could have. Dr. Craig Ventor developed a new way to identify genes, called "expressed sequence tags." Using this method, he and scientists at The Institute for Genomic Research have discovered more than one half of all human genes. Ventor plans to complete the sequencing of the human genome by the end of 2001. He's on the line now.

As negotiations continue on a deal to transfer ownership of the Minnesota Twins, a St. Paul referendum on the ballpark issue is just a month away. If voters approve a sales tax hike to help fund the project, the debate will advance to the state legislature where just two years ago, efforts to build a new ballpark ran afoul of public sentiment. In part two of our series on the stadium controversy, Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo examines the political landscape surrounding the stadium debate.

What seems to be an annual worry over where to store the fall harvest is complicated this year by the boom in genetically modified crops. While there is pressure on farmers and elevators to store the grain separately from traditional crops, it seems most are not. The issue caused a wave of concern as the combines started to roll, but it seems to be overshadowed now by worry over continued low corn and soybean prices. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Steil reports.

Commentator Tom Sinner and his family live on a farm 20 miles west of Fargo, in Casselton North Dakota. He talks about leaving farming.

Governor Ventura took most of his cabinet to Mankato today for the official roll-out of what he calls his "Big Plan" for the state of Minnesota. The Plan is the Governor's comprehensive vision for how he intends to govern the state during the remainder of his term and today's speeches covered a wide range of issues, from schools to affordable housing. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste is just back from Mankato.

Curt Johnson is a veteran of the Carlson administration, where he served as Chief of Staff and later Chair of the Met Council. He's familiar with sweeping policy agendas like the one unveiled by the governor today. Johnson says on first glance, it seems like the "Big Plan" is more a collection of priorities, than a specific list of goals.

The University of Minnesota and the pharmaceutical company Glaxo Wellcome have reached a settlement over the AIDS virus drug Ziagen. The settlement requires Glaxo Wellcome to pay royalties for the patented drug developed at the University. Total royalties are expected to exceed $300 million. Minnesota Public Radio's Lynette Nyman reports.

A new study shows frog deformities may be linked to problems in the animals' thyroid hormone systems. The research may help scientists understand why so many different factors seem to contribute to the deformities found in wild frogs in Minnesota and other states. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.

It's been a year now since Minnesota's settlement with the tobacco industry created a non-profit anti-tobacco organization called MPAAT, the Minnesota Partnership for Action Against Tobacco. State health officials say about 22 percent of Minnesota adults smoke, about the same as the national average. One of MPAAT'S missions is to help smokers quit, but it's not required to reduce smoking rates. So what is MPAAT doing? Minnesota Public Radio's Patty Marsicano reports in the second of a three-part tobacco series.

The Minnesota Brewing Company is putting its pro-stadium sentiment right on it's can. The company is lobbying for a major league baseball stadium in St. Paul. To get its message out Minnesota Brewing is making some new collector edition Grain Belt beer cans emblazoned with the slogan "Vote Yes Saint Paul" urging support for a November Second city referendum. Voters are being asked to grant special taxing authority to help build an outdoor stadium for the Minnesota Twins. Minnesota Brewing President, Jack Lee, says the company made the cans for a simple and direct reason.

In 1974 Peggie Carlson was a struggling college student in search of a high-paying part-time job. She had heard that the big Minnesota utility companies were looking to hire women so they could comply with Affirmative Action policies. She submitted an application to Minnegasco and was hired. Carlson's experiences as the company's first black, female pipefitter trainee are detailed in her new book The Girls are Coming - From the Front Lines of the 1970s Blue-Collar Workforce. The book details Carlson's rise from Minnegasco meter reader to pipefitter. She found her meter reading job too risky - her life was threatened several times. She was then hired by the company's Buildings and Grounds crew where her color and her gender made her stand out.

In less than a month, Mayor Norm Coleman's plan to build a new Twins ballpark in downtown St. Paul will face a crucial test at the polls. If St. Paul voters approve a new sales tax to fund the stadium, the debate will move to a leery state legislature. Even if the referendum fails, the discussion isn't necessarily over. In the fourth and final part of our stadium series, Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo examines what happens after the vote.

Governor Ventura is on his way to New York City this morning after spending yesterday at Harvard University. Ventura met with students and faculty behind closed doors - and he said they seem to appreciate him more than the news media do. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

The legal turmoil around Donald Blom continues, with judges and defense lawyers seeking to have each other removed from his case. Judge Dale Wolf is also seeking to have Chief Regional Public Defender Fred Friedman removed from his job. Motions and appeals are mounting over who should represent Blom in his trial for the kidnapping and murder of Katie Poirier. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports.

The "Fall Home and Garden Show" opens tomorrow at the Convention Center in Minneapolis. The show is stock full of suggestions for people looking to replant their garden, remodel their kitchen, or build an extra bedroom. Local architect Robert Gerloff will be a speaker at this year's show. Gerloff has recently written a book about remodeling post-WWII homes. I met Gerloff and homeowner Jim Schemel at a Cape Cod style home in St. Louis Park. Schemel says that coming across Gerloff's ideas allowed him to stay in the location he liked.

Steven Schier, chair of the Political Science department at Carleton College, talks about Governor Ventura.

Minnesota's nonprofit organizations are doing better than ever, according to a report being released in Duluth today. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports.

Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad has signed a letter of intent to sell the team pending approval of a new ballpark in downtown St. Paul. If the deal goes through, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor and Wild owner Robert Naegele will head up the new ownership group. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

Polling done this week by Minnesota Public Radio and the St. Paul Pioneer Press supports the notion that Governor Jesse Ventura's popularity has taken a hit in the wake of his Playboy magazine interview. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Wareham reports.

Chris Roberts with his weekly round up of what's going on in the art world.

Meteorologist Mark Seeley looks at how bad the weather usually is at the beginning and end of the baseball season.