Monday, November 29

The World Trade Organization begins its Seattle round of trade talks tomorrow. The negotiations create the ground rules for global trade discussions over the next three-to-five years. Agriculture is expected to be one of the top items on the agenda. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Gunderson reports.

Doug Sweetland lives and teaches economics and finance in southwestern Minnesota where he is President of Southwest State University. He provided a commentary on this year's harvest.

Today, Minnesota Public Radio begins a special series: Minnesota in the Dot-Com Age. Over the next four days, MPR will examine how well the state is doing in the high-tech revolution that is sweeping the country. Minnesota gave rise to computing powerhouses like Control Data and Cray Research, companies that made the fastest computers in the world. But Minnesota has clearly lost that leadership role. One recent report ranked the Twin Cities 32nd in high-tech output. In our first report, Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin takes a look back at Minnesota's rise and fall as a high-tech center.

A 90-year-old beer hall, disguised as a more mundane cafeteria for most of the century, is about to reappear in the basement of the Minnesota State Capitol. A team of restoration experts has been working for a year and a half on the cafeteria, scraping away 20 layers of paint to reveal the room's original, German beer hall-style murals. The work has been arduous; restorers spent the first six months chipping the paint off the ceilings with scalpels. Now the project is almost done, and Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste took a tour with the Romanian-born expert overseeing the project.

If you are of the opinion that one reason the Vikings lost in the playoffs last year was because the team didn't have enough experience in close games, then perhaps there is reason for hope this year. Once again, yesterday's game went down to the wire as the Vikings blew a big halftime lead, but hung on for a 35-27 victory over the San Diego Chargers at the Metrodome. It was the team's fifth win in a row. Don Banks covers the Vikings for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and he joins us now.

Chris Farrell is MPR's Chief Economics Correspondent. He joined us for a look at this week's financial news.

A century-old weather record is likely to fall today as our warm November temperatures continue. It looks like this month will go into the books as the warmest November in Minnesota since record keeping began more than 100 years ago. It's also been very dry and that has some city officials in the southwest part of the state concerned. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Steil reports.

For years, Minnesota archeologists have attempted to protect Indian burial grounds and other sensitive historic sites by keeping their locations secret. But now, state officials are reversing that strategy. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Robertson reports from Bemidji.

In an economy driven by innovation, research universities are playing an increasingly important role in developing high-tech industries. The University of Minnesota has a long history of fueling economic growth through new ideas, like taconite processing and the cardiac pacemaker. But critics say the university isn't doing enough now. Bill Catlin has the next report in Minnesota Public Radio's series, Minnesota in the Dot-Com Age.

St. Paul school district officials say they want more public input on their plans to end the social promotion of students. School board members and administrators discussed the proposed promotion and retention policy last night. But a final vote won't come until early next year. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

Will Paul Wellstone break his long-standing promise not to run for a third term in the U.S. Senate? In an interview published in the Mesabi Daily News over the weekend, Wellstone seemed to suggest he'd consider running a third time. Yesterday, he said those comments were just speculation, and he says he still intends to come back to Minnesota at the end of his second term. But Wellstone also opened the door wider for a campaign for Governor in 2002. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

Advances in AIDS research and technology have brought about a whole new set of dilemmas for doctors. As part of the today's World AIDS Day activities at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, Dr. Frank Rhame will discuss some of the medical and ethical questions doctors face. Dr. Rhame is an infectious disease specialist and the Research Director at Abbott-Northwestern's AIDS clinic. He's on the line now.

One of the Minnesota-based companies that is following the developments in Seattle closely is ADC Telecommunications which is based in Minnetonka. It stands to gain from freer trade, but would also face more competition from abroad, if trade barriers are lowered or eliminated. Joining us now is David Opsahl vice president and general manager of Global Services for ADC.

Communication towers those blinking, guywired harbingers of car phones have sprouted at the rate of 5000 a year nationwide for the past decade. Industry watchers say another 100,000 of the structures could go up by 2010. While digital phones mean improved service, the towers themselves, often topped by flashing strobelights, are widely abhorred as a blight on the landscape. In the Brainerd lakes area, county officials are trying to bring them under control. Mainstreet Radio's Leif Enger reports.

Austin, Texas has transformed itself from a sleepy government and university town into a high-tech Mecca in the space of about 15 years. Cities from all over the world are studying what's called the "Austin Model" in the hope they too can cash in on the new innovation economy. In the latest installment of the Minnesota Public Radio series, Minnesota in the Dot-Com Age, MPR's Jon Gordon tells Austin's story -- and asks what lessons it might hold for us.

The World Trade Organization talks continue today in Seattle. The talks have been slowed by protests, and by sharp disagreements among the 135 countries who make up the WTO. Some of the dozens of Minnesotans who made the trip to Seattle for the talks say they were able to let their opposition to WTO policy be known, and make some important global connections of their own. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Gunderson reports.

Most people prefer not to think about Dying. If forced to though, most people say they'd prefer to die at home surrounded by loved ones. But the reality is most people die in a hospital or nursing home. Now a wide-spread coalition of people in North Dakota is establishing a program called Matters of Life and Death. It's meant to educate people on how the way people die is a quality of life issue. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Reha reports.

The Twin Cities has a long way to go before it can be considered a hotbed of the new high tech economy. It lacks a big success story like Microsoft or Dell Computer, companies with sufficient critical mass to generate spin offs, satellite firms, and perhaps most importantly, national buzz. Many entrepreneurs say they have to look elsewhere for venture capitalists willing to invest in their start-up companies. But Twin Cities' technology industries are growing despite these obstacles, and companies that are thriving here say the area provides some unique advantages over high-tech centers such as the San Francisco Bay area. In the latest installment of the Minnesota Public Radio series, Minnesota in the Dot-Com Age, MPR's Jon Gordon takes a look at how new technology businesses are doing in the Twin Cities.

Minnesota lawmakers are already making plans for the latest projected state budget surplus even though the Ventura Administration won't officially announce the surplus until later this morning. The scuttlebutt at the capitol is that the number will be close to a billion dollars and with an election year coming up there will be a big push to send some of that money back to the voters. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

More protesters were arrested overnight in Seattle, bringing the total to nearly 500 over the past two days. Agriculture and agricultural policy are two of the key areas of discussion at the Seattle Round of the World Trade Organization talks. Farmers and ag officials from around the world are attending the talks. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Gunderson has been talking with some of them to get a sense where there may be common ground.

Minnesota-based labor unions are paying attention to developments in the World Trade Organization meetings. Richard Metcaff just returned from Seattle, where he was protesting for changes in the WTO. Metcaff is the secretary-treasurer of the Midwest Region of UNITE, the Union of Needle Trades Industrial and Textile Employees. He's on the line now.

Minnesota's projected budget surplus is much larger than expected - $1.6 billion. That's how much money there should be available at the end of the two-year budget cycle in June 2001. And lawmakers are already talking about what to with the money before it comes in. Joining us on the line is the chairman of the house tax committee, Republican Ron Abrams.

The nation's largest snowmobile races start today in Duluth. The Blackmagic Duluth National Snowcross was delayed a week because of overly warm and dry weather. But cooler temperatures and plenty of man-made snow have saved the day. Unfortunately, there's little snow to be found away from ski hills, keeping snowmobiles in the garage, skis in the closet and winter tourists at home. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports about the concern over the third late winter in a row.

About 100 leaders from business, education and government met in Minneapolis yesterday to assess Minnesota's position as a center for high technology and innovation. Most participants said the state is either falling behind or playing catch-up. The conference was sponsored by the Minnesota Public Radio Civic Journalism Initiative. Bill Catlin has the final report of our series, Minnesota in the Dot Com Age.

Members of the Mendota Mdwakanton Dakota are making a last-ditch effort to save four big oak trees they believe are sacred. The four oaks stand directly in the path of the reroute of Highway 55 in south Minneapolis. The members of the tribe met late yesterday with Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.

One of the results of the World Trade Talks this week in Seattle is the apparent agreement to set up a working group to discuss Genetically Modified Organisms. GMOs have resulted in some fierce trade disputes, including one between the U.S. and the European Union over American beef. Just as the agreement was being reached, another coalition of groups, including some from Minnesota, was meeting to plot strategy on how to force Genetically Modified Foods off the market around the world. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Gunderson reports from Seattle.

Meteorologist Mark Seeley on a record warm November all over the Midwest, plus Bob asks will winter ever arrive?