Monday, December 13

A 38-yard field goal by Chiefs kicker Pete Stoyanovich with eight seconds left in the game gave Kansas City a 31-28 victory over the Vikings last night. The Vikings were able to tie the game at 28 all in the fourth quarter after falling behind 21-0. The loss drops the Vikings to 7-6, tied with Green Bay for third place in the NFC Central. Don Banks covers the Vikings for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and he joins us now.

MPR's chief economics correspondent Chris Farrell joins us to talk about the coming week in the stock market, and new economic reports.

The clamor for road building is rising among Twin Cities suburban commuters. Congestion and long ramp meter waits are fueling the cry for more lanes. But taxpayers should hope for a better deal than the long-delayed 18-mile stretch of Highway 212 through southwestern Twin Cities suburbs. Millions have been spent on the decades-old project and costs are skyrocketing. State officials say they don't know how long it will take or how much it will cost to complete 212. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's Citizens Board is expected to decide tomorrow whether to proceed with a controversial dredging project on a bay of the St. Louis River in Duluth. Some residents want decades old pollutants dredged out of Stryker Bay, but others worry that dredging will stir up dangerous substances including mercury that will then drift into Lake Superior. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports.

This weekend, the Science Museum of Minnesota celebrated the grand opening of its new building overlooking the Mississippi river in downtown St. Paul. Thousands turned out to see the $99 million facility, part of St. Paul's riverfront development plan. MPR's Shirley Idelson reports.

Activists against underage drinking hope a law passed this year will help curb teen drinking during New Years celebrations. The law will charge adults with a felony if they provide minors with alcohol. Some school districts are also trying to prevent drinking at parties by offering advice to parents. Fliers have been distributed to parents of students at North Senior High School in North St. Paul with tips for safe parties. Randy Zipf is the school's principal and he joins us now.

A new group for the children of Holocaust survivors is meeting tonight at the Jewish Community Center in Minneapolis. The Jewish Community Relations Council formed the group to give the children of survivors a place to talk about concerns like their role in preserving the history of the Holocaust. Joanie Sussman is the Chair of the Holocaust Education Committee at the JCRC and the child of survivors. She's on the line now.

The Hungry Mind, St. Paul's nationally known bookseller, literary review, and press is looking for a new name. The Hungry Mind sold its name to a cyber-university earlier this fall, and needs a new one before April, 2000. In this age of branding, trademarks, and electronic commerce the task of coming up with something as potent as what its had for the past 29 years is a challenge. Minnesota Public Radio's Lynette Nyman reports.

A Minnesota group is calling for new limits on off-road vehicles and stricter enforcement of existing laws. Minnesotans for Responsible Recreation is releasing a report documenting the damage off-road vehicles cause in the state's wild areas. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher Reports.

Charles M. Schulz, the creator of the comic strip "Peanuts," announced today he will retire on Jan. 4th, after more than fifty years of drawing the cartoon. Schulz is quitting to concentrate on treating his newly-diagnosed case of colon cancer. As Minnesota Public Radio's John Rabe reports, Schulz was born and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and drew inspiration from his life here.

Twin Cities-based Sun Country airlines is working to attract business travelers, the type of customers airlines covet because they typically pay the most for tickets. Six months after launching scheduled service, Sun Country is making progress in convincing Minnesota companies that its low fare alternative can significantly cut corporate travel costs. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports.

University of Minnesota President Mark Yudof testified yesterday before the state legislative committee that funds the U of M. He explained his handling of the academic fraud scandal in the men's basketball program. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports.

The Jesse Ventura Volunteer Committee swung into action last night, holding its first public meeting to mobilize citizens in support of a one-house legislature, one of the governor's pet causes. The meeting took place in District 51, where all three legislators are undecided about the issue. Since Governor Ventura has no Reform Party allies in the Legislature, his volunteer committee hopes Ventura supporters can sway legislators on unicameralism and other administration priorities. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

Governor Ventura's office confirmed yesterday that Ventura was never a member of the elite Navy "SEALs," but he says he did train to be a SEAL, and that his membership in the Navy's Underwater Demolition Teams was practically the same thing. But a former SEAL and journalist in San Diego says the Underwater teams were NOT the same as actual Navy SEALs during Vietnam, and he says Ventura is taking credit for the valor of others. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.

St. Paul is testing its Y2K emergency plan today. It's designed to work if the 911 system fails. The city has put communication sites throughout St. Paul in case people are not able to contact emergency services as usual. Tim Butler is the Manager of the city's Emergency Communications Center, which handles 911 calls. He's on the city's Y2K team and will be running the test today.

The habitat of a bird known as the loggerhead shrike is being threatened by development in the Twin Cities metro area. The bird lives on farmland near Hudson, Wisconsin. Developers want to build on that land to meet the demand from people who work in the Twin Cities and want to live in Western Wisconsin. Harrison Tordoff is a professor emeritus in the ecology department at the University of Minnesota. He's been keeping tabs on the changing ecology of the Twin Cities metro area.

Members of Minnesota's second-largest state employees union have voted to authorize a strike. After a 10-day cooling-off period, members of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees could walk off the job right before the Y2K rollover. But state officials promise a strike won't shut down state government.

A 28 year old Long Prairie woman who suffered from depression and emotional problems was charged this fall with killing one of her daughters and critically injuring another after driving her car into a lake with the girls inside. Todd County officials can't release much information about the daughter who survived, but say she is still hospitalized. According to the girls' father, their mother had been taking an anti-psychotic medication, but stopped weeks earlier. The incident raises questions about access to quality mental health care in Minnesota. In rural Minnesota, people sometimes face obstacles when searching for treatment; obstacles that concern professionals, community leaders and rural residents. Mainstreet Radio's Tim Post has this report.

Minnesotans are jamming shopping malls and retail centers searching for the final items on their holiday gift lists. Their purchases are adding up to an exceptional year for retailers across the state. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

Vending machines have come a long way from the old clunkers that shake, rattle and then sometimes steal your money without delivering the goods. The new generation whirs and purrs and almost always delivers the product. A little known St. Paul business is a world leader in vending machine technology. The family-owned Automatic Products International company is celebrating fifty years of business. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

Norwest Mortgage has agreed to buy Honeywell's former world Headquarters in the Phillips neighborhood of South Minneapolis. The deal ends months of uncertainty over whether a major new tenant would be found to replace Honeywell. Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg reports.

With all those people out shopping, Minnesota retailers are having a hard time finding enough workers to staff their stores. Retail is not the only sector of the economy experiencing a labor shortage. The seasonally adjusted state unemployment rate for November was 2.4 percent. That's up slightly from October, but still much lower than the national figure of 4.1. Duane Benson is the Executive Director of the Minnesota Business Partnership.

The Minnesota Department of Health is nearing a decision on which advertising agency will develop an 18 month anti-smoking campaign. The ads will be paid for with up to eight million dollars from last year's settlement with the tobacco industry. They're expected to target teenage smoking. Mike Males is the author of Smoked: Why Joe Camel is Still Smiling. He says those ads may be a waste of money.

It's mid-December, and it finally feels like it outside. Cold temperatures have settled into the region. Dan Efferts is a forecaster at the National Weather Service office in the Twin Cities.

Theater critic Eric Hart came by the studio this morning to tell us what's going on in the Twin Cities area. Erin reviews theatre performances for Citysearch.com. We began with "A Christmas Carol," which is at the Guthrie for the 25th year.

Eden Prairie-based Best Buy has announced a joint marketing partnership with Microsoft. The software giant will also buy $200 million worth of Best Buy stock. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin reports.

The Plains Art Museum in Fargo is claiming a national first. It's the only museum in the United States to house a fine art printmaking studio. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Reha reports.

Everybody with an interest in the retail industry has an eye on e-commerce this year, to see what kind of impact the Internet will have on traditional sales. It's not just store owners with a keen eye on e-retailing trends. Increasingly, state officials are asking whether an important source of revenue - the sales tax - will erode over time. As Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports, there's no concensus among lawmakers, retailers or industry experts on the issue.

Doctors at Hennepin County Medical Center are testing a vaccine that is designed to help people quit smoking by preventing niccotine from reaching the brain. The vaccine has worked on laboratory rats. Testing on people will begin in about two years. Doctor Paul Pentel is the Chief of the Division Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology at the Hennepin County Medical Center.

Chris Roberts has the weekly Word of Mouth arts roundup.

Meteorologist Mark Seeley discusses the recent cold weather, the chances for a white Christmas and the super-bright full moon on Wednesday.