Monday, January 10

Running back Robert Smith ran for 140 yards and scored a touchdown to lead the Minnesota Vikings to a 27-10 playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys yesterday at the Metrodome. The Vikings came back from a 10-3 deficit by shutting down the Cowboys star running back Emmitt Smith. Minnesota plays the Rams in St. Louis next week in the second round of the playoffs. Don Banks covers the Vikings for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and he joins us now.

High temperatures above freezing today will mean more of the limited snow cover we have will melt. This winter's sparse snow cover is good news for some, but for northern Minnesota's recreation and tourism industries, it's been disastrous. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Robertson reports from Bemidji.

The Minnesota Vikings earned a 27-10 victory in the football season's final game at the Metrodome. The first round playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys sends the Vikings to St. Louis next Sunday to face the Rams, who are the top team in the National Conference this season. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports.

Like it or not, we're in the middle of the wireless revolution. Nearly 80 million Americans use cell phones now, and experts say that number will grow rapidly over the next five years. Then there are pagers, portable Internet appliances, and personal organizers. Problem is, most of these devices make noise, and users often behave poorly in public places. MPR's Jon Gordon reports on the growing problem with wireless etiquette.

MPR's Chris Farrell previews the week on Wall Street.

Well, as Chris Farrell just told us, we'll be getting both wholesale and retail inflation data this week. Jerry Jasinowski is the President of the National Association of Manufacturers. He was in the Twin Cities last week. He says that manufacturers still aren't seeing inflationary pressures.

Giving consumers free Internet access once seemed like an oddity but now is almost common. Bill Loving of the Los Angeles Times has been following this trend and is here now with a look at the implications.

Former Koch employee Charles Chadwell took the witness stand as his lawsuit against the Koch Petroleum Group continued in Minneapolis. Chadwell is suing Koch under the state's whistleblower law, which protects employees who report legal violations from retaliation by their employers. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.

Officials at the St. Cloud airport say the runway is falling apart, and if they don't get funding from the Federal Government to make repairs soon, they will have to start canceling flights. Mainstreet Radio's Tim Post reports.

The Guthrie board voted unanimously Monday for a downtown Minneapolis riverfront site for a new three-stage theater. Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton joined Guthrie artistic director Joe Dowling to announce they'll work together to seek state bonding help for the project. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

Critics call it "judge shopping." Minnesota lawyers can remove the first judge assigned to their case and get a new one without having to give a reason. A judges organization wants to abolish the rule, but that doesn't sit well with lawyers. Minnesota Public Radio's Patty Marsicano reports.

Protecting Governor Ventura is expected to cost Minnesota about $367,000 more than budgeted for this year. State Patrol Chief Anne Beers said the increased costs are almost entirely for overtime expenses. Charlie Weaver is the Commissioner for the Department of Public Safety. He says that this isn't a lot of money to spend protecting the governor during overtime.

At a pretrial hearing, the judge in Sarah Jane Olson's bombing conspiracy case ruled that prosecutors could use the history of the Symbionese Liberation Army in the trial. Olson is charged with conspiracy to murder police officers by planting pipe-bombs under two Los Angeles police cars in the 1970s. Judge James Ideman also ruled that the trial will not be televised. Joining us to talk about the judges rulings is Dr. Martin Levine, professor of law at the University of Southern California.

Activists in Minnesota want the state to create a new office for the Prevention of Violence Against Women. State Senator Ember Reichgott Junge is proposing the office, which would raise public awareness and enforce laws. The office would be modeled after the U.S. Department of Justice's Violence Against Women Office. One of the organizations supporting the idea is the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Tammie Larsen is the executive director of that organization, and she's on the line now.

Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura is putting into practice his vow to take his message to the people during a two-day bus tour of southern Minnesota. Ventura winds up his trip today following a hectic swing through eight communities yesterday. Ventura talked about telecommunications, discussed the budget surplus and showed off a new found ability to put to rest any presidential talk. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Steil reports.

Privacy is certain to be one of the hot-button issues at the Capitol this session, with lawmakers from both parties arguing for restrictions designed to protect individual privacy. But some of the proposals face a powerful opponent - the news media. Editors and reporters told a legislative committee yesterday that closing off government data threatens the public's right to know. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

A federal judge has ordered Northwest Airlines and the union that represents its flight attendants to immediately return to the negotiating table. Last week Judge Donovan Frank granted Northwest's request for a temporary restraining order barring flight attendants from illegal work actions. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports.

The $166 billion merger between Time Warner and America Online is getting lots of national press. Less remarked upon is just why AOL felt it needed Time Warner - not for its staple of respected magazines, but more to gain access to Time Warner's 13 million cable television customers. Here in the Twin Cities, Time Warner and its competitors - cable company MediaOne and phone company US West - are racing to provide customers with an increasing number of services, including high-speed access to the Internet. Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg reports on what's at stake for Minnesota businesses and consumers as this competition heats up.

Republicans in the Minnesota House of Representatives will lay out their tax proposal for the 2000 session later this morning. Speaker of the House Steve Sviggum outlined some of the plan's highlights.

The public perception is that lakes in north-central Minnesota are more crowded than ever, but the number of boats on the lakes has actually remained the same since 1985. Those findings are from a survey by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The DNR will present the study tonight at the Central Lakes College in Brainard. Joining us now is Tim Browning, the DNR's Regional Trails and Waterways Supervisor, based in Brainerd.

A Northern Minnesota Electric Cooperative is under fire after announcing rate increases of more than 20 percent. Two Iron Range lawmakers who are customers of Lake Country Power, vow new legislation that would give the state new regulatory powers over member owned power coops. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher Reports.

Prominent state Senator Dean Johnson of Willmar has joined the DFL party, after more than two decades as a Republican legislator. Johnson has often sparred with the Republican party over abortion, gay rights and other issues, and Republican leaders say they're not surprised by his switch. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

Business leaders and state legislators in the northwestern metro area say they'll fight a proposal to close the Anoka-Hennepin Technical College. Officials with the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system say they cannot afford to repair the aging facility and considering a proposal to move its vocational programs to other colleges. The plan took a pounding Wednesday during a public hearing at the school. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or FERC has approved the $4.8 billion merger between Northern States Power and Denver based New Century Energies. That brings the proposed deal, first announced last March, one step closer to completion. But a number of regulatory hurdles remain. Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg reports.

Rural issues got the spotlight with governor Jesse Ventura this week. He got on his bus and stopped off in 13 cities over two days to meet with Minnesotans. One of those cities was Blue Earth, where the editor of the Fairbault County Register, Kyle MacArthur, got to ride the bus and ask the governor some questions. His newspaper was the one and only newspaper in the state to endorse Jesse Ventura for governor in the '98 election. Kyle MacArthur joins us on the line.

Medical experts say doctors and patients need more information about the performance of medically implanted devices. Nearly 25 million Americans are living with medical implants, including artificial joints and pacemakers. Medtronic is developing technology that will allow its medical devices, like pace-makers, to communicate with computers using wireless devices. The information about what's happening inside your body can be transmitted through the Internet, and to doctors. Medtronic's president and Chief Operating Officer Art Collins explained how it works.

It's mid-January, and it finally looks like it out there. Snow fell throughout the day and into the evening in several parts of the state yesterday. The largest snowfall was in the Western part of the metro area, which saw 12.1 inches. But Matt Davis, a forecaster for the National Weather Service at the Twin Cities office in Chanhassen, says that many other areas got their share, too.

The Minnesota Vikings continue their playoff drive this weekend with a game against the St. Louis Rams. The Vikes are an underdog for this game, playing the top team in the NFC on the road. It was about a year ago, when the heavily-favored Vikings suffered a stunning loss to Atlanta to end their season short of the Super Bowl. This year, fans have been on a roller coaster ride as the team went on winning and losing streaks all season. Joining us now is Pete Carlson, the president of the Minnesota Vikings Fan Club of St. Louis.

The sound of train whistles may be coming back to Minnesota, even though 15 city governments here have banned them. The Federal Railroad Administration is considering a change in policy that would prevent local governments from banning train whistles. The FRA says collisions with cars are much more common at crossings without whistles, lights and gates, but residents complain about the noise, which can wake them up in the middle of the night. Joining us on the line is St. Paul city council member Chris Coleman.

With the 2000 legislative session still more than two weeks away, the debate over consumer privacy protection is shaping up to be a major issue. Yesterday, DFL leaders unveiled a privacy protection package as an alternative to one announced by Republicans last week. As Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports, DFLers are calling privacy their top legislative priority this session.

The Department of Natural Resources will introduce a revised wolf management plan later this month to be considered in the upcoming legislative session. The state needs to adopt a plan before the wolf is taken off the federal endangered species list. Last year, the agency's proposal proved unsuccessful with lawmakers. Specifics of the new version aren't public yet, but it's expected to make concessions to livestock and pet owners, who say wolves have far outgrown any need for special protections in Minnesota. Environmental groups say the agency is catering to agricultural interests. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports.

Dayton Hudson is changing its name to Target Corporation. The company says the change reflects the fact that the Target discount retail chain supplies the lion's share of the parent company's sale and profits. Some Wall Street analysts say the move could pave the way for a sale of the company's department stores. Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg reports.

Meteorologist Mark Seeley talks about record snowfall on Wednesday.

MPR's Chris Roberts presents the weekly arts round up that we call "Word of Mouth."