Monday, April 3

An alliance between the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and the Episcopal Church is hitting some snags, and Minnesota has become home base for a national Lutheran group protesting the union. The two denominations formed an agreement last year, partly in order to share clergy in areas where congregations are shrinking. But Word Alone, a group of Lutheran laypeople and pastors, says aspects of the alliance violate their beliefs and could cause a serious rift in the church. The group recently held a high-spirited convention in Mahtomedi, Minnesota to plan its campaign. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports.

After more than a year and a half of anticipation, the Rochester City Council will decide the fate of the proposed Times Square project - a mammoth downtown shopping arcade with a Nordstrom, seven floors of office space and a $140 million price tag. As Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally reports, now its up to the council to determine how much City money to contribute to a project considerably different from the original proposal.

Minnesota Public Radio's Political Editor Mike Mulcahy joins us now from the capitol, for a look at what's going on up there this week.

Governor Jesse Ventura will lead a rally at the Capitol tonight to promote his idea of a unicameral legislature. Ventura has made the one-house legislature one of his top priorities, but the idea hasn't gathered much momentum during the legislative session. Jack Aldrich is the deputy director of the Minnesota Department of Planning. He'll be with the governor at the rally tonight, and he's on the line now.

Wally McNeil, or Wally the Beer Man, joins us to talk about the upcoming season for the Twins. The team hasn't had a winning season in seven years. Wally continues to sell beer at the Metrodome, and has seen the Twins at their best and their worst.

Minnesota Public Radio's Economics Correspondent Chris Farrell joins us for Monday Markets.

Governor Ventura and supporters of his unicameral legislature proposal rallied yesterday in the Capitol. They hope to get the stalled piece of legislation moving. The bill, which would let voters decide in November whether to shrink the Legislature to a single-house, hasn't been heard on either the House or Senate floor. While Ventura has branded legislators "gutless cowards" for not passing his bill, a number of lawmakers attended the rally to speak for the proposal. However they said time is getting tight for the bill to advance this year. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports.

A group appointed by Governor Ventura will look at the development of minority businesses in Minnesota, and it's holding its first meetings this week. The group will talk with entrepreneurs from several different ethnicities about the challenges of establishing businesses here in the state. Today African-American business leaders will speak to the panel. Bruce Corrie is an economics professor at Concordia University in St. Paul. He's one of the six individuals in the working group, and he joins us now.

March Madness is over for this year but for some Minnesotans, it's not too early to look ahead to next year. That's when the Final Four comes to the Metrodome. And to get a head start, a delegation of Minnesotans went to Indianapolis where this year's Final Four just ended. Joining us on the line is Jeff Schemmel, Senior Associate Athletic Director at the University of Minnesota. He led a large group from Minnesota who studied the event closely.

Officials in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area have a new tool for fighting wildfires. The Department of Natural Resources is leasing three airplanes that can scoop water out of a lake, and then dump it on land. The Boundary Waters area is especially vulnerable to fires this year, after last summer's storm blew down thousands of trees. Olin Phillips is the Forest Protection Section Manager for the Minnesota DNR. He's on the line now.

The legislative game of chicken over the state budget got a little more serious at the Capitol yesterday. House Republicans threatened to end the session without passing a tax cut, any spending bills and even without a tax rebate. At issue is the on-going disagreement over how much money is available for permanent tax cuts. Minnesota Public Radio's Mike Mulcahy reports.

Boundaries for wolves and farmers will likely be a central focus today as a legislative committee tries to find consensus on how to manage the state's wolves. A conference committee made up mostly of rural legislators is considering a House bill that allows hunting and trapping of wolves and a Senate bill that gives wolves more protection. The debate has largely shifted to the needs of farmers who say they need more help in preventing and proving wolf damage. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports.

The state legislature is expected to be in session for only a couple more weeks, and that means a lot will happen in conference committees. Differences between House and Senate bills on topics ranging from taxes to the Profile of Learning are worked out in those committees. Supporters say it's a crucial step in the legislative process. But critics, many of whom support a unicameral legislature, argue conference committees put too much power in too few hands. Former state senator Gene Merriam agrees with that criticism. He says there are two parts to conference committees: a public part and a private part.

Financial markets had two of their most volatile days ever Monday and Tuesday, and that has some investors edgy as trading opens this morning. Yesterday the Nasdaq composite index and the Dow Jones industrial average each plunged more than 500 points before ending the session with only minor losses. Dr. Sun Won Sohn is the Chief Economist at Wells Fargo. He's on the line now.

The University of Minnesota will open the new Elmer L. Anderson library this weekend. The library is named after the state's former governor and is located on the University's Minneapolis campus. It can house up to 1.2 million volumes, and includes one of the most extensive collections of African-American literature in the country. Former Governor Elmer Anderson joins us now, to talk about the library.

The Moose Lake City Council voted last night to make the town the first in Minnesota to ban smoking in restaurants. Now Moose Lake will promote itself as a healthy city, with money provided by the American Lung Association and other health groups. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports.

After threatening earlier this week to shut down the state Legislature over stalled budget negotiations, House Republicans now say they've found common ground with Governor Ventura. GOP leaders met with the governor yesterday behind closed doors hoping to jump-start the negotiations. House leaders didn't offer details of the talks, but expressed new hope for an agreement. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

A House-Senate conference committee found middle ground on managing the state's wolves Wednesday, which means the wolf could be on its way back to state control after more than two decades on the federal endangered species list. The committee's bill would provide more latitude to landowners to get rid of problem wolves, but would delay sport hunting and trapping at least five years. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports.

It's been a busy week so far in Minnesota politics. In addition to the budget battle in the state Legislature, the senate race for Rod Grams' seat has another candidate: Mark Dayton. And former gubernatorial candidate Mike Freeman has endorsed trial lawyer Michael Cirisi. Here to sort it all out for us is Steven Schier chair of the Political Science at Carleton College.

The state House has passed a bill that allows the shooting of deer and elk in fenced preserves. Minnesota is currently one of a few states that makes it illegal to shoot deer or elk in such settings. Critics say it's not real hunting to shoot animals that are fenced in and they worry that game-farm operators will capture wild game to augment their herds. Joining us on the line is Wayne Edgerton, Agricultural Policy Director for the DNR, who's been following the bill.

Plans for rebuilding portions of 35W through south Minneapolis and Richfield are moving ahead, and the outlook for motorists is several years of construction. Tonight at a meeting at the Richfield Lutheran Church, city and state officials will present recommendations for improving the 'aesthetic' quality of the freeway with new noise walls, bridge ornaments and other ideas. Joining us now is Dorre Mead, the Minneapolis City Council member who's district includes that part of the highway.

Governor Ventura sent confusing signals Thursday on whether he'll support an abortion-related bill passed by the House. The so-called `women's right to know' bill would require abortion providers to offer information on the risks of abortion and a 24-hour wait for the procedure. House sponsors claim they tailored their measure to receive Ventura's support. Lawmakers who support legalized abortion worried Ventura changed his stance on abortion. Just where Ventura stands on the issue, and why he entered the fray at all, are still unclear. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports.

The prosecution has dropped the most serious criminal sexual conduct charges against State Representative James Rostberg of Isanti. Minnesota Public Radio's Patty Marsicano was at yesterday's court hearing.

Chris Roberts with his Word of Mouth Arts Roundup, a look at arts around the state.

This is the time on Morning Edition when we normally bring in Mark Seeley for his weather commentary. Mark's on vacation this week, so I went on up to the Minnesota Science Museum to see their new weather-related exhibit. It's called "Powers of Nature." Alicia Cordes was there to show me around and explain what it's all about.

An International Conference tracing the history of Norwegians in America is underway at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul. It is sponsored by the Norwegian-American Historical Association. One of the participants in the conference will be professor David Mauk who is writing a history of Norwegians in the Twin Cities. He spoke with MPR's Jim Bickal about his research.

The term "spring training" usually refers to baseball's preseason. But in this case, it's a class that's helping high school seniors deal with the pressure of passing the state's basic skills tests. About 2,000 seniors statewide still have to pass the tests in order to graduate this spring. They'll get their last chance later this month. Anxiety levels are rising, and to help students deal with the pressure, a "spring training camp" has been set up in Minneapolis. Joining us on the line is Stephanie Thurik. It was her idea to set up the program.