Monday, August 28

A new state law that takes effect next year will make Minnesota the first state to require welfare and healthcare case workers to report illegal immigrants to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Legislators who wrote the bill say the policy will discourage immigrants from entering Minnesota illegally and gaining access to state welfare services. Critics say the law targets all immigrants, including those in Minnesota legally. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.

Minnesota voters say education is the most important issue facing the state, but they generally feel public schools are already on the right track. Results of a new Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul Pioneer Press, KARE-TV poll also show mixed feelings about statewide testing and graduation standards. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety has announced a new plan to reign in aggressive driving. The agency wants city, county and state law enforcement officers all across the state to hit the roads and watch out for careless drivers, and arrest them for violations like speeding, or passing on shoulders. Joining us now is Jeff Mordal who's a sergeant with the Elk River Police Department.

When Minnesota's Reform Party broke away to become the Independence Party last spring, self-employed software developer and political newcomer Jim Gibson seemed assured of being its lone candidate for U.S. Senate. But in the meantime a more competitive primary race materialized within the party. Environmental activist Leslie Davis has joined the fray, as has Buford Johnson, a former party official and military veteran. While the candidates in the DFL have similar views on many of the issues, the Independence Party candidates have run more idiosyncratic, if low-profile, campaigns. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil has this report.

Monday Markets with Chris Farrell.

Hearings continue today on the Minnesota portion of the proposed powerline between Duluth and Wausau Wisconsin. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports on last night's opening session.

By a 257-114 vote, union members approved a contract last night with the Pepsi Bottling Group, ending a two-month-old strike by workers at the Pepsi bottling plant in Burnsville. Union officials had previously rejected two contract offers from the company. The union was seeking a three-year, 4 percent annual pay raise. They also wanted better retirement and healthcare benefits. Larry Yoswa is the head of Teamsters Local 792, and he's on the line now.

The food at the Minnesota State Fair is famous for tantalizing visitors' taste buds. This year one attraction offers candy for the ears and eyes. The Electric Bus is a portable sampler of Seattle's $240 million interactive museum called the Experience Music Project. Inside the exhibit visitors can get a history lesson or play around with some high-tech toys. Minnesota Public Radio's Brandt Williams Reports.

The biggest fire in the history of the Black Hills National Forest continues to burn in South Dakota. The fire started late last week. A group of fire trucks and fire fighters from across central Minnesota left on Sunday to help keep buildings and other structures from catching fire. So far, the fire has burned more than 62,000 acres of land about 10 miles west of Mount Rushmore. Joining us on the line is Tom Knappenberger, of the U.S. Forest Service.

The official ground breaking for construction of the Hiawatha light rail line is still months away. But digging to move utility lines for the project has already begun in downtown Minneapolis. State officials say they will award the construction contract for the $548 million project next week, and they remain confident federal officials will approve full funding for the project in October. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

Most kids in Minnesota will be heading back to school next week and a lot of them will be riding there on a bus. People who drive school buses have a challenging job: negotiating traffic and monitoring bus behavior at the same time. In recognition of those who excel in that role, the Minneapolis AAA has created a School Bus Driver Hall of Fame. The first three recipients will be featured in billboards going up this week. One of them is Joan Hostutler, who's only been driving a bus for one year.

Statistics released today by the U.S. Census Bureau show that Minnesota has one of the fastest growing minority populations in the country. The percentage of African-Americans in Minnesota is growing faster than almost any other state. State Demographer Tom Gillaspy says Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group in the state.

Governor Jesse Ventura begins a nine-city tour a week from today to promote his new book Do I Stand Alone? The book's subtitle is Going to the mat against political pawns and media jackals. Ventura says he wants the book to be a wake-up call for America, but many Minnesotans may find the governor plows some pretty familiar ground. Minnesota Public Radio's Mike Mulcahy has read the book and has this review.

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness will be busy this Labor Day Weekend as visitors hurry to camp and canoe before the summer ends. Officials have been concerned about fires in the Boundary Waters this summer, after torrential rains and strong winds blew down millions of trees last July. Mark van Every is with the United States Forest Service. He's on the line now.

By the time the Minnesota State Fair is over on Monday, visitors will have consumed an estimated half-million corndogs. Of course, corndogs aren't just a popular food. They've come to symbolize the fair itself. Commercials for the fair feature a flaming corndog and the slogan "corndogus eternus." Even the Snoopy statue at the Fair is holding a corndog. MPR's Jim Bickal reports that like many things at the State Fair, the corndog business is based on tradition and family.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released a report that ranks Minnesota among the top 10 states for binge drinking, youth smoking and marijuana use among teens. Some health care experts say results of the agency's annual National Household Survey on Drug Abuse show the state needs to do more to stop teens from experimenting with "gateway drugs." Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.

Weather insights from Professor Seeley.

Minneapolis resident Jose Filonel Mendoza lost a 12-year legal battle with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which last week notified him that barring an act of Congress he's being deported to his native Philippines in September. The agency says Mendoza engaged in a sham marriage to evade immigration law in the early 1980's. Since that time however, Mendoza has remarried, had two children, and, he says, been a model citizen. Members of his family's church in Plymouth held a prayer vigil Thursday, protesting his planned deportation. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports.

The development of Block E appears to have taken a big step forward. Minneapolis signed a contract yesterday with developer Dan McCaffray to build a complex of hotels, restaurants, and movie theatres on the downtown Hennepin block. The contract was in question until Wednesday, when an interactive games and restaurants chain called Gameworks signed on as an anchor tenant. The complex will cost the public $39 million. Block E has been the city's biggest development challenge since it razed the area over ten years ago. Steve Cramer is the executive director of lthe MCDA. He's on the line now.

Two of Minnesota's biggest companies, Best Buy and Target Corporation, said yesterday sales had been slower than expected. Target also said its third quarter profits would drop as a result. The share price of both companies took a hit because of the news. The August sales figures for many of the nation's biggest retailers were disappointing. Dr. Sung Won Sohn is chief economist and senior Vice President for Wells-Fargo. He's on the line now.