Monday, October 23

School children in 16 Minnesota cities will go to the polls in November to cast their own nonbinding votes for president and other races on the general election ballot. "Kids Voting Minnesota" is part of a national project aimed at educating students about voting and boosting participation among parents. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

It's been one full week since the ramp meter shutdown began. The metro area's 430 ramp-meter lights were turned off so the state could find out what traffic would be like without them. Joining us on the line is Mike Sobolewski, project manager of the ramp meter study for the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Governor Ventura embarks today on the first full day of his Mexican trade mission. His visit comes at a momentous time in the country's history. For the first time in 71 years, the dominant political party will hand over power to an opposition leader. Later today Ventura will go to Mexico's presidential palace to meet the outgoing president, Ernesto Zedillo. Ventura says he sees parallels in Mexican politics with his own rise to power. Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg, who's travelling with the governor, has this report.

One of the morning's major stories has Minnesota ties. Honeywell has agreed to a merger with General Electric. The deal was announced yesterday; it's worth about $45 billion. There are about 8,000 Minnesotans employed by Honeywell. Fred Zimmerman is a business professor at the University of St. Thomas and he's been following recent developments with Honeywell.

MPR's Chief Economics Correspondent Chris Farrell.

Voters in southeastern Minnesota face a rematch of the 1996 congressional race between incumbent Gil Gutknecht and challenger Mary Rieder. Four years ago the candidates fought a fierce battle costing a record $1.5 million. Rieder came within 5.5 percentage points of unseating Gutknecht. Both sides are again spending considerable amounts of money, but Gutknecht appears to have a strong hold on the seat as he ends his third term. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.

The Minnesota Vikings came from behind once again yesterday to defeat the Buffalo Bills 31-27 at the Metrodome. Randy Moss made an amazing catch at the back of the end zone to give the Vikings the lead with less than four minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Kicker Gary Anderson added a field goal which gave him more points than any player in NFL history. The Vikings are now 7-0 and are the only undefeated team in the National Football League. Joining us on the line is Sean Jensen who covers the Vikings for the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Revised rules dealing with the state's feedlots went into effect yesterday. Farm feedlots are the byproduct of livestock operations; large dairy and pork farms have received attention lately for their affect on air and water quality. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says the new rules will help deal with that pollution while considering the number of operations in an area, as well. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Post reports.

Fog and thick clouds delayed efforts to fully extinguish the wildfire that's burned large sections of the Carlos Avery Wildlife Area. Cool temperatures and some rain have helped dampen hot spots that continue to smoulder. The fire started last Thursday and has burned more than 8,500 acres. Lloyd Knudson is the Wildlife Area manager. He's on the line now.

Minnesota could lose some federal transportation funding if it doesn't lower its limit for drunk driving. The law signed by President Clinton yesterday requires states to enforce a 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level as the standard for drunk driving. Minnesota currently uses 0.10 as its limit. Several efforts to change that have failed in the past. Steve Sviggum is the speaker of the Minnesota House. He's on the line now.

The long awaited decision on NCAA sanctions against the University of Minnesota men's basketball program has been made. The NCAA committee on infractions has put the basketball program on four years probation for the academic cheating scandal that involved several players. In addition, the university will lose several scholarships and the school's 1997 Final Four appearance and it's 1998 NIT championship will be erased from the record books. The team will be allowed to participate in postseason play. School officials will comment on the sanctions later today. Jim Dutcher is a former Gopher men's basketball coach who was hired after a previous scandal; he says the ruling was predictable.

Governor Jesse Ventura has completed the first official day of his six-day trade mission to Mexico. Ventura met outgoing Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo at the Mexican Presidential Palace and Later gave a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico City. He and many Minnesota company representatives who've joined him on the trip finished off the evening at a reception at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow. Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg is travelling with Ventura and has this report.

If you can't name the two countries involved in "The XYZ Affair," you might not be ready for Knowledge Bowl. Throughout the school year, hundreds of kids across Minnesota, and thousands more across the country, put their learning on the line at Knowledge Bowl meets. Kids from seventh to 12th grade compete, facing questions that range from history and geography to math and poetry. Later today junior varsity teams from northern Minnesota will gather in the town of Mountain Iron for the final stage of a big round-robin tournament. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Julin watched the second round of the tournament last week, and he has this report.

Mayo Clinic researchers say they've developed a new screening for colon cancer. Colon and rectal cancers are the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, and researchers believe the new test may help detect the cancer earlier. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.

Minnesotans got their first look last night at plans for a high-speed rail system that could cut travel times in much of the Midwest. Supporters of a high-speed rail system provided information about trains that would travel up to 110 miles an hour between nine states. They would be organized in a hub-and-spoke system centered around Chicago. Matt Hollinshead is with Minnesotans for Sustainable Transportation, and was one of the organizers of last night's meeting. He's on the line now.

The University of Minnesota says it accepts the sanctions imposed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association for the men's basketball academic fraud scandal. The NCAA is requiring the school to surrender some scholarships, curb recruiting, erase several postseason appearances from the record books, and put the school's athletics on probation for four years. Minnesota Public Radio's Patty Marsicano reports.

Representatives from more than 40 Minnesota companies and agricultural concerns say they're getting into the serious business portion of a six-day trade mission to Mexico led by Governor Jesse Ventura. Ventura says the time is right, six years after the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement, for Minnesota companies to boost trade with Mexico. Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg is in Mexico City with this report.

With polls showing a close race between Al Gore and George W. Bush in Minnesota, the Democrats have enlisted the help of Jesse Jackson. Jackson came to the Twin Cities Tuesday to encourage voter registration and participation. He also came to warn voters that if Bush is elected, all the civil rights victories won in the 60's will be erased. Minnesota Public Radio's Brandt Williams reports.

George W. Bush supporters are also out campaigning for their candidate. The latest polls show Bush has a slight lead in Minnesota. That has the Bush campaign hoping that Minnesota may vote Republican for the first time since 1972. St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman is the chair of Bush Campaign in Minnesota, and he's on the line now.

Federal regulators concerned about airline industry consolidation expect to go to court next week to argue that Northwest Airlines should be forced to sell its controlling interest in Continental Airlines. The Department of Justice is concerned that the airline's won't aggressively compete under joint ownership. The Northwest-Continental case offers insight into regulatory obstacles that the much bigger United-US Air deal faces. Mark Zdechlik of Minnesota Public Radio reports.

The issue of racial profiling could be on the 2001 legislative agenda: a statewide committee is calling for a two-year study to determine whether officers pull over drivers because of their race. Although some Minnesota police departments already record the race of the drivers they stop, they are currently not required to do so. State Representative Rich Stanek, R-Maple Grove, is a Minneapolis police officer and was on the committee formed to look at racial profiling. He's still deciding whether to go along with the committee's suggestion that the state require a study.

This weekend, activists and religious leaders around the Twin Cities will honor the winners of the first Spiritual Speakout for Violence Free Families. The Speakout is a contest that challenges clergy of all religions to write a sermon about domestic violence. Organizers of the Speakout say the clergy is in a good position to help victims, but they also say it's been difficult to get them to use their voice on the pulpit to fight domestic violence. Minnesota Public Radio's Eugene Cha reports.

With high gas prices, some auto makers are taking a serious look at building hybrid cars that use gas and run on electricity. This week, another auto maker promised to build a hybrid vehicle. The U.S. unit of Germany's DaimlerChrysler says it will make a hybrid Dodge Durango SUV. Hybrid vehicles are gaining popularity because they are more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly than cars that run only on gas. One of the new hybrids is the Toyota Prius. It gets up to 52 miles to the gallon, seats five people, and will cost about $20,000. Workers at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency are already using a few of the cars on the job. The MPCA's Ned Brooks took me for a spin in the Prius and says he even likes the way the car looks.

Artists at the Minnesota Institute of Arts in Minneapolis have removed two chickens from an exhibit after receiving threats from animal rights activists. The exhibit, An Acre of Art, aims to explore the relationship between people and land. A central feature was a long, narrow chicken coop mounted on the wall surrounded by a guilt frame, with two live chickens inside. The coop also contained a web-cam which provided a continuous live feed of the birds on the Internet. Today, the coop is still there,as is the camera, but the chickens are gone. Mark Knierim is one of two artists who designed the exhibit. He's on the line now.

School leaders throughout Minnesota are clamoring for changes in the way teachers are paid. A handful of school districts have already dumped the system of automatic raises based solely on years of service and training. Members of the Minnesota Rural Education Association discussed some of the alternatives Wednesday night at a conference in Alexandria. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

Governor Jesse Ventura spent a final day in Mexico City meeting with President-elect Vicente Fox. Later he went to a Hospital to see how technology developed by Twin Cities-based Medtronic is helping victims of epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. Today Ventura's six-day trade mission to Mexico is in the city of Guadalajara. Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg is travelling with the governor. He has this report.

As part of our election year coverage, Minnesota Public Radio has invited all seven candidates for U.S. Senate to present a four-minute statement about their candidacy. Over the next week, all of the seven candidates will present their views on each of MPR's News programs. These candidate statements are unfiltered and unedited by MPR. We begin today with Republican Rod Grams.

Meteorologist Mark Seeley joins us for a look at the weather.

A new poll released by St. Cloud State University indicates that DFL candidate Mark Dayton's lead over Republican Rod Grams is widening in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race. The poll of about 600 adults from October 14 to the 24th showed 47% of "likely voters" supported Dayton, while 30% supported Grams. During a debate for U.S. senate candidates in Hopkins Thursday, Grams continued his approach of trying to put Dayton on the defensive, saying many details in Dayton's proposals aren't defined. The candidates also had the opportunity to view, and respond to, their own television ads. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports.

Agriculture was the focus as Governor Jesse Ventura's trade mission to Mexico entered its final day. Governor Ventura and Minnesota agricultural representatives visited the city of Guadalajara, where they toured a food processing plant and met with local government officials. Minnesota farm cooperatives along on the trip are hoping the contacts will help their members find new markets for their crops. Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg reports.

St Cloud area voters rejected a half-cent sales tax increase during last year's election. This year, the tax is back on the ballot, but in a form the city hopes voters will approve. Mainstreet Radio's Marisa Helms reports.

Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader says it's "cowardly" of Al Gore to enlist the aid of progressive Democrats such as Jesse Jackson and Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone to criticize Nader's campaign. Polling about 5% nationally, Nader is no threat to win any state. But some Democrats feel a drain-off of votes by Nader in close states could give the election to George W. Bush. Vice President Al Gore is scheduled to make a campaign stop in Minnesota on Saturday. Minnesota has gone with the democratic presidential candidate in each election since 1972. But a recent poll shows Gore's republican opponent, Texas Governor George Bush, slightly ahead of Gore. Bush's strength here has prompted the Vice President and democrats to make direct appeals to voters supporting Ralph Nader. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.

As part of our election year coverage Minnesota Public Radio has invited all 7 candidates for U.S. Senate to present a four minute statement about their candidacy. Over the next week, all 7 candidates will present their views on each of MPR's News programs. These candidate statements are unfiltered and unedited by MPR. This morning we hear from David Daniels of the Grassroots Party.

The owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves is apologizing to basketball fans across the state. Earlier this week, the Timberwolves were heavily fined by the NBA, lost five first round draft picks, and the contract of player Joe Smith was voided. The penalties come after the Timberwolves made a secret deal with Smith, in order to get around the NBA's salary cap. Last night at the Timberwolves game, owner Glen Taylor talked with reporters.