Monday, May 7

It's Monday and time for a look at the markets with MPR's Chief Economics Correspondent, Chris Farrell.

The State Legislature is down to its last two weeks with Senate DFLers and House Republicans far apart on several fronts. Both sides will eventually have to work out differences on education funding, taxes and other budget items. Conference committees between the two chambers will begin to meet this week. Joining us on the line is Minnesota Public Radio's Capitol bureau chief Laura McCallum.

Hiawatha light rail officials say construction on the state's most expensive public works project is on schedule. Most of the construction can be viewed each day by thousands of motorists traveling Interstate 94 where it crosses Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis. Workers there are moving earth for what will eventually be the Hiawatha line's yard and shops. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

The Minnesota Twins may be back at the state Capitol this week to jump-start their push for a new stadium. Last month, the ballpark legislation was tabled in a House committee, leading many lawmakers to declare the proposal dead. But the unexpected strength of the team on the field may be turning public sentiment; some legislators are taking notice. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton suffered a major defeat at the Minneapolis DFL convention over the weekend. Sayles Belton was the favorite going into the convention for the party's endorsement in her bid for a third term. Instead delegates adjourned without endorsing anyone for the city's top elected post. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.

Minnesota has the country's second-largest Tibetan Buddhist community, a group that will be very evident this week, when the Dalai Lama visits the state with four public appearances. A number of events surround the Dalai Lama's visit, including a two-day conference on Tibetan medicine. The healing practices are among the oldest forms of medicine, dating back to the 4th century AD. The main components involve dietary and lifestyle changes, herbal medicine, and massage. Today in Minneapolis, health practitioners are wrapping up the second day of the conference. Minnesota Public Radio's Helms reports.

A string of layoffs by Minnesota companies like 3M, ADC Telecommunications, and a host of smaller firms tell the tale: the state's job market is softening. Initial claims for unemployment insurance in Minnesota through most of April soared by 67 percent compared to the same period last year. And though unemployment remains low, state officials expect it to rise. People looking for a new job will tell you it's harder than they expected. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin spoke to three people laid off recently and has this profile.

With only two weeks to go in the legislative session, Senate DFLers have finally released details of their $609 million tax relief bill. The package concentrates on property tax relief for mid-range homes. But House Republicans say the size of the cuts are a "embarrassment." And Governor Jesse Ventura's administration says the bill fails to meet any of the governor's criteria for reform. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

Many African American parents in St. Paul are blaming their children's academic shortcomings on what they see as insensitive teachers and unwelcoming schools. St. Paul school board members heard the complaint repeated often Monday night during a sometimes emotional, four-hour discussion of the achievement gap between black and white students. District officials say they're addressing the problem, but one local group is threatening to take its complaints to federal authorities. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

Former South Dakota Senator George McGovern was in the Twin Cities yesterday to lobby Governor Ventura on a program he supports that would provide school lunches to children in developing countries. McGovern was the Democratic candidate for President in 1972 and an outspoken critic of the war in Vietnam. After meeting with the governor he was asked by reporters about the recent news that in 1969 former Senator Bob Kerrey led a squad in Vietnam that killed women and children. McGovern says he doesn't hold Kerrey and other soldiers responsible for what happened during the war.

McGovern says the news coverage of Kerrey's actions in 1969 are an indication of the Vietnam War's continued grip on the United States.

Work has shifted from flood fighting to flood clean-up along Minnesota river towns like Montevideo. Residents are tearing down emergency levees and piling rotting sandbags in empty lots. And while officials plan for future floods, some are are asking why the area has seen two major floods in less than five years. Mainstreet Radio's Tim Post has more in this report.

Lawyers expect a full day of testimony in St. Cloud today in a trial for a misdemeanor driving offense that has been complicated by allegations of racial profiling. Minnesota Public Radio's Jeff Horwich has this Mainstreet report.

The Dalai Lama brought his message of peace and compassion to a capacity crowd at the University of Minnesota's Williams Arena last night. Topics for his address ranged from parenting to politics and his country's occupation by China. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.

Bringing the Dalai Lama to the Twin Cities took years of planning and thousands of dollars in private donations. Some of the fund-raising proceeds for the event will become the seed money for a Tibetan cultural center somewhere in the Twin Cities. Many who support the community believe establishing a gathering place for Minnesota's Tibetan exiles is critical for the preservation of Tibetan history, culture and language. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.

One week from today, Timothy McVeigh will be executed for bombing the federal building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. One of the people who will be there to witness the execution is Kay Fulton who lives in Red Wing, Minnesota. Fulton's brother, Paul Ice, was killed in the blast, along with 167 other people. Fulton was three blocks away when the bomb went off, and she saw part of the explosion, but she says she didn't immediately know that her brother had been killed.

The bald eagle was once on the brink of extinction, but the birds have made such a comeback in Minnesota, that they're interfering with flight paths at the Twin Cities International Airport. Last October, a Northwest Airlines DC-10 collided with a bald eagle. Officials at the airport want to study the safety risk that the birds pose to airplanes. Joining us on the line is John Ostrom, from Airside Operations at the Metropolitan Airports Commission.

Anglers should have no problem finding plenty of shiners, fatheads, chubs and sucker minnows as they head out for this weekend's fishing opener. But bait dealers in Minnesota say minnows may be in short supply later in the season. As Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Robertson reports, the shortage is due to a long, hard winter that wiped out many of the state's shallow minnow ponds.

Now that trees are budding and the ground is warming up, officials at the Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area are assessing the damage from a large wildfire. About 6,500 acres of state forest, grassland, and wetland went up in flames last October. The fire burned for eight days, and cost an estimated $2 million. I visited the area with manager Dan Rhode. He says the fire was strong enough to cause a good amount of damage.

Politics, celebration and a determined plea for human compassion marked the Dalai Lama's final day in Minnesota. After addressing the Legislature and meeting privately with Governor Ventura yesterday, the Tibetan Buddhist leader lectured at the University of Minnesota and participated in a roundtable discussion on religion with representatives of selected faiths. He's scheduled to leave for Salt Lake City this morning. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.

The state House will take up a $6.3 billion health and human services spending bill today. The bill includes a 24-hour abortion waiting period, which is also in the Senate bill. Governor Ventura has pledged to veto the entire bill if it arrives on his desk with the abortion language included. If that happens, it could shut down the Health and Human Services department. Joining us on the line is Chris Gilbert, political science professor at Gustavus Adolphus.

St. Paul is welcoming 1,500 visitors who are in town to talk about the future of the Mississippi River and the communities along its banks. At the Millard Fillmore Conference today and tomorrow, people from several river towns will compare notes and share tips on waterfront revitalization in their communities. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen has more.

In local business news, the Saint Paul Pioneer Press plans to cut about 10 percent of the newspaper's full-time jobs. The cutbacks will be made through eliminating open positions, early retirements, buyouts and possibly layoffs. John Morton is a newspaper analyst in Maryland and president of Morton Research. He says this is an industry-wide trend.

Negotiating teams for the Minnesota Nurses Association and 13 Twin Cities Hospitals begin discussing the financial terms for a new nurses contract today. The contracts for nearly 9,000 nurses expires on May 31 and the nurses union says its members want better working conditions, higher pay and a better system to attract younger people into the field. Yesterday, the union held an informational picket outside of one of the hospitals to draw attention to their cause. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.

A House committee is expected to rule as soon as this evening on whether to pursue ethics charges against a Republican Lawmaker. House DFLers allege Representative Jim Abeler violated conflict-of-interest rules by voting on a bill that brought him personal financial benefits. Last night the House ethics committee heard testimony, including Abeler's defense against the DFL complaint. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.

The Minnesota House has voted 89-43 for a $6.3 billion health and human services funding bill that includes a 24-hour abortion waiting period. Governor Jesse Ventura says he'll veto the entire bill if it arrives on his desk with the abortion provision. His veto would cut off state funding for programs ranging from nursing homes to welfare on July 1. Supporters of the waiting period say Ventura should reconsider his threat. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

Educators in Minneapolis and St. Paul say a provision in the House K-12 funding bill, eliminating remedial education money in three years, would be devastating to their schools. Those cities currently get millions of dollars more in state funding than other school districts because of higher concentrations of poverty. But many suburban and rural legislators say the system is unfair to the schools they represent. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

More than 1,000 people toasted Mississippi River revitalization at a banquet at St. Paul's River Centre last night. The dinner capped a day-long conference at which people involved in river development from Bemidji to St. Louis traded advice and anecdotes about their efforts. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports.

President George W Bush named his choice to lead the country's war on drugs. John Walters was named the nation's drug czar in a Rose Garden ceremony yesterday. Walters worked in President Bush's father's administration as deputy of the White House Office of Drug Control Policy, and is thought to be a strong supporter of drug interdiction. One of the members of the audience at the ceremony was William Moyers of the Johnson Institute in St. Paul. The Institute is a think tank that examines drug policy issues including recovery and treatment. Mr. Moyers joins us on the line now.

As the sun rises earlier in the morning and higher in the sky during the afternoon, it is time to start paying attention to our sun exposure again. This and more from MPR's favorite climatologist, Mark Seeley.

Security will be tightened tonight at the Metrodome as the Minnesota Twins open a home stand with a game against the Kansas City Royals. It's the first game since almost 60 people were thrown out of the dome last week after fans threw objects onto the field. They threw coins, golf balls, and other items at New York Yankee outfielder, and former Twin, Chuck Knoblauch. The Twins organization has beefed up security since. Joining us on the line is Matt Hoy, Twins vice president for operations.

Health experts who have fought the negative effects of tobacco use have traditionally concentrated on getting people to quit, or preventing them from starting in the first place. But a new effort at the University of Minnesota is trying a new direction: To reduce the harm that tobacco does to those who have already started smoking and who can't or won't stop. It's called harm-reduction. Joining us on the line is Professor Dorothy Hatsukami. She's a professor of psychology at the U of M, and leads the University's Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center.

The Minnesota state Senate has developed a compromised plan to combat racial profiling. The Senate Finance Committee approved the plan where the state offers law enforcement agencies money for video cameras for their squad cars. But to get the money, law enforcement agencies would have to have their officers collect data about traffic stops. Joining us on the line is Senate Finance Committee Chairwoman Jane Ranum of Minneapolis.