Monday, May 28

City officials in Fargo-Moorhead are steadily moving toward an agreement with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad to create a whistle-free quiet zone through the two cities. The tracks of the old Great Northern and Northern Pacific railroads split the two communities and mile-long trains constantly roll through town. City officials say the noise is hurting downtown redevelopment, but railroad representatives say the horns are a necessary safety tool. Now both sides believe they are close to negotiating an agreement that will resolve the issue. Mainstreet Radios Bob Reha reports.

Most Minnesota hunters take to the fields in the fall, hoping to bag a deer, ducks, pheasants or grouse. But a growing number of hunters are heading for the woods in the spring in search of the wild turkey. Wild turkeys once inhabited only extreme southeastern Minnesota, but with human help their range has expanded far beyond what most experts thought possible just a few years ago. Mainstreet Radios Dan Gunderson reports.

Whether you're out hunting turkeys, camping, or doing anything outdoors this Memorial Day weekend, chances are you're fighting mosquitos. A wet spring followed by a hot spurt two weeks ago means there's a bumper crop of the pesky bugs. But there is one part of the state where some people say there are almost no mosquitos. It's bluff country, in southeastern Minnesota. The area is slightly west of the Mississippi, and is marked by limestone cliffs and deep valleys. Dave Palmquist is an interpretive naturalist at Whitewater State Park, about 20 miles east of Rochester and in bluff country. He says the area has so few mosquitos because of its geography.

This Memorial Day, Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis has organized a tour of 18 gravesites. They are not sites of famous people, but of what cemetery historians are calling "everyday heros." Historian Greg Felson researched and documented the lives of these 18 people. I visited him out at the cemetery and asked how he got interested in Lakewood.

Less than half of the ninth grade students from back in 1996 graduated on time from high school in the Minneapolis public school system. Many of those students who failed to graduate didn't just struggle with school, but also dropped out altogether. Joining us on the line is Carol Johnson, Minneapolis school superintendent.

Minnesota Public Radio's Chief Economics Correspondent Chris Farrell.

Conference committees at the Minnesota State Capitol will be meeting today to work out the details of the budget agreement that legislative leaders and the Governor announced on Friday. The deal would reduce property taxes significantly and shift almost all of the cost of K-12 education to the state. Joining us now with a preview is MPR's Capitol Bureau Chief Laura McCallum.

A conference this week in Fargo will examine some of the challenges of bringing technology to rural areas, and showcase some of the success stories. Mainstreet Radios Dan Gunderson profiles a Fargo high-tech company that's getting noticed around the world.

Most kids take summer jobs to make some extra cash. A bike shop in St. Paul offers teenagers wages plus a chance to learn firsthand some lessons about how to run a business. Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg reports.

Many legal scholars have said there can be no justice until the legal profession reflects the backgrounds of those it represents. The American Bar Association for more than 30 years has tried to even the odds for low-income students, disproportionately people of color, to succeed in law school. For the first time, the Bar has chosen a Minnesota law school for what some call a legal boot camp that levels the playing field between the rich and the poor. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports.

The Metropolitan Council will hear a report today on how much land is available for development in the metro area. The report is based on a study of five fast-growing communities: Lakeville, Woodbury, Maple Grove, Shakopee, and Plymouth. Those cities are forecasted to accommodate more than 20 percent of the region's growth in households by 2020. Rick Packer heads the Public Policy Committee of the Builders' Association of the Twin Cities, which conducted the study with the met council. He's on the line now.

One hundred and ten people are gathering in a Grand Rapids resort today to consider a new future for Minnesota's forests. Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Allen Garber hopes to sell the group on his vision of forestry, providing raw material for a vibrant lumber industry, habitat for wildlife, and room for recreation. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports.

A decade before their attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese had invaded and occupied broad stretches of China and the Korean peninsula. Japan's aggression included the massacre of more than 300,000 people in one of China's major cities, Nanjing. Tonight in St. Paul, Asian and American composers and musicians including cellist Yo Yo Ma present the first concert of remembrance and reconciliation. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

Many of the parks and other public areas that were closed by floodwaters this spring have reopened. One exception is the St. Paul Downtown Airport. Holman Field has been out of commission since April 11 and will likely stay closed for a couple more weeks. This is the third time in recent years Mississippi River floods have closed the airport, which has some of the affected businesses calling for better flood control measures. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports.

The only spending bill passed during the Legislature's regular session is headed back to lawmakers. Yesterday Governor Jesse Ventura vetoed legislation providing $544 million for child care and community education programs. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.

The mystery of how students at two Washington County elementary schools got salmonella poisoning appears to be solved. County health officials traced the source of the contamination to owl pellets used in an after-school science activity. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.

The Minnesota Nurses Association has reached a tentative agreement on a new contract with 1,100 at three HealthEast hospitals. With less than two days to go before a strike, the MNA and the Bethesda Rehabilitation and St. Josephs Hospitals in St. Paul and St. John's Hospital in Maplewood, reached an agreement that union leaders will recommend to members when they vote today. Negotiating teams for Children's Hospitals in Minneapolis and St. Paul also talked through Wednesday night in an effort to reach a deal for those 1,200 nurses. While the late flurry of contract settlements could signal the beginning of the end to the labor dispute for 6,600 remaining nurses remaining nurses, union leaders and the nine remaining hospitals in the Twin Cities say they're still preparing for a work stoppage at 5:30 a.m. Friday. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.

Lawmakers will be back at the state Capitol today, working on the major tax and spending bills they did not finish during the regular legislative session. That includes ironing out details of the tax bill, on which House and Senate negotiators reached general agreement late last week. The bill cuts property taxes by providing rate reductions and handing education funding over to the state. Lawmakers could also decide to impose levy limits, which would cap the amount that local governments could raise property taxes. Kevin Corbid is a policy analyst with the Association of Minnesota Counties. He's on the line now.

Twin Cities nurses are preparing to strike in less than 24 hours, but the number of hospitals that could be affected is shrinking. In the wee hours of this morning, negotiators with children's hospitals and clinics reached agreement with their nurses. This morning, nurses at three St. Paul-area hospitals will vote on a tentative agreement reached with healtheast. If there is a strike against the remaining seven metro hospitals many elective surgeries will be postponed. The possible walkout is also bad news for women who are pregnant and unable to postpone their hospital visits. Jennifer Clausner is a graphic designer from the Twin Cities who is pregnant with her first baby. She is due June 8, and she's not sure where she'll deliver her baby.

A looming registered nurses strike in the Twin Cities is off, for now. Nurses postponed this morning's planned strike so they can vote on tentative deals and offers put forth overnight. The strike was planned for 5:30 this morning. Instead, the nurses association held a press conference with the latest information. MPR's Mark Zdechlik was there and he joins us now.

As populations decline in rural areas, providing access to medical care becomes more difficult. Medical providers attending a rural technology conference this week in Fargo had a chance to see how technology can improve access and quality of care. Mainstreet Radios Dan Gunderson reports.

Despite cool and rainy conditions, May averaged from 1 to 2 degrees warmer than normal in most places around the state. Mark Seeley is here to tell us what to expect in June.

Officials with the Minnesota Nurses Association and seven Twin Cities hospitals have averted a strike, at least for now. A spokewsoman with the Minnesota Nurses Association says they're delaying their strike plans for most of the hospitals until 5:30 Sunday morning so the nurses can review the new contract proposals from the hospitals, and schedule votes for tomorrow. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.

The legislative logjam at the capitol moved ahead slightly on Thursday as lawmakers finalized a higher-education funding bill they'll put to a vote in a yet to be scheduled special session. House and Senate negotiators actually exceeded their spending target by carving out some additional revenue for colleges and universities, but higher education leaders say it's still not enough to prevent double digit tuition increases. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

St. Paul DFLers meet tomorrow to endorse a candidate they hope will be the successor to Mayor Norm Coleman. Delegates to the city convention have six DFL mayoral candidates to pick from. A majority of those candidates say they plan to run in the primary with or without party endorsement -- but a lively endorsement contest is expected, nonetheless. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports.

One of the busiest fishing openers since 1993 has led officials at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to change the slot limit for walleye on Lake Mille Lacs. After June 5, anglers will only be able to harvest walleye that are 16-to-18-inches long and they won't be able to take home any fish over 28 inches. Tim Goeman is the DNR Regional Fisheries Supervisor in Brainerd.

The Minnesota Lynx won their season opener against the Portland Fire last night 82-65. Katie Smith led the Lynx with 31 points. Smith is the only player left from the team that was assembled three years ago in the franchise's first season. All the changes haven't translated into a playoff birth yet, but coach Brian Agler thinks this year's team can make the post-season. Joining us on the line is Andrea Lloyd-Curry, who played for the Lynx last year, and is now a color commentator for Lynx radio broadcasts.