Monday, June 11

Northern Minnesotans are dealing with an outbreak of forest tent caterpillars and this summer could be a peak year. Department of Natural Resources officials estimate the pesky worms have already devoured leaves from 4-5 million acres of hardwood forests. As Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Robertson reports, the bugs cause no permanent damage, but are a major nuisance for folks who have to deal with them.

Minnesota taconite producers are relieved President Bush is seeking trade sanctions against steel importers. The Administration has asked the International Trade Commission to investigate whether U.S. Steel producers are being hurt by unfair imports. If the ITC finds evidence of alleged steel dumping the administration could impose sanctions. However, experts say that could hurt other U.S. Industries, and may not address the core problem in U.S. Steel. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports.

Governor Jesse Ventura called a special session despite legislators' failure to agree on tax and spending bills. Minnesota Public Radio's Capitol Bureau Chief Laura McCallum is on the line now with more.

Scholars of Holocaust and Genocide studies from around the world are in Minneapolis this week to discuss deterrence and prevention of genocide, and to learn more about the work of the international war crimes tribunals. Keynote speaker at the conference on Sunday was Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, the former president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and past appellate judge for the tribunal for Rwanda. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.

Two years ago Ryan Nelson and Gerry Nybo of Detroit Lakes died when a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Train hit their car at a railroad crossing. Nelson and Nybo were just two of the 402 people killed in similar accidents in the United States in 1999. For the Nybo and Nelson families the accident has left many unanswered questions that they say the BNSF has shown little interest in answering. Now the dead men's parents have organized Citizens Against Railroad Tragedies, a group working to force changes in the way such accidents are investigated. MainStreet Radios Bob Reha reports.

Chris Farrell is here with his regular update on the markets.

Justin Femrite is co-captain of the University of Minnesota Concrete Canoe Team. They're bringing their canoe to San Diego to compete in a national competition that starts later this week.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's six-year-long search to find the cause of the state's widespread frog deformities appears to have ended. Until this year, PCA researchers were at ground zero of an investigation that involved scientists nationwide. Now the agency's retreat is leaving what some scientists say is a critical hole in the effort to solve the mystery of the deformed frogs. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.

Governor Jesse Ventura's administration is expected to mail tens of thousands of notices to state employees Tuesday outlining plans for a potential government shutdown. With budget negotiations stalled at the state Capitol, agency heads will begin this week to identify critical services that must be maintained even if spending bills aren't approved when the fiscal year closes at the end of the month. As Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports, other important deadlines are quickly passing that could derail any property tax deals for at least a year.

One year after the fatal shooting of a mentally ill woman by Minneapolis police, friends and activists are working to keep Barbara Schneider's name alive. The shooting prompted the department to review how police respond to mental health crises. Mental health professionals and others say the effort hasn't gone far enough. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.

More than 1,300 nurses at Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina and Fairview Riverside in Minneapolis are beginning their 10th day on strike Tuesday. A federal mediator has not scheduled new contract talks to end the strike and neither side is showing any signs of resuming negotiations. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.

Residents of Benson are cleaning up after a tornado destroyed several businesses and homes. The tornado struck yesterday afternoon on the edge of the west-central Minnesota town. Seven people were injured, including a 12-year-old boy who's hospitalized in Fargo. It looks like some more severe weather is on the way. Chris Scott is a forecaster with the National Weather Service.

Notices to tens of thousands of state employees are expected to be mailed today outlining what will happen if there is a government shutdown. A shutdown is looking more and more likely with each passing day. To keep the government running, the Legislature must pass spending bills before the fiscal year ends on June 30 and there is still no agreement in sight. A special session called by Governor Ventura began yesterday and then was quickly recessed until Thursday. Ventura says he still thinks calling the session without a prior agreement was the right thing to do.

A federal decision that California vehicles must use gasoline blended with ethanol likely means rapid growth for the alternative fuel. Most of the production is based in the Midwest and Minnesota has the most ethanol plants of any state. But while this round is a clear win for ethanol, more political battles are expected in the future as the oil industry fights to limit the use of the corn based fuel. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports.

A feasibility study for a new commuter rail line from St. Paul to Hastings is complete. Tuesday the Red Rock Commuter Rail Commission unveiled preliminary plans for the project at St. Paul's Union Depot. Supporters hope the rail line will be up and running in 2010, but there are major hurdles in the way, especially finding the $120 million dollars it will take to build the project. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.

State agencies are making plans for a government shutdown if the Legislature is unable to pass spending bills before the fiscal year ends on June 30. Many state employees would be laid off and nonessential services would be suspended, but essential services like prisons would continue. Sheryl Ramstad-Hvass is the commissioner of the department of corrections. She says her office has determined what kind of staffing level is needed at the state's prisons to maintain security.

This week, people in Duluth are honoring the three black men lynched by a huge mob in 1920. The story is getting a lot of attention after decades of silence. But Duluth is still quiet about its other lynching. Two years earlier, at the tail end of World War I, a small mob tarred and feathered a Finnish working man in Duluth, and hanged him from a tree. To this day, few people in Duluth know the story. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Julin has this report.

A new study shows a single dose of antibiotics can prevent the onset of Lyme disease. Dave Nietzel of the Minnesota Department of Health discusses the research.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has approved a request from Minnesota that allows the state to participate in a federal program that helps cover uninsured children. For the past three years Governor Ventura and officials with the state's Department of Human Services have been lobbying the federal government to approve the funding. Ventura said the federal government was penalizing Minnesota for establishing a program for uninsured children before Congress created its own program in 1997. State officials say the new money will help insure more Minnesotans, but some lawmakers in the state Legislature don't have the same expectations. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.

The housing market in the Twin Cities is exceptionally tight these days with would-be homeowners or renters facing a 1.5 percent vacancy rate. A new report released by the Metropolitan Council says the situation is especially difficult for people of color and immigrants who face unfair housing discrimination. Minnesota Public Radio's Kaomi Goetz reports.

State lawmakers will meet again Thursday in special session, but without final agreement on a host of tax and spending measures, they're expected to quickly recess again until next week. Yesterday, leaders met in public to trade offers, but the bargaining only emphasized the divisions between the House and Senate. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

As the stalemate over the budget continues, the Ventura administration is preparing for a possible government shutdown. If nothing emerges from the Legislature by June 30, all but essential state services will be curtailed. The state began sending out notices to all 53,000 state employees this week outlining what will happen in the event of a shutdown. A Ventura administration official says employees could be furloughed rather than laid off. John Remington is a professor of Industrial Relations at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. He says for the employee there's very little difference between a layoff and a furlough.

Farmers in southwestern Minnesota's Rock County report that 10 percent of the soybean crop has been lost to hail damage. This is the latest bad weather news for Minnesota farmers particularly in the southern part of the state where cool temperatures, heavy rain and hail have taken their toll. Kent Theisse is an ag extension educator in Blue Earth County which is in the south-central part of the state. He visited with farmers yesterday and joins us now.

In the next several days, the sports world will crown some national champions. Pro basketball and college baseball will bestow their titles. But another championship is going on here in Minnesota. Bicyclists from around the country have gathered in Blaine for the National Track Cycling Championships, which continue through Saturday. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen visited the velodrome to catch up with some of the country's fastest cyclists.

A Renville County hog farm has agreed to pay a $125,000 fine and put high-tech covers on all 14 of its manure holding lagoons. Representatives of the ValAdCo hog cooperative and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency reached the agreement last night after a day- long mediation session. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.

The National Weather Service has been extremely busy this week forecasting severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and flash flooding. The average number of days with thunderstorms in June for the Twin Cities area is seven, but we have already had that many and it is just mid-month. Mark Seeley says that the weekend outlook is drier for most of the state.

Minnesota lawmakers remain without a budget agreement despite meeting late into the evening to discuss their differences over tax and spending bills. Governor Jesse Ventura had asked House and Senate negotiators to reach compromise by Friday, but legislative leaders say meeting the governor's charge was all but impossible. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

As leaders of the Minnesota House Republicans and the DFL Senate try to agree on tax and spending plans, rank and file members are waiting for an agreement that they have little influence over. Despite their lack of input, they may also be asked to vote on the agreements with as little as a day to scrutinize the end product. Joining us on the line is Ed Oliver, who's in the Republican minority in the Senate.

The wife of former Sen. Rod Grams, a Republican, is expected to plead no-contest this morning to misdemeanor charges that she sent politically disparaging e-mails without disclosing who was sending them. Christine Gunhus will probably not face jail time, but will likely have to pay a fine. Last summer, Gunhus sent e-mails which disparaged Democratic Senate candidate Mike Ciresi. The e-mails left electronic footprints, which led to the charges against Gunhus. Joining us on the line to discuss how this kind of prosecution works is Ira Winkler, president of the Internet Security Advisory Group in Maryland.

Nine thousand people will bolt across a starting line in Two Harbors early tomorrow, bent on covering the 26 miles to Duluth's Canal Park. Grandma's Marathon is celebrating it's 25th anniversary. The race is now the single top draw to the port city, and it's well established as one of the nation's premier foot races. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports from Duluth.