Monday, August 13

Over the last few weeks, we've talked with a variety of people on welfare. All of them could lose some of their benefits next July as part of a federal welfare reform act that puts a five-year limit on benefits. Today we'll hear from Mary Brown. Mary is in her forties, and has been on welfare for about 20 years. She has had a felony conviction in her past, which is keeping her from getting jobs she really wants. Of all the woman we've spoken with, Mary is the least likely to get an extension.

American Express is moving hundreds of positions from Minneapolis to India and the Philippines. Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg reports.

Minnesota in the global economy. Minnesota Public Radio's Chief Economics Correspondent Chris Farrell joins us with more.

The city of Hibbing has lots of reasons to be proud. It's the site of the world's largest open pit mine, and home town to Bob Dylan, Kevin McHale and Rudy Perpich. But not many people know the town is also the birthplace of Greyhound. The nationwide bus company started in Hibbing with two men, and one car. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Julin has more.

It's easy to forget, given this morning's fine weather, but last week at this time we were sweltering in a thick heat. The miserable weather was in part caused by high dew points. That means there was a high amount of water vapor in the air. Some climatologists have noticed dew points in Minnesota may be on the rise, and if that true, one reason could be our corn fields. Dr. Jeff Basara is a scientist at the Oklahoma State Climate Office. He's studied the connection between crops and dew point.

A team of researchers say they have found more proof that Vikings spent time in Minnesota hundreds of years before other European explorers entered the area. Members of the Kensington Runestone Research Team recently found a stone with what some say are runic carvings on it's surface. The stone was found near where the original Kensington Runestone was unearthed over 100 years ago. The new stone's authenticity is being questioned by some archeological experts, in a debate reminiscent of the 103-year-old argument over the first runestone. Mainstreet Public Radio's Tim Post reports.

St. Paul mayor Norm Coleman will deliver his final budget address later today. His budget will go to the St. Paul City Council where it must be approved by the end of December. After leading the city for nearly eight years, Coleman has decided not to seek re-election. He will instead run in next year's Senate race in an attempt to unseat DFLer Paul Wellstone. Mayor Coleman is on the line now.

A 37-year-old man from Michigan is in Minnesota today getting ready to swim across Lake Superior. Jim Dreyer will begin the trip tomorrow, if weather permits. The 62-mile swim will start in Grand Portage, on Minnesota's North Shore, and end at the F.J. McLain State Park on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Dreyer has already swum the other four Great Lakes. If he makes it across Superior, he'll be the first person to swim a direct crossing of the lake.

Minneapolis is alive with gospel music this week. The Gospel Music Workshop of America has come to town where thousands are honing their craft and studying the business of gospel music. Minnesota Public Radio's Patty Marsicano reports.

The Minnesota Twins begin a three-game series tonight in Cleveland against the first-place Indians. The Twins are coming off a four game series where they were swept by the team with the worst record in the Major Leagues, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Twins are having trouble scoring runs, and will have to put rookie pitcher Adam Johnson on the mound Thursday in place of injured pitching ace Brad Radke. LaVelle Neal covers the Twins for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He says the team is struggling with the pressures of a pennant race.

This week, the St. Paul City Council will begin digesting the 2002 budget proposal Mayor Norm Coleman unveiled Tuesday. For the eighth and last time, Coleman presented a budget that calls for no increase in the city tax levy. But Coleman, who is not seeking re-election, may be leaving City Hall just in time. Some city officials expect a slowing economy will make it more difficult to maintain St. Paul's recent pattern of avoiding tax increases without cutting services. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports.

Six Minneapolis schools will likely close next year under the district's latest budget tightening moves. Superintendent Carol Johnson is giving school board members her proposal to close the small schools, which are currently located in leased or deteriorating buildings. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

Today at Bethel College's Benson Hall about 730 Hmong Veterans and widows from Laos will become U.S. Citizens. Most of them are gaining citizenship under a law passed last year called the Hmong Veterans Naturalization Act. The new law allowed many of those being sworn-in today to take the citizenship test in their own language or with an interpreter. But advocates say the law, which expires in November, needs to be extended. Joining us on the line is Michael Yang, director of the Immigrant and Refugee Policy Coalition of Minnesota. His parents emigrated from Southest Asia back in 1979. Yang will deliver a speech at the ceremony today.

Minnesota's two largest food banks have announced they will merge at the beginning of October. Second Harvest Greater Minneapolis will combine with Second Harvest St. Paul to create a new organization that will be able to provide an extra five-million pounds of food annually. Dick Goebel has been the executive director of Second Harvest St. Paul for nearly 20 years.

Farmers are mulling over mixed news this week. They are use to battling the weather. But this year has been more of a struggle then most. Spring was marked by excessive rain, delaying planting for small grain crops like wheat and barley. The past few weeks extreme heat and humidity has hung over the Midwest. The weather is moderating now, but new national projections predict the price for some crops, notably corn and soybeans may rise as a result of the weather. Mainstreet Radio's Bob Reha reports.

A group of lucky Minnesotans is spending this entire week in Georgia learning how to run a major golf tournament. Officials from Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. are studying how officials at the Atlanta Athletic Club are running this year's PGA Championship that begins this morning. That's because next year, the PGA is coming to Hazeltine. It'll be the first major golf tournament to take place in Minnesota since the 1991 U.S. Open, also held at Hazeltine. Joining us on the line is Bill Travis, General Chairman of next year's PGA tournament.

Four Minneapolis mayoral candidates met Wednesday evening to debate their qualifications for the city's top post. The candidates used the forum to challenge each other on city issues including economic development, affordable housing and crime. Minnesota Public Radio's Brandt Williams reports.

There's one Minnesota politician who's attracted more media coverage than Governor Ventura this summer - Attorney General Mike Hatch. Hatch has been in the news recently for his investigation of Allina Health System, and throughout his term, has gotten attention for focusing on health care, privacy, and consumer issues. Political observers say Hatch would be smart to seek a second term next year, although the Democrat has long sought the office across the hall,l the one occupied by Jesse Ventura. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

A tunnel-boring machine the length of a football field arrives by ship in Duluth on Friday. Beginning this fall the 500-ton German-made machine will dig parallel tunnels beneath the Twin Cities airport for the Hiawatha light rail line. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

State Fair officials are taking precautions to protect livestock from foot and mouth disease. Anyone who has recently traveled to an infected area will be asked to stay away from the livestock barns. Hundreds of people bring their livestock to the fair each year, many for competition. Steve Pooch is assistant manager of the State Fair, and oversees all the livestock.

Despite first impressions, selling products to Canadian consumers is different than selling products to Americans, according to some retail analysts who are looking at Best Buy's acquisition of Future Shop,Canada's biggest consumer electronics store. Analysts generally liked the move which has Best Buy purchasing 88 stores in Canada for about $380 million. But analysts caution that moving into Canada can be more difficult than it first appears. Joining us on the line is Randy Scotland, vice president of communications at the Retail Council of Canada in Toronto.

It's always something: Exactly one week after reporting temperatures in the 90s with Heat Index values exceeding 100 degrees, Minnesota reported the nation's low this past Monday when Hibbing came in with a minimum temperature of 34 degrees. Mark Seeley joins us with more.

Two University of Minnesota football players have been charged with first-and third-degree sexual assault. Defensive end Steven Watson and cornerback Mackenzy Toussaint are scheduled to make a court appearance on September 12 for the alleged rape and assault of a 19-year-old woman. A criminal complaint says the three people were engaged in horseplay in a campus apartment. According to the complaint, the woman tried to leave after the two men made sexual advances, but one of them forced her to have oral sex, and the other forced her to have intercourse. Roberta Gibbons is the associate director of the Program Against Sexual Violence at the University of Minnesota. She's on the line now.

A Ku Klux Klan rally next weekend in St. Paul is fast becoming a major event. It's prompted at least three counter demonstrations and several police departments to prepare to prevent violence. Minnesota Public Radio's Patty Marsicano reports.

The counter-rally to the KKK is likely to be much bigger than the Klan rally itself, according to officials at the Souther Poverty Law Center in Alabama, which tracks the KKK and other hate groups. Officials at the SPLC say many of those counter-demonstrators want to send a message that groups like the Klan aren't welcome. But does this KKK rally at the Capitol signal increased Klan activity in Minnesota? What other hate groups have taken root in the state? Here to help us with some of those questions is Mark Potnik who's with KlanWatch at the SPLC who joins us on the line now.

Members of the 36-year-old Minnesota Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission plan to meet Friday in Hudson, Wis. to discuss their future. The group oversees shared waterways like the Mississippi River and the St. Croix, and is funded with matching amounts from each state. But this year's Wisconsin state budget, still awaiting gubernatorial approval, contains no financial support for the commission. Mainstreet Radio's Erin Galbally reports that without backing from both states,the Boundary Area Commission will likely dissolve.