Monday, August 20

As Minnesota's population has become more diverse, communities - especially small rural towns, have faced a series of challenges. Perhaps the most basic is communication. Many new immigrants are unable to speak English. Often it's the children in a family who learn English first. Although local schools are making progress, they fear lessons learned during the school year might be forgotten during summer vacation. Mainstreet Radio's Bob Reha reports that an international organization with roots in Minnesota has come home to offer some help.

It will be five years this week since Congress passed the federal Welfare Feform Act, which encourages self sufficiency and puts a five-year limit on benefits. Over the past few weeks, we've talked with several women who are on welfare and could lose some of their benefits next summer. In Minnesota, 38 percent of those facing the deadline are white, 36 percent are black, and 12 percent are Asian. Most of them have between two and three children. Some have had several jobs; many have never worked in their lives. Jan Mueller is with Lifetrack Resources, a social service agency in the Twin Cities that runs a job training program. We asked Jan to tell us how what we've heard over the past few weeks compares to what she sees every day. Jan says it's still not clear exactly who will or won't get an extension of their benefits.

Pilots in ultra-light planes have led successful migrations of Canada geese, trumpeter swans and sandhill cranes. Now they're hoping to use the same technique to save an endangered species: the whooping crane. At a remote refuge in Wisconsin, pilots are training ten young whooping cranes for a 1,200-mile flight to Florida this fall. If all goes well, it will be a giant step toward taking the whooping crane off the endangered species list. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.

Here's Minnesota Public Radio's Chief Economic Correspondent Chris Farrell with an update on the economy.

Ten years after the collapse of Russian Communism, there are signs that the new economy is finally taking hold. Despite corruption, alcoholism and other drags on the economy, many people are finding unprecedented opportunity. In the latest special from American RadioWorks, A Russian Journey, National Public Radio's Anne Garrels visits the small towns between St. Petersburg and Moscow. Truck drivers, schoolteachers, teenagers and clergy she meets along the way describe a country very much in flux. One of Garrels' stops is at a new Cadbury Chocolate factory.

Democratic Senators Paul Wellstone and Mark Dayton, both members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, heard concerns from farmers yesterday in Stewartville. As Minnesota Public Radio's Rob Schmitz reports, finding ways for small farms to make a profit was the main issue.

If you're driving right now, and if you're one of those who puts on makeup, or fiddles with your phone, you're asked by the Department of Public Safety to knock it off. The state is launching a new public awarness campaign on the dangers of driving while distracted. State Patrol Lieutenant Mark Peterson says more and more crashes can be attributed to drivers not paying attention.

Governor Jesse Ventura is calling National Guard members to active duty in an effort to prepare for a possible strike by state employees. The state and its two largest unions have been at an impasse since contract talks broke down three weeks ago, and the two groups could walk off the job by the middle of next month. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

The Ku Klux Klan plans to rally this weekend at the State Capitol, and an anti-clan group says it will be there for a counter demonstration. The group called Can The Klan held a forum last night to discuss their plans, the history of the KKK, and ways to end racism. Kim Defranco is a member of Can The Klan.

Twin Cities airport officials voted Monday to expand a popular, but expensive noise mitigation program. However, the compromise proposal means as many as 6,000 homes affected by aircraft noise, most of them in Minneapolis, won't get help unless state lawmakers decide to add money to the program. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

School districts in Hennepin County are promising to work together to crack down on truancy. Officials announced their plans Monday. The county attorney's office is helping the district with intervention programs, attendance tracking, and swift legal consequences for students who repeatedly miss school. Under state law, students under the age of 18 are truant if they've missed seven days without an excuse.

The four major candidates for Minneapolis mayor Tuesday night explained how they'd supply more affordable housing in the city. City Council member Lisa McDonald, Hennepin County Commissioner Mark Stenglein, business consultant R. T. Rybak and Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton gave their views at a forum sponsored by MICAH and ISAIAH, two housing advocacy groups. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.

Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone will be in Biwabik, Minn. today to hold a round-table discussion about how technology and education can revitalize the rural economy. The man who hopes to unseat Wellstone in next fall's U.S. Senate race, St. Paul mayor Norm Coleman, will also visit outstate Minnesota today. Coleman is travelling to five cities to publicize the Charlie Brown exhibits in St. Paul. Professor Steven Schier is the chair of the political science department at Carleton College. He's on the line now.

Bear hunting season in Minnesota begins today, and the Department of Natural Resources hopes it's a good year for hunters. The number of bears has increased in the state to about 30,000, and with it, the potential for more incidents with humans. To help hunters bring in a bigger harvest, the DNR is raising the bag limit for the first time from one bear to two. Joining us on the line is Dave Garshelis, a bear researcher with the DNR in Grand Rapids.

A group of people who live right next to the Gopher State Ethanol plant in St. Paul want to intervene in the city of St. Paul's lawsuit against the plant. The Citizens Alliance for A Safe Environment is asking a Ramsey County district judge to make it a party in the city's noise and odor pollution lawsuit against the plant. Mike Unger is a attorney representing the citizens. He says special equipment installed this summer to get rid of odors has not worked for his clients.

Governor Jesse Ventura has stepped into the debate over redistricting. Wednesday, administration officials unveiled a new map that redraws Minnesota's eight Congressional districts to reflect demographic shifts captured in last year's national Census. The proposal is already drawing criticism from Democrats and Republicans, who approved separate maps of their own during the last legislative session. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

Recently, more than 300 people turned out at a public meeting in Fargo to express opinions on the appropriateness of a religious monolith built on city property. Since the late 1950s, a plaza outside the Fargo City Hall has housed a granite marker engraved with the Ten Commandments. The Red River Freethinkers, a group that advocates the separation of church and state, have called for the relocation of the stone. The group represents a distinct minority, but is gathering a lot of attention. Mainstreet Radio's Bob Reha has a look at the people who call themselves the freethinkers.

The 142nd Minnesota state fair opens Thursday in Falcon Heights. This year's fair features some old standards such as mini-donuts, crop judging, farm machinery and lots of livestock. Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg reports on some new arrivals at the Great Minnesota Get-Together.

Eight cows, 12 sows and 16 ewes are set to give birth while fairgoers watch. It's a kind of animal maternity ward. Dr. Mary Olson, a veterinarian, says timing the births to coincide with the fair is a little tricky.

The University of Minnesota is ranked as one of the top three research universities in the country. The University of Florida issued rankings this week, with the Twin Cities campus cracking the upper echelon of U.S. public research school along with the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Diane Craig put together the rankings. She says they were based on nine factors.

This summer Minnesota soybeans have been under attack. It's not going to devastate the crop, but the last few months have been good times for the insects that frequent soybean fields. Mainstreet Radio's Jeff Horwich reports that bugs have come from as far away as China to give Minnesota farmers a rough time.

Part of the fun at the Minnesota State Fair is walking through the animal barns and watching the competitions - from saddlebred horses to swine, bunnies to black angus cattle. It's a big deal to show your animal at the fair and it takes a lot of practice and preparation. Cassie Williamson is an 18-year old from Oakdale, Minn. She's a 4H member, and she's at the fair this year with her young Brown Swiss cow with the fancy sounding name of "Curvecrest Crosscut Bam." Cassie and Bam won their trip to the fair by being reserve champions at the Washington County Fair. We caught up with Cassie at her family's farm, as she was giving Bam a pre-fair bath.

What is a Turkey Tower? A kytoon? A Stevenson screen? Mark Seeley joins us to talk about the 5th Annual Minnesota State Fair Weather Quiz which will appear on the MPR web site for the duration of the fair.

Twin Cities voters have a lot of choices this year. A total of 38 people are running either for mayor of Minneapolis or St. Paul. On September 4 and 5, Minnesota Public Radio will broadcast debates with the leading candidates. From now until the Sept. 11 primary, we'll also give you a chance to hear from the other candidates. You can hear the St. Paul candidates on All Things Considered and the Minneapolis candidates will be right here on Morning Edition. Today, we hear from Tim Connolly, who works at the Minneapolis Farmer's Market and does security for the Loring Bar. Connolly says it's clear to him what it takes to be a good mayor.