Monday, November 12

On Monday many people have the day off to observe Veteran's Day. Banks are closed. There's no mail delivery. In some states, like South Dakota, kids have a break from classes. One elementary school principal says she's tired of kids not understanding the meaning behind the holiday. Mainstreet Radio's Cara Hetland takes us to a school assembly where students heard first hand what it means to be a veteran.

Like many cities in the region, Fargo, N. D. is searching for ways to revitalize its downtown. Over the years the downtown area has become less attractive for business owners and consumers. Some say people avoid downtown because of street people and panhandlers. City officials and citizen groups are working to address the issue. Now the city is considering an ordinance to ban panhandling in the downtown area. Mainstreet Radios Bob Reha reports.

Members of Minnesota's two largest state employee unions are voting on a contract deal reached last month. The state and the unions reached the tentative deal after union members had been on strike for two weeks. Many workers are upset about the proposed package of wages and benefits, and say they'll vote against it. The leader of one union says the vote is too close to call, while the head of the other is predicting members will ratify the contract. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

Now it's time for your comments. Last week's vote by Major League Baseball owners to eliminate two teams before the beginning of next season prompted many listeners to call our Morning Edition comment line.

Racial profiling, many white Minnesotan's believe, does not happen here. However, the numbers tell a different story. Studies show black men are stopped at a rate far greater than their presence in the population. Once in the criminal justice system, black men in Minnesota are prosecuted, convicted and sentenced at a higher rate than whites. The efforts to measure and correct racial disparity in the state's criminal justice system has met with only mixed success. All this week, we investigate those efforts. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson has the first installment in our series, The Color of Justice.

The Minnesota Vikings were routed for the second straight game yesterday, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 48-17. The Vikings are now 3-5 on the season and have lost all four of their road games. Joining us now from Philadelphia is Sean Jensen who covers the Vikings for the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

MPR's Chris Farrell is here with his Monday market update.

A new round of mandated state testing is underway in Minnesota public school classrooms. Over the next month, teachers will use the new Test of Emerging Academic English to measure the progress of the students who are not yet fluent English speakers. The results could also have a financial impact on schools. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota says he has asked Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to delay talk of eliminating the Minnesota Twins for a year. Daschle says the delay would give Minnesotans time to figure out how they can build a new stadium. If Major League Baseball goes through with plans to eliminate the Twins and the Montreal Expos, it will mark a historic moment for the game. This would be the first league contraction in one hundred years and the end of one of the charter members of the American League. Bill James is one of the country's leading authorities on the history of the game. He has just published The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. He talked with Minnesota Public Radio's Jim Bickal about how this proposed contraction compares to the contraction of 1900 when the National League went from 12 to eight teams.

Leaders of the Somali and Muslim communities in the Twin Cities have voiced repeated concerns about harassment since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Other unsettling side effects from the attacks include confusion over how Americans can balance civil liberties and national security. A forum in Minneapolis Monday night aimed to answer some questions about civil liberties and to get the local Muslim and Arab American perspective on Sept. 11. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.

The state of Minnesota is making progress in preparing for a possible terrorist attacks, according to the State Department of Health. The Commissioner of the department, Jan Malcolm, and other state officials will join Governor Jesse Ventura later tonight for a forum on public TV to outline preparations against potential threats. Joining us on the line is Health commissioner Jan Malcolm.

Studies show African Americans and other people of color are in Minnesota's criminal justice system at a rate far greater than their presence in the population. That disparity has grown despite years of studies. No one seems to know why Minnesota's predominantly white population turns overwhelmingly nonwhite inside the state's prison gates. Some blame police practices such as racial profiling for bringing more people of color into the court system. But in the end, judges bear the responsibility for sending people to jail. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports on the connection between judges and racial disparities in this installment in our series, The Color of Justice.

Minnesotans should feel assured that the state government is doing everything it can to prepare for a terrorist attack, according to Governor Jesse Ventura. The governor spoke last night on public television. Ventura says that this war is unlike any other that America has faced, and that the need for homeland security is a new reality. He says he and state officials have worked on keeping the state safe every day since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Sara Jane Olson says she may not be guilty after all. Olson has filed a petition in a Los Angeles Superior court to withdraw the guilty plea that she volunteered last month. She plead guilty of aiding and abetting a plan by the Symbionese Liberation Army to kill Los Angeles Police Officers in the 1970s. Leaders of her defense fund say Olson gave the guilty plea under pressure, and isn't sure she wants to go through with it. Olson's uncertainty seemed to surface just moments after her guilty plea, when she told reporters outside the courthouse that she was really innocent, but felt she couldn't get a fair trial after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The judge ordered her back in court a few days later to clarify her guilty plea, which she did. Analysts said she faced at least five years behind bars. Joe Daly is a professor at the Hamline School of Law. He says Olson's latest move shows she probably has buyer's remorse.

The weather today looks very mild with high temperatures expected to reach 60 degrees in parts of the state. But the normal high for this time of year is in the low 40s, so winter is on the way. When it comes, the Minnesota Department of Transportation will have a few new tricks up its sleeve to clear the snow and ice off the roads. Joining us on the line is Norm Ashfeld who's in charge of MnDOT's metro division snow and ice removal program.

Olmsted County will ban smoking in all restaurants beginning Jan. 1. The board voted in favor of the state's first county-wide smoking ban on restaurants Tuesday night. Minnesota Public Radio's Laurel Druley reports.

Major League Baseball's decision to eliminate two teams by next year has touched off a string of legal action intended to block the decision. In Minnesota, the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission filed suit to hold the Twins to their Metrodome lease, while Attorney General Mike Hatch is contemplating a federal antitrust suit. In Florida, the state attorney general has already taken the first steps towards a similar suit. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

As Congress struggles to craft an economic stimulus package, the travel industry is pushing for legislation that would encourage Americans to get on planes, stay in hotel and eat out at restaurants. A national industry group says by the end of the year more than 450,000 people in travel-related businesses will have lost their jobs. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports.

Most of the attention to racial profiling and racial disparities in Minnesota's criminal justice system focus on the Twin Cities. But disparities in the justice system are also evident in rural counties with large minority populations. In Beltrami county about 20 percent of the population is American Indian. But nearly half of those arrested and jailed are Indian. This obvious disparity raises questions about the criminal justice system and social problems confronting the Indian population. In this installment in our series, The Color of Justice, Mainstreet Radio,s Dan Gunderson found there are no easy answers.

Long-time fugitive Sara Jane Olson is now asking a judge to let her withdraw her guilty plea. Olson says she wants to go ahead and be tried on charges of participating in a 1975 plot to blow up police cars in Los Angeles. Last month, Olson entered the guilty plea in a Los Angeles courtroom -- but then walked outside and told reporters she was innocent. Days later, the judge called her into court and questioned her about her plea. In documents unsealed yesterday, Olson says she has had a change of heart. State Representative Andy Dawkins has been one of Olson's most prominent supporters in the past, and has been a friend of Olson's for 20 years.

Economists are challenging Duluth to diversify its job base, and to give young people a stronger voice in the city's business and government. The economist's call opened a two-day summit, intended to chart the future course for Duluth economic efforts. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports.

Everyone knows Duluth as the home of Canal Park and the Aerial Lift Bridge. But not many people know Duluth was once the ski-jumping capital of the United States. Two local history buffs dug up that nugget and other forgotten pieces of Duluth history. They've put them in a book that's a photographic tour of Duluth's old buildings. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports.

There's a court hearing scheduled today in Hennepin County, on a move to hold the Minnesota Twins to their Metrodome lease. The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission hopes to keep the Twins in the dome next season, blocking contraction plans announced by Major League Baseball. Other plans to keep the Twins in the state include a move by some members of Minnesota's congressional delegation to introduce bills that would revoke parts of baseball's antitrust exemption. Jerold Duquette is the author of the book "Regulating the National Pastime: Baseball and Antitrust. He says baseball got its antitrust exemption in a 1922 Supreme Court decision.

Governor Ventura reassured Minnesotans this week that the state is prepared to deal with a terrorist attack. But even as he has tried to calm the public, Ventura has shown increasing concern about the security of the State Capitol - and his own personal protection. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

In Minneapolis and St. Paul, African Americans are stopped by police at rates far higher than their presence in the cities. To answer charges of racial profiling, police departments in both cities began recording the race of drivers pulled over by officers. Many African Americans say the data shows what they've suspected all along: that police target African Americans because of their skin color. As a part of our series, The Color of Justice, Minnesota Public Radio's Brandt Williams conducted a 'rolling roundtable' discussion on the issue of "driving while black", and prepared this report.

The first half of November has been record- setting statewide with an overall average temperature between 46 and 47 degrees . Only two other years have seen November temperatures average over 38 degrees statewide. Those years were 1899 and 1999. But of course the month is not over yet and it appears the warm temperatures will be heading south next week. Mark Seeley joins us with more.

The Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra is celebrating its 70th season under the baton of a new conductor. Markand Thakar has his feet in two musical worlds. He'll keep his job as an assistant conductor at the New York Philharmonic while commuting to Duluth for the monthly concerts with the DSSO. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill visited during a rehearsal and has this report.

Hennepin County District Judge Harry Crump says he'll announce in a few days whether he'll require the Twins to play baseball in the Metrodome next year. Crump heard arguments Thursday from the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, the attorney general's office and the Minnesota Twins. The commission filed suit last week after Major League Baseball's owners announced they would eliminate two teams before next season. The Twins are a top candidate for contraction. But the Sports Facilities Commission argues the Twins have signed a contract that requires the team to play in the Metrodome next year. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.

Governor Jesse Ventura and a group of state business leaders will meet later today to discuss the future of the Minnesota Twins. The group is working on a proposal to buy the team from owner Carl Pohlad. They're also exploring ways to get a new ballpark. Joining us on the line is Minneapolis businessman Harvey MacKay, who is one of the people who will meet with the governor today.

A grass roots organization of Rochester residents wants a recount of last week's school referendum vote. Some residents say the school district had too much control over a ballot with only one item. Mainstreet Radio's Rob Schmitz has this report.

Discussions of race and the criminal justice system tend to focus on the disproportionate rates at which African Americans are arrested and jailed. However, the growth of Latinos, Hmong and Somali in Minnesota has broadened the scope of the disparities issue. Skin color, ethnicity, language and culture often complicate interactions between law enforcement and members of immigrant and refugee communities. The police and courts are trying to adjust to the increasing diversity. But some say the changes aren't coming fast enough. Minnesota Public Radio's Brandt Williams reports.