Monday, January 7

Another financially-strapped metro-area school district is preparing to make some potentially painful budget cuts. Officials in the Anoka-Hennepin district say the failure to get additional taxpayer support last fall has left them facing a $10.5 million budget shortfall. School board members will gather public input on proposed cuts during a series of public hearings this week. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports. FULL STORY

Skiers and snowmobilers are grumbling because there's not much snow in Minnesota this winter. But that's good news for some winter sports fans -- like ice boaters. This is one of the best winters for ice boating in decades. Chris Julin found some ice boaters out on the harbor in Duluth. He has this Mainstreet Radio report. FULL STORY

This week on Morning Edition we are looking at how we've changed since Sept. 11. People who lost loved ones in the attacks or live in New York City or work in the airline industry have been directly impacted by what happened. But for most of us in this part of the country the impact has been harder to gauge. Over the last few weeks, we've been asking you to tell us how you've changed since Sept. 11. All this week on MPR you'll be hearing the response. This morning we hear a sampling of how people have been affected emotionally. Mary Lou from St. Paul contributed an essay on the Soapbox section of our web site. She says the date Sept. 11 has taken on a new meaning for her. READ OTHER STORIES

Shortly after Sept. 11, there was widespread speculation of what form the next attack would take. Some thought it likely that terrorists would go after the heart of capitalism -- corporations. That speculation, coupled with new and evolving terrorist threats, spurred companies around the state to reassess and strengthen their security procedures. Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg has the first in our series of reports on How We've Changed.

The Minnesota Vikings will play the final game of their season tonight without head coach Dennis Green. Green accepted a buyout of his contract on Friday, one day after reports that Red McCombs was planning to fire him. Green is being forced out after 10 seasons. This year's 5-10 record is the club's only losing season under his direction. Offensive line coach Mike Tice will serve as head coach when the Vikings play in Baltimore tonight. Sean Jensen covers the Vikings for the Pioneer Press. He's on the line now.

Minnesota Public Radio's Chief Economics Correspondent Chris Farrell is here with his weekly update of the markers.

Before Sept. 11, the nuclear industry's future seemed rosier than it had for years. But that may have changed in the post-attack world. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure has this report in our series, How We've Changed. FULL STORY HOW WE'VE CHANGED SERIES

After 14 years on the bench, Ramsey County District Court Chief Judge Lawrence Cohen is retiring. Before becoming a judge, he was a Ramsey County commissioner and mayor of St. Paul. Cohen says the best part of being a judge was having a positive influence on people's lives.

City leaders in the small western Minnesota town of Bird Island want to resurrect a lake that was drained 100 years ago. They say restoring Pelican Lake will help the environment and bring more wildlife, tourists and economic development to their community. But some landowners are fighting the idea. They say it won't give them lakefront property, but the view of a swamp. They're afraid the shallow lake will breed mosquitoes, flood basements and lower property values. Mainstreet Radio's Tim Post reports. FULL STORY

A new study by a physician at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis finds that new amusement park rides may lead to neurological symptoms in riders. Dr. Robert Braksiek warns that emergency room physicians may be seeing a significant increase in head, neck, and back trauma caused by the faster speeds and longer falls in new rides. His research appears in the January edition of the Annals of Emergency Medicine, and Dr. Braksiek is on the line now.

For the last month we've been asking you to reflect on how you have changed as result of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. This week we're playing some of your responses. Today we'll hear two perspectives. John Schneider is a chaplain at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale. He works with terminally ill people as part of their hospice program. He wrote these thoughts about Sept. 11 and its effect on him.

When Elizabeth Johnson started thinking about what has changed for her, she was reminded of all that she has lived through during her lifetime. For her, the tragic events of Sept. 11 did not represent a change.

The Sept. 11 terror attacks have led to significant changes for police officers, even those who work far from Ground Zero. In Minnesota law enforcement officials still chase car thieves and investigate thefts and perform the usual range of duties. But they have new duties related to homeland security. They are noticing a change in the way the public regards them and their work. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik prepared this report as part our series, How We've Changed. FULL STORY HOW WE'VE CHANGED SERIES

Minneapolis school district officials are facing a $30 million shortfall in the nearly $700 million budget for the next school year. Superintendent Carol Johnson presented school board members Tuesday night with a list of options for cuts that includes the possibility of increased class sizes. Johnson also took the small but symbolic step of rejecting her recent salary increase. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.

Today, the Metropolitan Airports Commission will discuss security at six small so-called reliever airports. Individual pilots, corporate jets, and many flight school instructors use these airports that are located in communities like Eden Prairie and Lake Elmo. This meeting comes just a few days after a 15-year-old pilot flew his small airplane into the side of a building in Tampa, Florida. Gary Schmitt, the director of reliever airports, will brief the MAC on security issues, and he joins us now.

For the last month, we've been asking you to reflect on how you have changed as result of the terrorist attacks. This week we're playing some of your responses. Kelly Hansen is 29 years old and lives in Minneapolis. Until two weeks before the attacks, she lived and worked in New York. She wrote in with these thoughts.

While the Minnesota Vikings just wrapped up their first losing season in more than ten years and the Twins are fighting talk of contraction, the Timberwolves are on a hot streak. The Wolves will try to win their sixth straight game when they take on Seattle tonight at the Target Center. They are just a half game out of first place in the NBA's Midwest Division. Brit Robson covers the Timberwolves for the City Pages. He's on the line now.

Governor Ventura Thursday will announce his plan for addressing the state's nearly $2 billion projected budget deficit. Ventura's finance commissioner, Pam Wheelock, says the budget plan will include a combination of spending cuts, tax increases and dipping into the state's budget reserves. She says resolving a deficit of this magnitude will be painful. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.

A tripartisan stadium task force will convene Thursday in Mankato to tackle the thorny issues surrounding financing of potential baseball and football stadiums. After months of taking testimony, task force members will begin sorting through their options for paying for sports facilities. A consensus seems to be emerging that a solution focused on so-called "user fees" and related charges could generate the necessary support in the Legislature. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo has more.

This weekend the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra presents the world premiere of Krisis, a symphony honoring the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. Composer Daniel Schnyder is an Austrian who lives in New York. He was in Holland on the day of the attacks, but his wife was back in New York. She was not hurt, but like many people that day, Schnyder spent frantic hours on the phone trying to find her. Schnyder says as artists struggled to react to the tragedy, no existing classical piece seemed appropriate to him. Then, at the invitation of St Paul Chamber Orchestra Music Director Andreas Delfs he decided to try to write a piece in reaction to Sept. 11. He told Minneasota Public Radio Classical Music Host Tom Crann the piece has three movements reflecting stages in human reactions to tragedy.

The Bush administration has unveiled a new plan for making cars more efficient, and one Minnesota official wants to put the state in the forefront of that transition. The Bush administration says it will increase spending on fuel cell technology, and work with carmakers to make fuel cell powered cars - hopefully in the next decade. Fuel cell engines run on hydrogen, and the only waste product is water vapor. Jack Uldrich, the state's deputy planning director, wants to work with Ford, which has done its own research on fuel cells, to turn its St. Paul truck plant into one of the first that makes the next generation of cars. Joining us on the line is Jack Uldrich.

Planned construction to widen the bottleneck at Crosstown 62 and 35-W will reduce the already congested corridor down to one lane. Transportation officials are worried that the traffic flow will come to a standstill, so they're thinking of ideas to get drivers to avoid the road during rush hour. A transportation task force is recommending an electronic toll that would be charged during the busiest times. The idea is called value pricing. Drivers would buy and install a small transponder in their car. Carol Flynn is the chair of the Value Pricing Advisory Task Force that came up with the recommendation. She says drivers would would also set up an account where they would pay the toll.

All this week we've been looking at what has changed since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. Many of our listeners have offered their perspective by calling our comment line or submitting an essay to the Soapbox section of our web site, mpr.org. Beth, who lives in Maple Grove, has been observing the people around her and has these thoughts on what she has seen. HOW WE'VE CHANGED SERIES

An article published today in the Minneapolis-based business journal CityBusiness suggests elective medical procedures are taking a hit in the recession. The journal says many clinics that offer procedures generally not covered by insurance policies have seen a downturn in business. Sam Black wrote the article for today's CityBusiness. He says a wide range of procedures have been affected.

A tripartisan stadium task force has given its informal endorsement to a state role in building new stadiums for the Minnesota Twins, the Vikings, and the University of Minnesota Gophers. During a meeting in Mankato Thursday, the panel opted to support the concept of public financing for a stadium -- while steering clear of direct subsidization. But sorting through the details is likely to remain a formidable task. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports. FULL STORY

The week we enjoyed a brief reprieve from Kaikias. Mark Seeley, professor and extension climatologist at the University of Minnesota, joins us with the more about the weather word of the week.

Southeastern Minnesota nonprofits gathered in Rochester Thursday hours after Governor Ventura unveiled a proposal to close the nearly $2 billion projected budget shortfall. A panel of area legislators attempted to answer questions about program cuts and grant money. But Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally reports lawmakers didn't have many answers.

On Sept. 11 an already shaky american economy took a nosedive. Many lost their jobs, others saw their retirement funds shrivel. As a result people have less expendable income and are making fewer nonessential purchases - or are they? Minnesota Public Radio's Marianne Combs has this report on how the terrorist attacks may be responsible for a sudden surge in the art industry. HOW WE'VE CHANGED SERIES

Today is the four-month anniversary of the terrorist attacks. If you were listening to this station on the morning of Sept. 11, the first eyewitness account you heard was from Melissa Creighton, who spoke to us on her cell phone from the streets of New York.