|
August 30 - September 3, 2004
[ Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday ]
|
Monday, Aug. 30, 2004 |
Meet the Minnesota Republican delegation
As the Republican National Convention begins in New York City today, 41 delegates and 38 alternates from Minnesota will gather at Madison Square Garden. For about two-thirds of the Minnesota delegates, this is their first national convention. Many have significant roles in the Bush-Cheney campaign, and the delegation is united in its support for President Bush and his reelection bid. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.
Minneapolis Foundation program getting early results
It has been three years since the Minneapolis Foundation made an offer to 450 third graders in the Minneapolis and St. Paul Public Schools: graduate from a Twin Cities high school and you will get $10,000 for college. As part of Destination 2010, the mostly low-income students of color were offered mentoring and tutoring as they make their way through school. Bradley Scarborough was in third grade at the Broadway School in Minneapolis when the offer was made. Bradley and the other students in the program will enter the seventh grade this week. Emmet Carson is the president of the Minneapolis Foundation. He says after three years Destination 2010 is working well.
Schell brewery survives 144 years
Life's not easy for the owner of a small business. Either a big corporation is squeezing your future or you are scratching for money to fix some equipment. Survive ten years and you are an old-timer. Last 144 years and you are a legend. The August Schell Brewing Company of New Ulm has managed that trick. The family owned business has survived war, prohibition, the Great Depression and cut-throat beer competition. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports.
"Ye Old Mill" still floating along at State Fair
The Minnesota State Fair continues today in Falcon Heights. While there are lots of rides at the fair that can turn your stomach, there is one that can steal your heart. Some riders say they stole their first kiss or proposed marriage during the 4 minute long trip into darkness. The "Ye Old Mill" ride has been attracting sweethearts at the Minnesota State Fair since 1913. It is America's oldest tunnel of love owned by the same family. Minnesota Public Radio's Greta Cunningham reports this State Fair institution is still floating along.
|
|
Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2004 |
Moderates speak and conservatives write platform at GOP convention
Moderate Republicans are delivering many of the prime time speeches at the Republican National Convention in New York this week. Arizona Sen. John McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani addressed the convention last night. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will speak tonight. The three disagree with many Republicans on issues ranging from abortion to gay marriage. But on the convention floor, delegates approved a party platform yesterday that affirmed a more conservative viewpoint. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.
Praise for Minneapolis police chief on video slapping incident
Community leaders in Minneapolis are praising police officials for their responsiveness to concerns raised by a video released this weekend showing an officer striking a handcuffed suspect. Minneapolis Police Chief William McManus met yesterday with a group of community representatives to discuss the incident. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.
|
|
Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2004 |
Governor wants police to be able to ask about immigration status
Gov. Tim Pawlenty has asked the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul to make it easier for police officers to ask about a person's immigration status. The governor made his request in a letter to the city councils of the two cities. Both cities have ordinances that generally keep police from asking about immigrant status unless it relates to illegal activity. Pawlenty wants the cities to change their ordinances. He says it will help law enforcement protect homeland security. Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Paul Ostrow, president of the Minneapolis City Council.
Minnesota GOP delegates paint a day care center
A group of Minnesotans attending the Republican National Convention in New York spent several hours yesterday painting a day care center. The volunteer work was part of the Republican Party's theme of "compassionate conservatism." Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.
Hunter anticipating Mourning Dove season
Minnesota's first mourning dove hunt in nearly 60 years starts today. Lawmakers reinstated the hunt in response to years of lobbying by hunters. Many people know the mourning dove by its plaintive call in the early morning or near sunset. But it is also the most popular gamebird in the United States. Mainstreet Radio's Dan Gunderson visited a Minnesota hunter who's excited about the new season.
Opponents of Dove season hold vigil
There's a fair amount of opposition to the Mourning Dove hunting season. Opponents held a Mourning Dove vigil last night on the steps of the State Capitol. Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Barbara Goodwin, a DFL state representative who attended the vigil.
Questions around delisting of the wolf linger
Thirty years ago, gray wolves were nearly extinct in the lower 48 states. The gray wolf has been on the endangered species list since 1974. Now, U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials say the animal has made a remarkable recovery. At a hearing in Bemidji last night, the agency took public testimony on a proposal to remove endangered species protections and turn gray wolf management over to the states. As Mainstreet Radio's Tom Robertson reports, not everyone favors removing gray wolves from federal protection.
|
|
Thursday, Sept. 2, 2004 |
Some Republicans see Pawlenty on national stage
Gov. Tim Pawlenty appears to be testing the national waters while in New York for the Republican Convention. Pawlenty spoke to an influential fundraising group whose president says Pawlenty should be on a national ticket in 2008 or 2012. Pawlenty says he is not thinking about a national run - he is simply trying to tell Minnesota's story. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.
House leaders face off in first debate
Republican and DFL legislative leaders are already trying to influence the makeup of the state House next year. The Speaker of the House and the House Minority Leader held the first in a series of statewide debates yesterday at the State Fair. Currently, the GOP holds a comfortable 81-to-53 seat majority in the House. But Democrats say they are eager to trim that lead or even recapture the majority. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.
Xcel wants more nuclear waste storage at Monticello
Xcel Energy says it wants to build a dry cask storage facility at its Monticello plant. The storage proposal is part of the utility's effort to renew the operating licenses for the Monticello and Prairie Island nuclear power plants. Company officials say extension of their licenses will require planning now for waste management down the road. Dry cask storage has been controversial in the past. This time around, critics say they are concerned that the State Legislature will have little impact on the decision. Mainstreet Radio's Annie Baxter has the story.
New book on Duluth lynching of a Finnish dockworker
Until a memorial was unveiled in Duluth last year, not many Minnesotans knew of the tragic story of three young black men, lynched by a mob in the port city back in June of 1920. The men were wrongly accused of raping a white woman. It is safe to say that until a new book was released this week, not many Minnesotans knew of another lynching in Duluth's history. The book, "Suomalaiset: People of the Marsh" looks at the death of a Finnish dockworker, whose body was found swinging from a tree in Duluth's Lester Park. Was the death a suicide or murder? It is a question that author Mark Munger tries to answer. Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Munger, a district court judge by day, got the idea for the book, from the Minnesota Public Radio website, where he read about the lynching of the three black circus workers.
|
|
Friday, Sept. 3, 2004 |
U of M considering plan to upgrade medical facilities
Top officials at the University of Minnesota are considering a plan to upgrade the University's medical facilities that could cost more than $500 million. The 10-year plan would move all hospital care to campus, and would close the Riverside branch of the Fairview-University Medical Center. It would also include a new children's center and a new outpatient clinic. The plan still needs to be finalized, and approved by the University of Minnesota Board of Regents. Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Dr. Frank Cerra, the University's senior vice president of health sciences.
Who's got the political 'mo?
Minnesota delegates to the Republican National Convention say, in his speech last night, President George W. Bush laid out a vision several described as "strong." And though the election is two months away, the delegates think the momentum is with their candidate. Democrats say the convention's harsh attacks against Democrat John Kerry will turn off the undecided voters Republicans want to persuade. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.
State Fair fans participate in political art
Politics and the Minnesota State Fair go back a long way. One local artist is using that tradition to create an interactive art display. Robert Delutri is making a painting by asking fairgoers to indicate their choice for president with one blue, red, white or black stroke of paint on a large canvas. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts reports.
Wilderness Act is 40 years old
America's Wilderness areas celebrate a birthday today. Forty years ago, President Lyndon Johnson signed The Wilderness Act - creating the nation's system of federally protected wilderness. Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area was one of the first. Several Minnesotans played prominent roles, including then U.S Sen. Hubert Humphrey and a junior college administrator from Ely, named Sigurd Olson. Mainstreet Radio's Bob Kelleher reports.
Weather comments from Mark Seeley
University of Minnesota Climatologist Mark Seeley discusses the cold August this year, and remembers cold summers of years past that adversely affected farm crops.
|
| Morning Edition Archive |
|
|
|
© 2024 | Home : Terms of Use : Your Privacy Rights