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September 6 - 10, 2004
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Monday, Sept. 6, 2004 |
Race for Minnesota's 2nd District takes shape
Visits today from Vice President Dick Cheney and vice presidential candidate John Edwards' is more evidence that the presidential race casts a long shadow over some other important campaigns in Minnesota. One of them is in the state's Second Congressional District. The contest between Republican incumbent John Kline and DFL challenger Teresa Daly mirrors many of the issues being discussed in the presidential contest. The war in Iraq is the top issue that the two candidates are debating. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.
The changing of the seasons
Summer is finished. The crowds are already thinning in busy tourist spots like Duluth. Up north, it seemed like summer never came this year. Some towns had their chilliest summer on record. The cool summer was just fine with Larry Weber. He's a biology teacher and the author of Backyard Almanac. He's a phenologist. He's been keeping a careful record of the seasonal changes in nature around him for years. He took Mainstreet Radio's Stephanie Hemphill on a tour of the woods to look for signs of fall.
Tourist district in Duluth sees summer pass by
Back in town in Duluth there were more cold, grey days than anyone wants to count. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Julin stopped in at a deli in Duluth's tourist district to talk about the passing of summer. Mary Tennis was working behind the counter.
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Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2004 |
Military charter schools promise disciplined education
Two new Minnesota charter schools open today in St. Paul offering a distinct military approach to education. The Colonel Charles Young Military Academy and the General John Vessey Leadership Academy are separate operations, but both promise their students strict discipline and rigorous learning environments. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.
For-profit colleges attracting growing number of older students
Many students are also beginning college this month and a lot of them are not fresh-faced teens. Older students are increasingly returning back to school, and it is a market for-profit colleges are finding lucrative. For-profit colleges -- or career colleges as they are sometimes known -- offer certificates in everything from accounting, horseshoeing and web design, to courses leading to bachelors, masters, and even doctoral degrees in business and technology. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.
College teacher nervous about first day
Here is a True Story. Chris Godsey has butterflies in his stomach this week. He is headed back into the classroom. He teaches writing and journalism at the University of Minnesota in Duluth. This is his fifth year as a full-time instructor, but the first day of class is still pretty tough.
Vice presidential candidates campaign in Minnesota
The presidential campaigns continue to focus attention on Minnesota. John Kerry will be in Rochester tomorrow. First Lady Laura Bush visits Duluth and St. Paul on Thursday. Yesterday, both of the candidates for Vice President were in the Twin Cities. Republican Dick Cheney held a town meeting at the state fair. And, Democratic candidate John Kerry's running mate John Edwards spoke to thousands of supporters at an AFL-CIO labor day picnic. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.
Remembering hockey pioneer Cal Marvin
Cal Marvin, a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame for his 50 years of work with the sport, has died. He was 80 years old. Marvin helped establish the northern Minnesota town of Warroad as "Hockeytown USA." Over the years, Warroad, which has less than two thousand residents, produced an impressive string of Olympians, professional standouts and amateur stars. In the late 1940s, Cal Marvin founded the fabled Warroad Lakers, a senior league team of post-collegiate stars that skated with the best in the world. Marvin also helped found the men's hockey program at the University of North Dakota where he played collegiate hockey. We visited northern Minnesota last year for a special Morning Edition broadcast about the hockey tradition in that area. During that broadcast from a hockey rink in Roseau we talked to Cal Marvin about how he ended up in hockey business unlike his brothers who ran Marvin Windows and Doors.
A rock star from Indian Country
Native American musician and activist Robby Romero spends a lot of time in Minnesota. In August, he performed at the inauguration of the Red Lake tribal chief Buck Jourdain. And he regularly visits the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe's reservation. Romero is equal parts musician and activist. It is an identity that came from Romero's artistic rediscovery of his roots. Romero calls his music native rock, and he faces the challenge of getting the word out about his music to mainstream and native audiences alike. Minnesota Public Radio's Annie Baxter has the story.
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Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2004 |
Minnesota Chamber of Commerce developing new transportation plan
A new report finds that commuters in the Twin Cities metropolitan area waste an average of 42 hours a year because of traffic delays. It is reports like that and the economic costs of an aging transportation system that is prompting the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce to renew its effort to get a transportation plan passed at the State Capitol. Later this month, the Chamber will unveil a new statewide transportation plan. Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Carolyn Jones, director of transportation issues at the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.
Kerry to visit GOP area of Minnesota
Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry brings his campaign to Rochester today where he is expected to talk about health care. It is his first trip to an area considered staunchly republican since he launched his bid for the White House. With elections two months away, Kerry and his opponent President Bush, are trying to capture the state's few remaining undecided voters. Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally reports.
Highlights from the 9/11 Commission testimony on America RadioWorks
The Nine-Eleven Commission uncovered information that shed new light on the terrorist attacks on America. From the hearings emerged the most detailed picture yet of how the terrorist plot unfolded. You can hear highlights of dramatic testimony at the commission's hearings in an American RadioWorks program called "Witnesses to Terror" at noon today on Midday. In this excerpt, American RadioWorks producer Catherine Winter presents the tense first moments on September 11,2001 before the crashes, and the Commission's somber assessment --- that both the Federal Aviation Administration and the Pentagon were totally unprepared for a suicide hijacking and an attack within the United States.
New play in Fargo honors New York fire fighters
One of the most enduring images of the September 11th attacks is of the fire fighters who rushed into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York. In Fargo, North Dakota, a local theatre group is teaming with the Fargo fire department to produce "The Guys." The play remembers the heroes of Nine-Eleven, as regular people. Mainstreet Radio's Bob Reha reports.
Faith and Values newspaper section loses longtime reporter
Open up the Star Tribune on a Saturday, and you'll find the Faith and Values section, an area devoted to news and trends in the religious community, and how faith fits into everyday life. One of the people who helped found the Faith and Values section is long time reporter Martha Sawyer Allen. Martha tucks away her reporter's notebook this month, after nearly 20 years of writing about religion. Sawyer Allen says she initially volunteered for the religion beat on a whim.
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Thursday, Sept. 9, 2004 |
Kerry visits Rochester
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry campaigned in Rochester Wednesday. He met with a group of approximately 150 local folks in the back yard of a Rochester residence. The meeting was advertised about health care, but Kerry took questions and talked about topics like immigration, the draft, and environmental protection. Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally reports.
The harbor that's rusting away
Corrosion is eating away at the steel walls that hold Duluth's harbor together - and nobody knows why it is happening. Fixing the metal walls could cost millions of dollars. Without a fix, the busy port could slide into the water, and out of business. Mainstreet Radio's Bob Kelleher reports.
Polling place security plan set
State officials say Minnesota is prepared for the potential of a terrorist attack on election day. Even though there is no known threat to Minnesota polling places, homeland security and election officials have been working together to educate elections workers and first responders. They also say they are ready for the first statewide test of a new voter registration system during next Tuesday's primary election. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.
Play retells Hindu myth using art of "monkey chant"
This weekend the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden will be the setting for an unusual cross-cultural collaboration. "Sethu," which means "bridge," employs fifty artists from India, Indonesia and Minnesota to retell an ancient Hindu myth. It also includes the Indonesian art of 'monkey chanting.' Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts has more.
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Friday, Sept. 10, 2004 |
Nonprofits try to mobilize voters
Minnesota nonprofit organizations have launched their first-ever coordinated drive to get voters to the polls in November. Nonprofits say many of the people they serve don't vote, and they want to change that. Their goal is to contact 40,000 eligible voters, which could make a difference in what appears to be a close presidential race in the state. As part of an occasional series - "Every Vote Counts" - Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.
Federal waiver may lead to lower drug costs for state
Federal Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson has granted Minnesota permission to join with six other states to negotiate discounts on Medicaid prescription drugs. Thompson joined Gov. Tim Pawlenty yesterday to make the announcement, and predicted the state would save up to $14 million a year through cheaper medications. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.
Interest grows in non-genetically modified crops in Minnesota
Later today, a group of people from places as far away as Japan and Spain will go to a farm in Rosemount, Minnesota, where researchers are improving ways to grow non-genetically modified crops. The trip is part of the first Midwest Specialty Grains Conference in Minneapolis. Attendees are interested in food that has been grown and kept separate from genetically modified food, also known as genetically modified organisms or GMOs. Conference organizers say wordwide demand for non-GMO soybeans and grains is growing rapidly. Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Bob Zelenka, executive director of the Midwest Shippers Association which is sponsoring the conference.
Mark Seeley's weather comments
University of Minnesota climatologist Mark Seeley discusses the Climate Prediction Center's prediction being wrong for September. It said Minnesota would have colder and wetter weather than normal. Seeley also gives us some weather rules-of-thumb to forecast the weather when radio and TV and other weather forecast sources are not available.
Vikings open new season against Dallas
The Minnesota Vikings open their NFL season this Sunday at the Metrodome with a nationally televised game against the Dallas Cowboys. The season opener gives the Vikings a chance to turn the page from last year which ended with a loss to the lowly Arizona Cardinals, knocking the Vikes out of the playoffs. On Sunday, the Vikings begin the third year of head coach Mike Tice's three-year rebuilding program. When he got the job, Tice told owner Red McCombs that by year 3, the Vikings would be contending for the Superbowl. Joining us on the line is Sean Jensen who covers the team for the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
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