Digitization made possible by the State of Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, approved by voters in 2008.
January 31, 1997 - Lawmakers will be lobbied on the bus this morning by mayors from several Twin Cities communities who want more money for transit and cleaning up polluted ground. The bus tour grows out of discussions among central city and suburban mayors who want a united front in lobbying for some of their interests. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports. Lawmakers will board the bus at the state capitol for a relatively short ride to one of the first sites - several acres of St. Paul land dominated by a huge mound of polluted soil. St. Paul mayor Norm Coleman says a priority among several cities is money to help clean up sites which can be used for development.
January 31, 1997 - Larger-than-life puppets and the magical realism of writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez come together in the latest production of "In the Heart of the Beast" Mask and Puppet Theater in Minneapolis. "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" tells the tale of a broken, elderly man with wings who mysteriously appears in a coastal village and causes an uproar. While the story sounds more like an ancient legend, the production's creators believe it resonates in modern times. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts has a closer look.
January 31, 1997 - Minneapolis state Representative Myron Orfield has introduced legislation to have voters in the 7 County Metro elect the members of the Met Council. As it stands now, the Governor appoints the Met Council, and Orfield says that's no way to select the people who have authority over suburban development, the metro bus system and even the International Airport. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin ("Olaf") Kaste reports: Myron Orfield has been campaigning for years to correct what he sees as the Met Council's original sin. When the Council was created in 1967, it was intended as a model of modern urban planning, the first of its kind in the nation. But the Legislature balked at making it an elected governmental body, and ever since, the Governor has appointed the Council. Orfield says it's time to make the Council more directly accountable to the vote
February 3, 1997 - Midday looks at the health care system, how it works, and how it can be improved. Studio guests are Michael Scandrett, executive director of the Minnesota Council of Health Plans; and Stuart Hanson, a representative of the Minnesota Medical Association. Scandrett and Hanson also answer call-in questions from listeners.
February 3, 1997 - Mark Rosentraub has been studying the Twins ... and the Indians ... and the Browns, and the rest of major league baseball, football, basketball, and hockey. And he has a plan to stop what he says they've been doing to their host state and local governments. It's outlined in his new book Major League Lo$ers, the Real Cost of Sports and Who's Paying for It. Rosentraub says there's a definite pattern to the way teams get new stadiums from municipalities. He says it's like a play with four acts, and in Minnesota we're almost ready for the intermission. Mark Rosentraub, author of Major League Lo$ers, the Real Cost of Sports and Who's Paying for It. Sun 28-MAY 20:53:29 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11/2001
February 3, 1997 - Deborah Biede fights against time. Today on our Odd Jobs report we'll hear how she also battles dirt, loose seams and frayed edges. Biede conserves clothes and other textiles in the Minnesota Historical Societies Archive. She uses a variety of tools and techniques to preserve yesterday's heirlooms for tomorrow. Minnesota Public Radio intern Brian Bull talked with Biede in the textile laboratory at the History Center in St. Paul.
February 3, 1997 - Many children growing up in the sixties assumed that by the time they were adults they would all be travelling in spaceships and making regular trips to the stars. Of course it hasn't quite worked out that way..... but in central Minnesota, the children of some of those wanna-be intergalactic explorers ARE getting a practical lessons in outer space. One teacher in Sauk Rapids has teamed up with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration--NASA--to teach students about space and aeronautics, but also about how to learn. . . . Minnesota Public Radio's Gretchen Lehmann (lay-mun) reports:
February 3, 1997 - In technology news today, Israel as the Middle East's high-tech capital, Compuserve as the beneficiary of AOL's troubles, and Andy Inahtko defines “hacker.”'
February 3, 1997 - The 1997 legislative session will be relatively low-key when it comes to health care. There are no major health reforms in the works...at least not anything on a scale comparable to the 1992 MinnesotaCare legislation. But, there is at least one health care issue brewing this session that could significantly change the way MinnesotaCare is financed. Minnesota Public Radio's Lorna Benson reports: MinnesotaCare is the state's subsized health care insurance plan for the uninsured. It's funded primarily through a 2-percent tax on providers including medical doctors, chiropractors and dentists.
February 3, 1997 - Today, two D-F-L'ers introduced a bill in the House to license naturopathic physicians--those who use on natural remedies to heal the sick. State Representatives Linda Wejcman and Karen Clark are proposing a number of criteria that a naturopath must meet in order to attain licensure, including a four-year degree. At this point, only six practioners in the state are known to meet the requirements. Helen Healy is a naturopathic practioner in St. Paul. Last year, the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice sued her for practicing medicine without a license, and reached a settlement laying out what she could and could not do in her practice. She favors the idea of licensing because it would give some legal protection to naturopaths and significantly expand the care they would be allowed to give. Dr. Paul Sanders is the CEO of the Minnesota Medical Association which opposes the licensing. We invited Healey and Sanders into the studio to lay out the pro's and con's of the proposal. Healy told us licensing would give naturopaths more credibility with patients and in the medical establishment: