Digitization made possible by the State of Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, approved by voters in 2008.
April 10, 1997 - Teenagers may soon have to jump through a few more hoops to get a drivers license if a bill moving through the legislature becomes law. The bill would make licenses provisional for 16 and 17 year olds; if they're stopped for a violation they'd have to take more drivers training. It would also impose a midnight to 5am curfew and require parents to attest to thirty hours of supervision of their young driver. The bill from Senator Ember Reichcott Junge may be debated on the floor of the Senate this week. Minnesota Public Radio's Brent Wolfe reports from Rochester that parents hope it will reduce the number of accidents involving young drivers but teenagers think the new rules would be too harsh.
April 11, 1997 - Midday’s Gary Eichten has a conversation with former Senator Eugene McCarthy during a visit to the Twin Cities for a couple of public book readings. During the program, McCarthy reads from his publication, Selected Poems, and answers listener call-in questions.
April 11, 1997 - The Minnesota House passed a major welfare reform bill LATE last night (early this morning.) The measure NOW goes to a conference committee where the differences between it and the bill passed by the Senate will be worked out. But as Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports...House members didnt' wrap up their work until (time)...action that had been delayed by abortion politics over the last week: The first order of business on the bill, was an amendment offered by Minority leader Steve Sviggum that would have required greater reporting requirements by doctors who perform abortions. But House Speaker Phil Carruthers ruled that the amendment was not relevant and a majority of members agreed,thereby kicking abortion politics out of the welfare reform debate.
April 11, 1997 - Residents of Breckenridge are preparing for round two of their battle with the Red River. The river is expected to crest again this weekend, as the community is still trying to recover from a mix of floodwater, rain and a blizzard. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports... (nat of birds chirping)
April 11, 1997 - A key Senate committee today (Friday) killed Governor Carlson's latest school vouchers proposal. The Governor has promised to veto all other school spending until he gets a vouchers plan, and lawmakers are steeling themselves for a showdown at the end of the legislative session, next month. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports: The Senate K-12 Committee didn't surprise anybody when it voted down the Governor's vouchers plan; their counterparts in the House already killed the bill last week. The Governor wants a law to let students spend state dollars on private education, something he believes would reform the whole school system by making it more "customer-oriented." The Governor has been fighting the Legislatu
April 11, 1997 - The state patrol has been using helicopters this week to rescue families stranded by flood waters. On Monday, Minnesota State Patrol pilot Gary Pierce helped rescue five farm families from homes with no power and cut off by flood water in the Red River Valley area. He says the hardest part was finding a place to LAND the helicopter. --------------------------------------------------------- | D-CART ITEM: 6514
April 11, 1997 - Vice president Al Gore toured parts of flood-stricken Minnesota and the Dakotas today. Joining him ... members of Minnesota's congressional delegation, FEMA representatives, and Lieutenant Governor Joanne Benson. We reached Lieutenant Governor Benson in Breckenridge, where the river is expected to crest this weekend. Lieutenant Governor Joanne Benson who spent the day touring flood ravaged areas along the Red River with vice president Al Gore. We reached her in Breckenridge. Sun 28-MAY 19:58:53 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11/2001
April 11, 1997 - It's a good bet residents up along the Red River Valley have been saying to each other all winter "How About that Weather?" We've almost lost track of the number of blizzards, and now the floodwaters have come. The Clay County Historical Society must have had some notion what was coming, because it had the foresight to organize an exhibit that opened in February called "How About that Weather?" Mark Peihl is the archivist. Mark Peihl (PEEL) is archivist for the Clay County Historical Society. The "How About that Weather?" exhibit is up for a year. You can see what the flooding looks like in Fargo-Moorhead from our website ... www.mpr.org. You can also see what the flood of 1897 did to the area. Sun 28-MAY 19:58:53 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11/2001
April 11, 1997 - The battle is far from over, but there is a feeling of optimism in Fargo Moorhead. Reverend Craig Hanson has been sharing his thoughts with us from his home on the banks of the Red River in Fargo. Today, the third installment of his Flood Diary finds him in bouyant mood. Reverend Craig Hanson lives in Fargo on the banks of the Red River Sun 28-MAY 19:59:03 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11/2001
April 11, 1997 - The Mississippi River is expected to crest late this weekend or early next week between the Twin Cities and LaCrosse, Wisconsin. The river is already higher than it's been at any time in Minnesota since the record flood of 1965. The Coast Guard has closed the river to all boat traffic and bridges are threatened at Prescott, Wisconsin; Red Wing, and Wabasha. The National Weather Service has been warning of this flood for months and communities along the river have developed elaborate contingency plans. Barge operators are suffering high costs from being idled but as Minnesota Public Radio's Brent Wolfe reports, flooding along the Mississippi isn't expected to cause the widespread damage residents of northern and western Minnesota have faced. | D-CART ITEM: 6449 | TIME: 4:31 (WATER SOUND TO FADE AFTRWARDS, RUNS TO 5:1