Digitization made possible by the State of Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, approved by voters in 2008.
March 6, 2001 - Snow drifts are piled high in western Minnesota reminding many people of the winter four years ago when the spring melt lead to record flooding. But the snow is not quite as deep as 1997, and that has most hoping this year's high water will be more a nuisance than a threat. As the snow begins to melt, residents of the Minnesota River valley are preparing; hoping for a slow, controlled melt, but ready just in case March brings more heavy snow or rain. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports:
March 6, 2001 - Gopher, created in the early 1990s at the University of Minnesota, organized the internet into lists.
March 7, 2001 - Spring in the Red River Valley is often a mixed blessing. Residents welcome the warmer temperatures, but shudder at the inevitability of at least some flooding along the Red River of the North. Now after years of discussion, planning and testing, the national Weather Service has developed a new system for issuing flood forecasts. As Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Reha reports the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Services or A-H-P-S is getting mixed reviews. (22) {
March 7, 2001 - Phrases like "Curses, foiled again," and "Unhand me you coward" sound painfully quaint to ears trained on catch-phrases made popular by Bart Simpson and Beer commercials. But today's popular culture from comic books to television series have at their root, Dime Novels. Minnesota Public Radio's Steven John visited the Elmer L. Anderson Library at the University of Minnesota to check out the country's largest collection of dime novels. {Costing literally ten cents, and printed on newsprint bound in paper covers, dime novels were ephemeral, inexpensive entertainment for a generation of readers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally intended for adults, the tales of Indian fighters and detectives, heroes and villains ultimately found a younger audience and inspired many a backyard gunfight and imaginary barroom brawl...
March 7, 2001 - The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is taking steps to prevent livestock from becoming infected with foot and mouth disease. Humans can't become infected with the disease, but can carry it on shoes, clothing or in the sinuses... and pass it on to susceptible animals like cows, pigs and sheep. State Veterinarian Tom Hagerty says overseas travelers should stay away from British and European farms and avoid coming into contact with farm animals here after they return:
March 7, 2001 - An alternative to Napster-style file sharing that can be harmful to computer drives.
March 7, 2001 - The State Appeals Court has reversed the misdemeanor convictions of three women who participated in a December 1999 protest against the re-route of Highway 55 in Minneapolis. The women were among 24 people prosecuted and convicted for obstructing a highway. But while the women may have won on appeal, they and dozens of other protestors lost the bigger battle to prevent the controversial road project which will be completed in a year and a half. Minnesota Public Radio reporter Mary Losure is writing a book about the Highway 55 protesters. She remembers meeting Jennifer Beatty, one of the women cleared yesterday by the appeals court.
March 7, 2001 - As users anticipate the end of unlimited access to music files through Napster, many are scrambling to download as many songs as possible while they still can. Napster has always been particularly popular on college campuses and at times students have overwhelmed Internet connections because of the amount of material being downloaded. Joel Clemmer is the Vice President for Library and Information Services at Macalester College in St. Paul. He says he's not too concerned about being swamped by Napster users because of precautions taken about a year ago.
March 7, 2001 - A new baseball stadium funding bill is being drafted at the State Capitol. This latest plan would have the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis present competing proposals for a new stadium and then a nuetral panel would pick the best plan. This is similar to the model used when Minneapolis beat out Bloomington as the preferred site for the Metrodome. Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson is backing this concept and he joins us now.
March 7, 2001 - Negotiators for Northwest Airlines and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association are meeting in Washington DC today in hopes of resolving a four and a half year old contract dispute. A thirty day cooling off period is set to expire this Sunday, opening up the possibility of the second strike in two years at Northwest. Meanwhile Northwest has renewed allegations before a federal judge that the mechanics are illegally disrupting its flight schedule. The union denies the allegations and is marking the resumtion of negotiations by staging informational picket lines. PRESIDENT BUSH has said even if there's no settlement by the MARCH 12 DEADLINE, he'll require the workers to stay on the job for another two months while a solution is sought. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechllik reports from Washington.