MPR News Features are news segments created for various long-form programming, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered, amongst others. Features run the gambit of interviews, reports, profiles, and coverage.
January 27, 1997 - It seems everyone's a stargazer these days, with all the publicity given to Comet Hale-Bopp. The comet is expected to be visible over the next few months; after that, it's a safe bet most folks will put their telescopes back on the shelf and start concentrating on earthly things again. But Jim Wentworth won't.
January 29, 1997 - MPR's Laura McCallum reports on the The Minnesota Twins nearing the end of a statewide road trip to more than 70 communities across the state. The Twins' Winter Caravan has been around for years as a way to thank fans and stir up support, but this year it's much larger than in the past…and with it concerns over the possibility of pitching a proposed new Twins stadium to captive student audiences during a school visit.
January 29, 1997 - Members of a Supreme Court task force on foster care and adoption told a senate committee today it's time to shine some light on the child protection system by opening child protection court hearings to the public. Those proceedings have traditionally been confidential and hidden from the public and the media. The task force began meeting more than a year ago to evaluate how Minnesota's judicial system handles foster care and adoption. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports: Task force members outlined a number of suggestions to improve the state's adoption and foster care system. The most controversial by far is opening child protection hearings to public view. Task force members say opening those hearings would lead to better accountability and credibility of the child protection system. Hennepin county's head of child and family services.
January 29, 1997 - The ANTI-smoking lobby at the state capitol believes THIS is the year to get the support needed to pass a bill designed to help keep cigarettes out of the hands of children. The bill gets a hearing tomorrow (today-thurs) in the House Commerce Committee. Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports from the capitol: The bill establishes a system of licensing and compliance checks for retailers who sell tobacco and it provides for PENALITIES for stoes which sell tobacco to minors. The bill ALSO prohibits self-service tobacco displays in places accessible to minors. Under the legislation cities would not be preempted from passing local ordinances that are even MORE restrictive than state law.
January 30, 1997 - The U.S. military has awarded a $5 billion communications contract to a corporate team led by AT&T. The team - including several "baby bell" telephone firms around the nation - will install equipment at domestic bases.
January 30, 1997 - A family of eight moved into a brand new home in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood. The home was built and sold at cost by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities with the help of the city of St. Paul. Many groups - private and public - are trying to address Minnesota's shortage of affordable housing. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports on the size of the gap they are trying to fill.
January 30, 1997 -
January 31, 1997 - Currently about 20-percent of the state's nearly 8,000 physicians are women. But those numbers are expected to more than double in the next few years. That's because women are now attending the U of M Medical School at almost the same rate as men. .And before long, this gender parity in the classroom will begin showing up in the doctor's office. As Minnesota Public Radio's Lorna Benson reports, some female patients can hardly wait.
January 31, 1997 - Many Minnesota school districts are wondering how to make up for missed "snow days." There's a lot of winter still to come, and while it's common for schools to build two or three extra days into the educational calendar, two or three extra WEEKs are another matter. Leif Enger of Mainstreet Radio reports. Any school superintendent will tell you, you can't win. Call off school on a stormy day, and parents will complain the weather's
January 31, 1997 - A federal commission is seeking the public's help in devising plans to protect vital services, such as telecommunications and energy, that rely on computers and other high-tech machines. The President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection has scheduled public hearings this spring and summer in Los Angeles, Houston, St. Louis, Atlanta and Boston.