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.
April 7, 1997 - An Ely man accused of leading police on a high speed snowmobile chase makes a court appearance in Two Harbors today. Mike Loe is charged with snowmobiling in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, where snowmobiling is illegal, and with fleeing from police officers who allegedly spotted him. As with so many things related to the border wilderness, the Loe case has been a focal point for controversy in the Ely area. Mainstreet Radio's Catherine Winter reports.
April 7, 1997 - Rising water now covers miles of farmland in the Red River Valley. Even though reparations have been going on for weeks.... The flooding is so severe many rural residents have been cut off by rising water and unable to escape. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Gunderson spent some time with Clay county deputies fighting the elements to rescue marooned families.
April 7, 1997 - thousands of residents in north dakota and northwestern minnesota are without electricity for the third day..after an ice storm downed hundreds of power lines. some may have to wait a week to get power restored. minnesota public radios dan gunderson reports... UTILITY CREWS FROM THREE STATES AND CANADA ARE ASSESSING DAMAGE IN NORTH
April 7, 1997 - The Minnesota River... which has been causing havoc in Granite Falls and Montevideo over the weekend... is expected to crest later this week at New Ulm, Mankato, and St. Peter above record flood levels set in 1993. Minnesota Public Radio's Holly Nelson reports.
April 7, 1997 - Governor Carlson goes on the air tonite at six for a three minute plea for calm. Many fear there will be violence when Indians begin exercising their treaty fishing rights on Lake Mille Lacs, perhaps the most popular walleye lake in the state. Minnesota residents and officials have a model for the worst case scenario in this state's treaty fishing rights controversy. It comes from the years of trouble in Wisconsin starting in earnest in the mid-80s. Angry protesters crowded boat landings on lakeshores in many parts of northern Wisconsin. They taunted and threatened Chippewa spearfishers, overturning their boats and breaking their spears. Eventually, a judge issued injunctions against protestors, and some of the loudest were hit with huge financial settlements for violating the Indians' civil rights. There were demonstrations when in 1983 a panel of appellate judges ruled in favor of tribal fishing in Wisconsin, but there was no significant violence until the last night of the first spear fishing season in 1985. John Sherer was a radio reporter for WWMH in Minocq.
April 7, 1997 - Governor Carlson is seeking a federal disaster declaration for areas hit hardest by flooding in Minnesota. The governor made the announcement at the State Capitol, where government and emergency service leaders delivered the first of what will become DAILY Flood updates. Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports: Governor Carlson is seeking a Presidential Disaster Declaration for many Minnesota counties hit hardest by the floods. Floods, HE says, exceed the severity of those in 1993. Bite: 24-secs "and because of that...we can."
April 7, 1997 - Governor carlson is seeking a federal disaster declaration for areas hit hardest by flooding in Minnesota. The governor made the announcement at the State Capitol, where government and emergency service leaders delivered the first of what will become DAILY Flood updates. Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports: Governor Carlson says he's seeking a Presidential Disaster Declaration for many Minnesota counties hit hardest by the floods....floods HE says exceed the severity of those in 1993. Bite: 24-secs "and because of that...we can."
April 8, 1997 - A Minnesota researcher is raising eyebrows in education circles... with a new study that says poverty does not cause children to do poorly in school. Economist Samuel Myers is director of the Roy Wilkins Center for Human Relations and Social Justice at the University of Minnesota. He analyzed test results in hopes of explaining why minority students do poorly compared with white kids. His conclusion runs counter to what many educators have long assumed. Minnesota Public Radio's John Biewen reports. Samuel Myers says he was frustrated with the widespread assumption that poverty causes the poor academic performance of many minority children. 50-thousand eighth graders took the Minnesota Basic Standards Test last year. Bla
April 8, 1997 - Members of the criminal justice system want to put a database of domestic abuse histories at the fingertips of police and judges. The group wants the legislature to fund a statewide database system that would track domestic violence information about individuals, specifically orders for protection. Order of protection are court orders that restrict abusers from being near their victims. The cost of the entire proposed project is about $15-million dollars. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports.
April 8, 1997 - Several communities in the Twin Cities are fighting rising flood waters even though the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers aren't projected to crest until sometime this weekend. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports...