June 8, 1998 - As the DFL Convention at St. Cloud State's National hockey Center wound down Sunday morning, Mike Freeman and Ruth Johnson ... on the heels of thei
June 8, 1998 - Saint Paul: 1992 was dubbed the "Year of the Woman" in national politics, with more women winning congressional seats than ever before. But when the 103rd Congress convened, women only made up ELEVEN percent of the House and SEVEN percent of the Senate. THIS election year pundits say it's the "Year of the Woman" in Minnesota politics. Women dominate the slate of DFL endorsed Candidates for statewide office following this weekend's state party convention in St. Cloud. But as Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports, women STILL have yet to gain a spot at the TOP of the DFL party ticket:
June 8, 1998 - The Mille Lacs 1837 Treaty case will get its day in the US Supreme Court. Minnesota Public Radio's Leif Enger reports. The 1837 Treaty preserving the hunting and fishing rights of 8 Chippewa bands was upheld through seven years of lower court decisions and appeals; it was described as an epic losing streak for the state. But with the Supreme Court's decision to review, one of the landowners' attorneys challenging the treaty says the momentum has turned. Randy Thompson is encouraged by what he calls a string of recent court setbacks for Indian tribes, including one announced today making it harder for tribes to avoid taxation on re-purchased reservation land. Randy: "I think it's a trend in which the courts are saying, We're gonna take a very hard look at these Indian law cases and decide them on the issues we think are presented."
June 8, 1998 - A coalition of Hmong agencies and Ramsey County have announced a 10-year plan to curb violence in the Hmong community. While the plan is more a call to action than a series of concrete recommendation, organziers say it is historic because it represents the first time the Hmong community has acknowledged violence is a problem. MPR’s Chris Roberts talks with some of those involved with plan.
June 9, 1998 - Midday presents a Mainstreet Radio special broadcast on what's being called the "New Midwestern Farm Crisis." The program contains reports on farming issues, including insurance, scab plant disease, government programs, global markets, and Freedom to Farm Act.
June 9, 1998 - With President Clinton's signature now affixed to the massive transportation bill, two Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness portages become mechanized. Motor vehicles such as trucks will be allowed to pull boats across the narrow forest paths between fishing lakes. Now the US Forest Service will have to determine just how to allow trucks back on the portages and who will get to operate them.
June 10, 1998 - Tribal elections were held on the White Earth Reservation yesterday, despite efforts by a group of band members to put a stop to the voting. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Robertson reports from Bemidji.... Two days ago it looked doubtful that the scheduled election would take place on White Earth. A group of protesters took control of tribal headquarters Sunday, vowing that they would use any means necessary to stop the election. The group contends that three tribal council members have been holding office illegally since 1996. Those officials, with about 70 supporters, entered and reclaimed control of the building just before sunrise Tuesday.
June 11, 1998 - ANCHOR INTRO IN THE 1940S, 50S AND 60S THERE WAS A HUGE MIGRATION OF AFRICAN AMERICANS FROM THE SOUTH TO THE NORTH ... AN ESCAPE FROM THE COUNTRY'S MOST VIRULANT RACISM AND A SEARCH FOR JOBS. BUT NOW .... AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE MOVING BACK TO THE SOUTH IN RECORD NUMBERS.... ACCCORDING TO A RECENT UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN STUDY. MINNESOTA IS RANKED 12TH FOR THE NUMBER OF AFRICAN AMERICANS MOVING TO THE SOUTH. AS MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO'S MARY STUCKY REPORTS, THIS DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFT RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RACIAL TOLERANCE OF NORTHERN STATES INCLUDING MINNESOTA.
June 11, 1998 - ** note back announce ** Some doctors in the U.S. are using procedures developed to treat infertility in an unexpected way: they're helping gay male couples have children of their own. In many parts of the country, it can be difficult or impossible for gay men to adopt newborns. But with the aid of a surrogate mother and in-vitro fertilization...a baby can be genetically related to at least one of the fathers. In some cases, both men share genetic traits with the child. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephen Smith prepared this report in our continuing series, "The Fertility Race." Some of the names in this story have been changed to protect individual privacy.
June 11, 1998 - The Juneteenth Film Festival, celebrating the Emancipation and African-American history, opens tonight in the Twin Cities with the first of six films. "Melvin Van Pebbles: Classified X", about the portrayal of blacks in film, will show at the Minnesota History Center at 7 o'clock. A lesser-known bit of African-American history, the rise of black newspapers is the subject of Director Stanley Nelson's film "Soldiers Without Swords: The Black Press." Nelson will present his documentary next Tuesday evening at the Weisman Art Museum. Nelson says even he was surprised at the power of the black press which grew out of a bitter relationship with the mainstream media.