February 12, 2002 - MPR’s Art Hughes reports on proposed budget cuts by Minneapolis Mayor and City Council. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and City Council leaders delivered a list of proposed cuts to reach the five-million-dollar budget reduction imposed by the council two months ago. The police and fire departments will see reductions, but their functions are protected. Many smaller operations in city hall aren't as lucky, including Office of Cultural Affairs, Civilian Review Authority (CRA), and Truth and Sale of Housing program, amongst others.
February 12, 2002 - Minnesota's senior U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone plans to officially kick off his reelection campaign in late Spring. Wellstone has been busy raising money for a race that's likely to break Minnesota campaign spending records. With control of the closely divided Senate at stake, the contest between Wellstone and his likely GOP opponent Norm Coleman has major national implications.
February 13, 2002 -
February 13, 2002 - MPR’s Chris Roberts interviews Minneapolis musician and composer Andrew Broder about CD “The Fog.” Broder talks of his craft and use of a turntable as an instrument.
February 13, 2002 - State Auditor Judi Dutcher officially entered the DFL race for governor today (WEDNESDAY). Dutcher says if elected, she would be a fiscal leader and a champion of public education. Also today, another gubernatorial candidate, Republican Brian Sullivan, started running a new round of television ads. Both Sullivan and Dutcher used their news conferences to question the priorities of Governor Jesse Ventura, who hasn't said whether he's running for re-election. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports...
February 14, 2002 - MPR’s Marianne Combs profiles acclaimed playwright Lee Blessing's new play Thief River, which portrays two gay men growing up in rural Minnesota who choose very different paths in life. Over the next fifty years they remain in contact; their experiences reflect the changing attitudes toward homosexuality in America.
February 14, 2002 - Civil rights groups and privacy advocates will hold a rally at the state Capitol today to protest proposed anti-terrorism legislation moving through the House and Senate. Governor Ventura, House Republicans and Senate DFLers all have plans to give law enforcement more tools to monitor and prosecute alleged terrorists, but civil rights advocates say Minnesotans' civil liberties may be violated if the proposals become law. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.
February 14, 2002 -
February 15, 2002 - MPR's Michael Khoo reports that the ballpark debate has returned to the state Capitol on two fronts and lawmakers seem more receptive to stadium plans than in past years. A Senate committee gave the green light to a proposal for a St. Paul Twins ballpark and House lawmakers introduced legislation to construct a joint Vikings and University of Minnesota football facility. But opposition hasn't faded entirely.
February 18, 2002 - LaVelle Neal, who covers the Minnesota Twins for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, talks about spring training from Fort Myers, Florida. The team survived Major League Baseball's off-season talk of contraction this year, thanks in part to a decision by the Minnesota courts that requires the team to honor its lease at the Metrodome. Still, it's a strange year for the Twins, who could be playing their last season.