May 8, 2002 - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced today he's terminating the Army's $11 (B) billion dollar Crusader weapon project. The Crusader is a 40-ton, self-propelled, rapid-fire cannon that was to have entered service by 2008. The system was designed in Fridley, where United Defense Industries employs about 18-hundred people - 800 of them on the Crusader project. The Crusader system would have been manufactured in Oklahoma. Democratic Senator Mark Dayton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is in committee meetings today to finalize the defense spending authorization bill for 2003. He says the Rumsfeld's decision contradicts what he, along with the joint chiefs of staff and army commanders, have already told the Armed Services Committee:
May 8, 2002 - As part of MPR’s Changing Current series, reporter Stephanie Hemphill looks at the return of a native species to The French River, which flows into Lake Superior about 15 miles north of Duluth. The coaster brook trout has been struggling to survive in Lake Superior and its tributaries for more than a hundred years. Some people are turning their attention to bringing them back.
May 8, 2002 - MPR’s Laura McCallum reports that Governor Ventura and his staff are preparing for the worst. If the government doesn't figure out a budget, then he will do it himself and call the legislature into a special session. He can also call a special session in September, during election months, which some see as a way to make the candidates look bad.
May 8, 2002 - The long-time publisher of the Daily Globe in Worthington, James Vance died yesterday. Considered an industry innovator, He left his mark on the paper as reporter, photographer and later publisher. In the early sixties, Vance introduced a new form of publishing. "Cold type" was the precursor to today's computer typesetting. Vance hired a young photographer named Jim Brandenburg. Brandenburg later went on to become an award-winning National Geographic photographer. Brandenburg was head of the photography department at the Globe for many years. He says Vance left a profound impression on him.
May 9, 2002 - The possible loss of hundreds of defense industry jobs in Minnesota has become a political issue. Yesterday, the Bush administration announced it's canceling development of the Crusader artillery system being built in Minnesota. Republican Senate candidate Norm Coleman is accusing incumbent Democratic Senator Paul Wellstone of not doing enough to help save the Crusader and the Minnesota jobs associated with the program.
May 9, 2002 - Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports that Governor Ventura re-entered budget negotiations as the legislative session heads into its final stages. Ventura called legislative leaders to his office to tell them what he expected in the proposed budget balancing plan, transportation financing package and bonding bill.
May 9, 2002 - Biologist Sandra Steingraber speaks live from the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis. Steingraber's new book, "An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood," discusses the alarming extent to which environmental hazards now threaten each crucial stage of infant development.
May 13, 2002 - Texan author and widely syndicated political columnist Molly Ivins speaks at the College of St. Catherine as part of their "Women in Leadership" series. Ivins is the author of the best-seller "Molly Ivins Can't Say that, Can She?," and her most recent book, about George W. Bush, is titled "Shrub."
May 16, 2002 - Children's book author Mary Casanova was inspired to write her new book after spending time with eagle researchers on Minnesota's Rainy Lake. "When Eagles Fall" introduces young-adult readers to 13-year -old Alex. She's an angry girl sent to live with her father in Minnesota's north woods. Alex is dealing with the death of her younger brother, her parent's separation and typical teenage growing pains. Alex's emotions get the best of her as she defies her father and sets out on an adventure to save a baby eagle. Mary Casanova told Minnesota Public Radio's Greta Cunningham Alex is a good kid who takes a turn and winds up in trouble.
May 16, 2002 - Children's book author Mary Casanova was inspired to write her new book after spending time with eagle researchers on Minnesota's Rainy Lake. "When Eagles Fall" introduces young-adult readers to 13-year -old Alex. She's an angry girl sent to live with her father in Minnesota's north woods. Alex is dealing with the death of her younger brother, her parent's separation and typical teenage growing pains. Alex's emotions get the best of her as she defies her father and sets out on an adventure to save a baby eagle.