January 7, 2003 - Congress convened today (Tues) with a long list of newly elected lawmakers, including two freshman from Minnesota. Republican Norm Coleman officially took his place in the Senate, succeeding Democrat Paul Wellstone. Another Minnesota Republican, John Kline, was sworn into the House of Representatives, replacing Democrat Bill Luther. Coleman and Kline join a Congress set to immediately begin work toward rebuilding the nation's economy amid growing international tension and what appears to be the increasingly likelihood of war with Iraq. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports...
January 7, 2003 - Senator-elect Norm Coleman will be sworn-in later today in a ceremony in Washington, D.C.. Coleman, a Republican, takes the seat held by the late Democratic Senator Paul Wellstone who was killed in a plane crash just eleven days before the November election. Coleman went on to defeat Wellstone's replacement on the ballot Vice President Walter Mondale. As Senator, Coleman will be part of a new... and narrow... Republican majority in the U.S. Senate.
January 8, 2003 -
January 9, 2003 - Governor Tim Pawlenty assured a group of business leaders last night that he won't raise taxes to fix the state's four and a half billion dollar deficit. Speaking at a Minnesota Chamber of Commerce dinner, Pawlenty said business owners can't afford another tax increase. He said it's important for lawmakers to hold the line on taxes, lower the cost of health care and introduce tort reform. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports
January 9, 2003 -
January 10, 2003 -
January 13, 2003 - Minnesota lawmakers will gather at the Capitol today (MONDAY) for the first full week of the 2003 legislative session. The budget is likely to be a big focus in upcoming days. Governor Tim Pawlenty is expected to release his plan for dealing with the first phase of the budget deficit... a 356 million dollar projected shortfall for the current fiscal year, which ends in June. Laura McCallum is Minnesota Public Radio's Capitol Bureau Chief.
January 14, 2003 - As part of the series “A Lesson on Learning: Behind No Child Left Behind,” MPR reporter Dan Olson reports on varied views of parents on the federal education law and it’s impacts.
January 14, 2003 -
January 14, 2003 -