August 14, 2003 - MPR’s Jayne Solinger interviews R.T. Rybak, Mayor of Minneapolis. Rybak delivered a 1.2 billion-dollar 2004 budget this afternoon. The mayor proposes to avoid further layoffs by drawing down the city s rainy day fund. He plans to rehire thirty-four firefighters laid off this year and add a class police recruits, which had been cut from the last budget. The budget isn't painless by any means. Most Minneapolis homeowners will see their property tax bills rise 18%. Rybak calls the budget the "Light at the end of the tunnel."
August 14, 2003 - Minneapolis' Brave New Workshop theater claims to be the longest-running satirical comedy theatre in the country, and to celebrate its forty-fifth birthday the theater is bringing in a writer who's likely to take issue with that distinction. Jeffrey Sweet is the resident playwright of Chicago's Tony Award-winning Victory Gardens Theatre, which has produced ten of his shows including "Flyovers", "American Enterprise", and "The Value of Names." He conducts workshops for writers and has written two books about writing plays. He's also written the history of Chicago's Second City theater, a troupe he contends has even deeper roots than the Brave New Workshop. He'll spar with Dudley Riggs at the Brave New Workshop's anniversary celebration tonight. He says troupes like Riggs' and Second City carry on the one of the true purposes of theater.
August 15, 2003 - MPR’s Art Hughes reports on the Minneapolis city budget, which continues to drop by millions of dollars. Mayor R.T. Rybak says he sees some reason for optimism. Rybak delivered his 1.24 billion-dollar budget proposal for 2004, saying there will be no more layoffs. In fact, he says the city will hire more police and firefighters. But the strain of debt and the second round of cuts from the state mean property taxes for Minneapolis homeowners will continue to rise. Report includes commentary form various city officials.
August 15, 2003 - Mainstreet Radio’s Chris Julin reports on rocks of the Great Lakes. Thousands of tourists visit the beaches of Lake Superior's North Shore to enjoy it’s rocky shoreline…and many will be throwing those rocks into the lake.
August 18, 2003 - The Minnesota State Fair opens Thursday. Fairgoers will notice some changes to the grandstand this year. The facility is undergoing a 35 million dollar remodeling project. The fair's first grandstand was built in 1885, a double-decked wooden strucutre. The current grandstand, made of concrete and steel, was built in 1909.
August 18, 2003 - MPR’s Greta Cunningham talks with Tom Brown, with the U-S Coast Guard in Duluth, about high waves that caused unusually strong currents in Lake Superior. The dangerous conditions prompted the closing of beaches in Minnesota and Wisconsin for the day.
August 20, 2003 - On this Mainstreet Radio special report, MPR’s Cathy Wurzer presents “Rekindling the Spirit - The Rebirth of American Indian Spirituality.” Program includes various reports by MPR’s Dan Gunderson and Tom Robertson, and numerous interviews with Native Americans on spiritual beliefs and roots.
August 20, 2003 - When the Minnesota State Fair opens tomorrow visitors will see signs at entrances banning guns from the fairgrounds. Fair officials say their ban is nothing new and makes pratical sense. Gun rights advocates say the fair has no legal authority under Minnesota's new concealed carry law to prohibit permit holders from bringing handguns to the fair. They say if the fair goes ahead with its ban, it'll likely face a lawsuit.
August 20, 2003 - While the old stand-bys like pork chops on a stick, carnival games, and big concerts draw more than a million people, all of those oldies but goodies had to get their start somewhere along the 144 year history of the fair. Jerry Hammer, executive vice president of the Minnesota State Fair talks about what's new for 2003.
August 20, 2003 - California Governor Gray Davis was on statewide TV last night in his political fight for survival. Challenger Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the first candidates running television ads, and a judge today may rule on whether to delay the recall effort. Two Minnesotans, well known in political circles, are helping California gubnatorial candidate Arianna Huffington. Dean Barkely is her campaign manager, and Bill Hillsman is heading up the ad campaign. Hillsman is known for his creative ads for the late Senator Paul Wellstone and former Governor Jesse Ventura. Hillsman says the biggest reason he's working for Huffington is that they are friends.