April 22, 2004 - As part of the series “Keeping Track of Sex Offenders,” Mainstreet Radio’s Dan Gunderson reports that probation officers are overwhelmed with their growing workload.
April 22, 2004 - Governor Pawlenty heads to St. Louis today in the hopes of using the state's shareholder power to force the world's largest drug company to lower prescription drug prices for Americans. The governor intends to speak in support of a shareholder proposal that would limit how much Pfizer can charge for its drugs. Minnesota owns less than one percent of Pfizer's total value but Pawlenty hopes his visit will get the ball rolling on a shareholder initiative to lower prescription drug prices. Pawlenty is optimistic that others will join his cause. But critics say any proposal to change pricing is unlikely to pass because it would harm Pfizer's stock price. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.... {Governor Pawlenty's main goal is to recruit enough shareholders to force Pfizer officials to cut drug prices in the U.S. and allow drug reimportation from foreign countries where price controls and other market factors force drug companies to charge less. Pawlenty says he's been trying to persuade large pension fund managers from states like New York and California to join his cause. In any case, it won't happen this year. His proposal isn't on the agenda because the state missed the company's deadline. But it probably won't hurt and could help to wait a year because passing a shareholder resolution is a tough challenge. Pfizer shareholders have not approved any proposals in recent memory. Nevertheless, Pawlenty will argue free trade is allowed on everything from toasters to automobiles and it's only fair that the practice be extended to prescription drugs.
April 22, 2004 - (NOTE: DATE REFERENCE IN FIRST GRAPH) Governor Tim Pawlenty is offering a plan to return Minnesota Twins games to television. Nearly two-thirds of the team's games are being televised this year by Victory Sports One, a start-up cable channel owned by the team. But the new channel isn't carried by the state's largest cable and satellite providers. Pawlenty is worried the blackout will sour Minnesotans on a proposed new ballpark for the team. So he's now asking the state Bureau of Mediation Services to help the parties craft a deal that puts the games back on TV. While Victory Sports One is welcoming Pawlenty's involvement, the state's two largest cable companies say the proposal misses the mark. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo has more.
April 22, 2004 - MPR’s Tom Scheck reports Governor Tim Pawlenty was unsuccessful in his efforts to persuade the shareholders of Pfizer, the world's largest drug company, to charge Americans less for prescriptions. In report, Pawlenty speaks on re-importation of drugs.
April 23, 2004 - Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports on JOBZ (Job Opportunity Building Zones), a Minnesota jobs program. What Governor Tim Pawlenty calls the "mother of all economic incentives" has landed its first big out-of-state prize for rural Minnesota. A South Dakota company says Minnesota's JOBZ program played an important role in its decision to expand to Luverne…but despite Pawlenty's enthusiasm, officials with Total Card, Inc. say JOBZ was not the most important factor.
April 23, 2004 -
April 29, 2004 - MPR’s Marisa Helms reports on Ramsey County and St. Paul city officials beginning an education campaign they hope will prepare residents to welcome the newest Minnesotans…1000 to 5000 Hmong refugees that will resettle in the county in the next few months.
April 30, 2004 - In recent years, Minnesotans have placed increased emphasis on multiculturalism. Still, there's one group that often feels lost in the deluge of diversity. Deaf advocates say Minnesota's non-hearing community is three times as large as some other communities, but they say few people recognize its significant contributions to the culture. As Minnesota's Public Radio's Nikki Tundel found out, an exhibit at St. Paul's aND gallery is hoping to change that.
April 30, 2004 - Federal law enforcement officials are investigating several recent violent incidents involving members of the Twin Cities Hmong community. The most recent event was a suspicious fire that burned down the home of the son of a prominent Hmong leader. While the authorities search for suspects, some in the Hmong community say the recent violence highlights old divisions and wounds that have yet to heal.
May 1, 2004 - American RadioWorks presents “Thurgood Marshall Before the Court,” a documentary on the story of Thurgood Marshall's remarkable career before he joined the Supreme Court, when he was the nation's leading civil rights lawyer.