January 25, 1999 - With last week's release of a federal report indicating driver error was to blame in last December's Holidazzle accident, the focus is now turning to the city of Minneapolis 's potential liability. A police officer was behind the wheel of the van when it accelerated into a crowd injuring eleven people and killing two others.
January 28, 1999 - It's a strange scene -- 500 pairs of shoes piled on stage, dancers crawling out from under the heap, while a woman in a leopard print pillbox hat sits in a chair trying on pair after pair. This is "The Lives and Death of Cinderella" a performance work being presented this weekend at the College of St Catherine. Performance artist Laurie Van Wieren created the piece which reflects her quirky style which in the past has included everything from shoes and wigs to fireworks.
February 1, 1999 - Playwright, actor, and director, Lillian Garrett-Groag just had a unique experience at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis . Not only is she one of the few living writers to see her work performed on the Guthrie stage... her play depicts her own life-story. Garrett-Groag told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr "The Magic Fire" is a fictionalized account of her childhood in Argentina, as the daughter of European immigrants.
February 3, 1999 - The Minnesota Supreme Court today hears arguments on whether the Attorney General's office can investigate whether the Twins threat to move to North Carolina violated anti-trust laws. Attorneys for the Twins and Major League Baseball say the investigation is pointless because Baseball is exempt from anti-trust laws.
February 3, 1999 - A lawyer for the Minnesota Twins asked the State Supreme Court today to block Attorney General Mike Hatch's investigation into whether the ball club broke anti-trust laws. The A-G's office wants to look into whether Major League Baseball conspired to keep other baseball teams from locating to Minnesota if the Twins made good on their threat to move to North Carolina.
February 4, 1999 - A stabbing last weekend at the Mall of America and an unrelated gunshot incident only weeks before have led to increased scrutiny of security at the suburban shopping center.
February 5, 1999 - MPR’s Leif Enger interviews American singer, songwriter, and musician Bobby Vee, who shares memories of his 40-year music career…and that of a music tragedy tied to his own history.
February 5, 1999 - MPR’s John Rabe interviews Garrison Keillor on his new satirical book, Me, that seems to parody Jesse Ventura.
February 5, 1999 - Snowmobiling is big business in Minnesota. About 70 percent of the 200-thousand snowmobiles sold last year were made in Minnesota. The sleds are sleek and fast with hi-tech suspension and built in handwarmers. It's a long ways from the humble roots of the snowmobile industry. Thirty years ago snowmobiles were little more than a motorized metal sled. Those early machines are now in great demand. Collecting and restoring antique snowmobiles is becoming an industry all its own.
February 5, 1999 - One of the Twin Cities smallest venues for theater has gotten significantly larger. The Jungle Theater is moving from its somewhat cramped quarters on Lake Street a half block away to a new, renovated building it purchased last year. While The new Jungle will be able to accomodate more people and mount grander more lavish productions, its founder says the ambience and intimacy of the old Jungle will remain.