December 8, 1998 - FOR TUES ME The big red Northstar Blanket factory sign will be lit Wednesday for the first time in 50 years. The moribund riverfront building in downtown Minneapolis is being turned into loft apartments. The developers say re-lighting the sign shows the downtown riverfront is returning to life after decades of neglect. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports. audio . . . (construction sfx) A few months ago the North Star blanket factory was uninhabitable. Brighton Develpment company partner Peggy Lucas says the 100 year old building's only permanent residents had wings. audio . . . this ceiling we're looking at now was f
December 8, 1998 - ******for Tuesday, Dec. 8 morning edition.***** A long- disputed proposal to build a 3-storey high metal shredder on the banks of the Mississippi in Minneapolis will go before the the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency today. American Iron and Supply Company wants to build the "Kondirator" at the company's riverside scrapyard in a north Minneapolis neighborhood. The fight over the project dates back to the late 1980's. Now, PCA staff members have recommended approval of the Kondirator, despite vocal opposition by the city of Minneapolis. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.
December 8, 1998 - The Kondirator metal shredder proposed for the Mississippi riverbank in Minneapolis took a step forward today. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Citizens Board voted unanimously to give the project the necessary permits without further environmental studies. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports. Neighborhood residents are concerned about emmissions, noise, and dust from the shredder. The city of Minneapolis opposes the 3-storey metal shredder and took the issue to court more than two years ago to force the MPCA
December 8, 1998 - Mainstreet Radio’s Leif Enger reports on how various retailers are adjusting to a warm winter in the region. It’s nightmare weather if you sell snowmobiles or downhill skis for a living…but not bad if you prefer bicycling, or fishing from a boat.
December 11, 1998 - A federal panel has given the go-ahead for a major rebuilding and expansion plan for the Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern Railroad. The approval by the federal Surface Transportation Board is no surprise---the board rarely denies applicants. But the decision is the first major hurdle cleared by D-M and E since the company announced its 1.4-billion dollar plan last spring. Now, both opponants and supporters say they're looking ahead to the next big decision that scrutinizes the proposal's environmental impacts. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports. In keeping with their agressive opposition to the railroad's proposal, Rochester-area officials organized a press conference barely a half-hour after the Surface Transportation Board announced it's decision. Olmstead County board chairman Paul Wilson says the ruling points out the need to ch
December 14, 1998 - PLAYLIST!!!! United States Satellite Broadcasting, a four-year old company based in Oakdale, announced today it's selling out to a larger rival. Hughes Electronics, which owns DirecT-V, will buy U-S-S-B for an estimated 1-point-3 billion dollars. U-S-S-B provides movies, pay-per-view channels, and programming to DirecT-V subscribers, and is considered a pioneer in the direct broadcast satallite industry. Founder Stanley S-Hubbard -- of the Hubbard family that owns K-S-T-P -- says being part of Hughes will align them with the leader in the field.
December 14, 1998 - *******USE THIS VERSION********* A new film which opened last weekend offers an inside look at the music business and a slice of the Minneapolis music scene. Producer and Director Steven Greenberg, best known for his international mega-hit single "Funkytown," followed several Minneapolis bands for more than three years, documenting the glamour and excitement of their performances and the harsh realities of being a musician. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts has this report on "Funkytown" the movie.
December 15, 1998 - Rivers of red ink are threatening to drown hog producers all across the midwest. Prices are the lowest they've been in more than 25 years. It's a variation on the oldest of economic forumula's too many hogs despite healthy demand. U.S. meatpackers can't process the animals fast enough to keep ahead of the glut. Some farmers wonder if the rise of a new form of hog marketing, the contract, is causing the industry's current problems. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports: These are gloomy days for hog producers. Everyone expected a price drop, but no one thought it would get this bad. J
December 15, 1998 - St. Paul-based U-S Satellite Broadcasting is being sold to Hughes Electronics -- the owners of DirecT-V -- for approximately one-and-a-quarter billion dollars. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo has more. NARRATION: Hubbard Broadcasting, owner of the K-S-T-P television and radio stations in the Twin Cities formed U-S-S-B, at a time when many doubted consumer interest in the technology. Programming is delivered through satellite dishes the size of a pizza box. U-S-S-B has not shown a profit since going public in 1996 even thought the satellite T-V industry now serves millions of subscribers. But chairman Stanley Hubbard says that will change once the deal is complete.
December 16, 1998 - A Minneapolis city council committee has authorized issuing up to $55 million dollars in bonds to build a Target store downtown. The committee also voted to support an affirmative action plan filed by Dayton Hudson corporation, needed for the Target store project to proceed. More from Minnesota Public Radio's Eric Jansen: Minneapolis officials say Dayton Hudson's filing of its affirmative action plan has resolved the last thorny issue blocking plans for a Target store on Nicollet Mall. Dayton Hudson has said a downtown Target store is not one of its priorities --- its stores do best in suburban locations. But city leaders, including Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton, s