August 16, 2000 - Natural gas prices are on the rise, and some Minnesotans are already getting bigger bills. Customers on Minnegasco's budget plan are seeing increased rates this month. The budget plan lets people spread winter heating costs throughout the year. Minnegasco officials say that on average, budget plan customers can expect to pay about twenty dollars more a month than last year. Linda Taylor is an assistant commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Commerce and is in charge of the Energy Division. She joins us now.
August 16, 2000 - Canadian grain farmers may grow the same varieties of wheat and barley as their US neighbors, but the countries market their crop in different ways. Canada's grain growers are required to sell their crop through a government-sponsored Wheat Board - a system that agriculture officials in North Dakota have been considering. While North Dakota contemplates a voluntary version of Canada's Wheat Board, farmers across the boarder are itching for its abolishment. Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally has this Mainstreet report. {Art Anse still has a few neighbors along his packed dirt road miles from the nearest town - farms in southern Manitoba are becoming increasingly rare. In 1936 half of Canada's population made their living off of the land. Today, that number has dwindled to fewer than 3%. Surrounded by fields of wheat, beans and yellow canola, Anse wonders how much longer his neighbors will stay on the farm. He argues the problem is the Canadian Wheat Board, a government agency started during World War II which he believes has lost its purpose. Swatting misquotes away, Anse says the board stifles innovation forcing more and more farmers to leave their fields behind.
August 17, 2000 - The location of a proposed Hiawatha light rail station in Minneapolis' Cedar-Riverside neighborhood has placed business owners at odds with residents, and public housing dwellers at odds with their neighbors. Originally the station would have been located some distance from Cedar Avenue, farther from businesses and bus connections. A new redesign places the station closer to pedestrians and commerce, but residents of a nearby public housing complex say the station would be right in their front yard. Wednesday's public hearing gave residents a chance to try and influence the final choice. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports.
August 17, 2000 - Canadian grain farmers may grow the same varieties of wheat and barley as their US neighbors, but the countries market their crop in different ways. Canada's grain growers are required to sell their crop through a government-sponsored Wheat Board - a system that agriculture officials in North Dakota have been considering. While North Dakota contemplates a voluntary version of Canada's Wheat Board, farmers across the boarder are itching for its abolishment. Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally has this Mainstreet report. {Art Anse still has a few neighbors along his packed dirt road miles from the nearest town - farms in southern Manitoba are becoming increasingly rare. In 1936 half of Canada's population made their living off of the land. Today, that number has dwindled to fewer than 3%. Surrounded by fields of wheat, beans and yellow canola, Anse wonders how much longer his neighbors will stay on the farm. He argues the problem is the Canadian Wheat Board, a government agency started during World War II which he believes has lost its purpose. Swatting misquotes away, Anse says the board stifles innovation forcing more and more farmers to leave their fields behind.
August 17, 2000 - Northern States Power Company's merger with Denver-based New Century Energies is about to be finalized. Today the Securities and Exchange Commission gave its approval to the merger that will create a new company valued at nearly nine BILLION dollars. Company officials say they will close the deal tomorrow . Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports...
August 17, 2000 -
August 18, 2000 - An effort to control the zebra mussel population has killed at least 75,000 fish along the Mississippi River. Earlier this week, N-S-P used a pesticide chemical to clear the mussels from piping in their Prairie Island plant near Red Wing. The chemical seeped out into the plant's discharge canal, where shiners, sunfish and channel catfish became infected. Marilyn Danks is a biologist with the Department of Natural Resources. I asked her what such a massive fish kill would look like:
August 21, 2000 - According to the North Dakota State Data Center, workers in Minnesota are more likely to moonlight than the average American. One in ten Minnesotans have a second job, compared to one in 16 nationwide. Jay Mousa is Director of Research at the Minnesota Department of Economic Security. He says that even though the idea of a second job brings to mind a desperation for money, it isn't only the poorest workers who want those extra wages:
August 21, 2000 - Northwest Airlines is offering condolences to the family and colleagues of a Northwest airline pilot who died last night en route from Los Angeles to the Twin Cities. Thomas Christianson died of an apparent heart attack. Back-up pilots landed the plane without incident. As airline traffic has increased, so has the number of in-flight medical emergencies. Federal Aviation Administration figures indicate that more than 100 people die on airplanes each year. The agency is considering a proposal to require airplanes to be equiped with Automated External Defibrilators or A-E-D's, which deliver a shock to heart attack victims to help restore normal heart activity. Joan Sullivan Garrett is President of Medaire Inc, a Phoenix-based company that offers in-flight medical advice to commercial airlines. She says the major comercial airlines aren't waiting for the F-A-A to require the upgrade:
August 22, 2000 - The Minnesota Twins may try again next year to gain permission to play a few outdoor baseball games at a temporary ballpark. A proposal to put up a temporary ballpark in Bloomington in time for three games next month was rejected by Major League Baseball officials last week. The commissioners who run the Metrodome also had some reservations about the plan, fearing it could set a precedent that would cause the Dome's other disgruntled tenant - the Vikings - to seek changes in their lease agreement. The situation reflects the tangle of interests intertwined in the Twin Cities stadium landscape. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen offers this overview...