December 29, 2000 - The South Dakota legislature passed legislation today to sell the state-owned cement plant. Governor Bill Janklow announced plans to sell the plant to a Mexican company for 252 million dollars Saturday then called the legislature into special session. Janklow says the sale must be completed by the end of the year. The state has been in the cement business for 80 years. Minnesota Public Radio's Cara Hetland reports.
December 29, 2000 - Governors of the eight Great Lakes States have floated a series of proposals intended to keep Great Lakes water in the five Great Lakes. The plan by the Council of Great Lakes Governors would make it a lot harder to sell water to anyone outside the region. But first, they've got to convince two Canadian provincial governments and a handful of environmental groups the proposals are tough enough. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports: {Great Lakes residents were alarmed two years ago when a private company announced plans to sell ship loads of Lake Superior water to Asia. Few would have missed the water. But it could have established a precedent ... and some predicted future deals might involve much more than a few ship loads at a time.
December 29, 2000 -
January 2, 2001 - Winona Knits announced today it's closing eleven of its twelve retail stores across the country. The company began in the 1970s as an outgrowth of Winona Knitting Mills and sells high-end sweaters, mittens and other apparel. Stores in six states will close but the company will keep its namesake store in Winona. CEO Pete Woodsworth says the closings allow Winona Knits to focus on its internet and catalog divisions:
January 2, 2001 - Our techno-moron awards for the year past. There have been many positive developments in technology as well as not-so-positive developments that are anti-customer behavior.
January 2, 2001 - From Minnesota Public Radio...this is Future Tense for January 2nd. I'm Jon Gordon. "The social story of the Internet is one that often gets lost when people are paying so much attention to the rise and fall of dotcom companies. And really the bigger impact on our culture is changing the way we deal with each other."
January 3, 2001 - The recent bad economic news for Minnesota's Iron Range got worse today. The L-T-V Steel Plant in Hoyt Lakes is closing at the end of this week. One thousand workers will lose their jobs. The company originally announced the Iron Range plant would close next summer, then moved the date to February. Last week L-T-V filed for bankruptcy, leading to today's announcement, that Saturday will be the last work day in Hoyt Lakes. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Julin has more.
January 3, 2001 - From Minnesota Public Radio this is Future Tense for January 3rd. I'm Jon Gordon. Selling your old stuff on the Internet auction site eBay is pretty common these days. But Vicki Richman can lay claim to having unloaded an unusual item. She sold a Minneapolis hotel on eBay for two and a half million dollars--avoiding a six-figure commission in the process. Richman, vice president of Minneapolis-based American Hospitality Management, says it all started after she decided to put the University Avenue Econo-Lodge on the market. ((richman q/a)) Vicki Richman of American Hospitality Management in Minneapolis. She's planning to list another hotel on eBay: a Holiday Inn Express in Florida. This is Future Tense...I'm Jon Gordon.
January 4, 2001 -
January 4, 2001 - The Federal Reserve's decision to reduce interest rates yesterday came as president-elect George W. Bush began an economic forum. Bush invited three dozen high-ranking business executives to Austin, Texas to discuss the state of the economy. One of those executives is from Minnesota-- Michael Wright, who is the Chairman and CEO of Supervalu. Wright says most of the business leaders in Austin yesterday expressed concern over a slowing economy.