April 11, 2001 - The average Minnesota farmer is 50 and earns about $12,000 after expenses. It is hard for beginner farmers to get a good start.
April 12, 2001 - MPR’s Michael Khoo reports that a Minnesota House committee has dealt a seemingly fatal blow to the Minnesota Twins' request this session for a state-subsidized ballpark. The House Local Government and Metropolitan Affairs committee has voted to table the proposal, and both supporters and opponents of the plan say the move effectively ends debate for this session.
April 13, 2001 - The average farmer is 50 years old and is making $12,000 after expenses. Is it logical to pass on the family farm to their children or should they sell?
April 16, 2001 - Chris Farrell discusses the first quarter corporate earnings, the numbers, and how they relate to Wall Street expectations.
April 16, 2001 - The Minnesota Twins are off to their best start ever. They're sitting at the top of the major league standings with a 9 and 2 record. Tonight, they take on the Kansas City Royals -- the only team that's beaten Minnesota this season. La Velle Neal covers the Twins for the Star Tribune. He says it's been a long time since he's seen a start like this.
April 16, 2001 - We should be pretty worried about how easy it is to commit crime on the internet and computers, but we should be even more worried about how hard it is for the law enforcement to catch the criminals.
April 16, 2001 - As of today, the state law that prevents winter utility shut-offs stops protecting customers who have been unable to pay their bills. Heat and electric companies report a significant increase in unpaid bills, due in large part to the tripling of gas prices this season. And more customers are appealing to the state for help in paying their energy bills. John Harvanko is director of the Office of Energy Programs for the Minnesota Department of Economic Security. His office distributes federal grant money for heating assistance. He says it's possible that shut-offs will take place but he doesn't know of any:
April 18, 2001 - Members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association are gathering today to hear the details of their tentative contract with Northwest Airlines. If the union's almost ten thousand workers approve the deal it would end more than four years of acrimonious talks. But Northwest's separate announcement today .. that its loss in the latest quarter ..nearly tripled to 123 million dollars highlights the difficult conditions the airline continues to face. Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg reports.
April 18, 2001 - Minnesota's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to three-point-four percent in March. That's the highest it has been in four years. The Minnesota Department of Economic Security says the rate was up from three-point-two percent a month earlier. It is still below the national average. Tom Stinson is the Minnesota State Economist, and he's on the line now.
April 18, 2001 - As a child of the 1950s, Cheri Register remembers being caught up in the culture of the times. South Pacific was playing at the Albert Lea movie theater and American Bandstand dominated weeknight television. But even at the tender age of 14, Register recognized there was another side to her life that was deeply rooted in working-class values. Albert Lea was a meatpacking town and Register's father was one of the 56-hundred employees who worked for the Wilson and Company Packinghouse. In 1959, the workers demanded better wages which the company didn't want to pay. The dispute intensified and work at the plant stopped... whether it was a lockout or a strike is still debated. In her new memoir "Packinghouse Daughter" Register describes how the event divided her town. She says at first, the community supported the packinghouse workers: