July 18, 2001 - Minneapolis-based American Express Financial Advisors has announced it will lay off up to 1000 workers in Minneapolis. The move is part of a larger workforce reduction at the company's parent, American Express. And economists say it's a sign that the economic slowdown is spreading from manufacturing to financial services. Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg reports.
July 18, 2001 - Almost everyone has a hobby or two. Occasionally, people's hobbies grow into consuming passions. That's what happened to Mark Mattison after he bought his first elk. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure recently visited him at his elk farm in Wisconsin, and filed this report.
July 19, 2001 - (to follow catlin) Northwest Airlines is not alone. Hundreds of Minnesota companies have announced layoffs in recent months, including American express Financial Advisors, Honeywell, 3M and ADC Telecommunications. The state dislocated workers office has counted more than 20,000 mass layoffs in the past year... a number officials say represents only SOME of the total jobs lost. John Fossum is the Director of the Industrial Relations Center at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. He says despite those dramatic numbers- at this point- the ecomonic downturn in Minnesota is mild:
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July 20, 2001 - We reached Attorney General Mike Hatch a few minutes ago, and he says he doesn't really have a reaction, but he says his investigation is ongoing. outcue '... get into."
July 23, 2001 - As they have done since the year 800, Sicilians hunt huge bluefin tuna, using net traps set on the floor of the Mediterranean. It was here that tuna was first canned in olive oil, a development that opened a world wide market. Now the entire catch is sold to Japanese, and flown direct to the Tokyo fish market where a single tuna can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Those changes have done little to change how the Sicilians fish. Author Theresa Maggio first saw the hunt almost a decade ago, and returned year after year to watch the ancient ritual, which she says cannot last much longer due to over fishing in other parts of the world. She told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr her book "Mattanza" (mah-TAN-zah) is named for the final slaughter.
July 23, 2001 - Some Minnesota families could see their welfare benefits cut off next summer. The cutoff is part of a federal welfare reform act passed in 1996 that set a time limit for benefits. The clock will run out for the first Minnesotans next July. The state legislature stepped in earlier this year, passing a bill that allows some recipeints to get an extension. But not everyone will qualify. Over the next few weeks, we'll talk to some Minnesotans on welfare. Some of them will likely qualify for the extension; others won't. Today we'll hear from Shirley Hawkins. Shirley has been on welfare for seven years. She recently started her first job. She's working at a packaging company, doing everything from creating store displays to stuffing calendars into plastic bags. Shirely says the work is monotonous, but there are some unexpected benefits... she's less shy now, and her seven-year-old daugher respects her.
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