November 16, 2001 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Minneapolis businessman Harvey MacKay about a group of state business leaders that will meet with Governor Jesse Ventura to discuss the future of the Minnesota Twins. The group is working on a proposal to buy the team from owner Carl Pohlad. They're also exploring ways to get a new ballpark.
November 16, 2001 - Hennepin County District Judge Harry Crump says he'll announce in a few days whether he'll require the Twins to play baseball in the Metrodome next year. Crump heard arguments yesterday (Thurs) from the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, the attorney general's office and the Minnesota Twins. The commission filed suit last week after Major League Baseball's owners announced they would eliminate two teams before next season. The Twins are a top candidate for contraction. But the Sports Facilities Commission argues the Twins have signed a contract that requires the team to play in the Metrodome next year. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
November 19, 2001 - MPR’s Tom Scheck reports on public event at the Metrodome to support the future of the Minnesota Twins. At a rally coordinated by the grass roots organization "Keep the Twins at Home," fans expressed support for Major League Baseball in the state. The Twins are one of a handful of teams considered top candidates to be eliminated through baseball's contraction plans.
November 19, 2001 - The busiest travel time of the year is approaching. Travel experts say Minnesotans like people elsewhere in the country are likely to stay at home MORE than in past years. The lingering effects of the September 11 terror attacks are leading many people to choose NOT to fly this year. That means more people are travelling by car, train and bus. Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg reports.
November 19, 2001 - Minnesota Public Radio's Chief Economics Correspondent, Chris Farrell, joins us now for a look at the financial markets. Housing construction is down 1.3%, taking a pause after September 11th. Dow is 16 points away from a bull market.
November 19, 2001 - The most ambitious railroad expansion since the Civil War is one step closer to approval. A report thousands of pages long was released today (MONDAY) on the Dakota Minnesota and Eastern Railroad's one and a half billion-dollar plan. The DM&E hopes to haul coal from Wyoming through Minnesota and South Dakota to eastern power plants. DM&E officials are pleased with the federal report. But Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally reports not everyone's celebrating.
November 19, 2001 - Half of the members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees went to polling sites around the states last week. 82% of those who voted supported the contract.
November 19, 2001 - Twins fans are breathing a cautious sigh of relief following a court order barring Major League Baseball from eliminating the Twins before the end of 2002, when the team's Metrodome lease runs out. Both the Twins and Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig say they plan to appeal the ruling. Former Twins slugger Kirby Puckett, now an executive vice president with the ballclub, says he's waiting for something a bit more concrete than the injunction, but he says there's no doubt the ruling helps baseball fans.
November 19, 2001 - Hennepin County District Judge Harry Crump ruled that the Minnesota Twins must play baseball in the Metrodome next season. In an order filed yesterday (Friday), Crump ruled in favor of the injunction request filed last week by the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission. The commission filed suit hours after Major League Baseball's owners announced that they plan to eliminate two teams before next season. The Twins are a top candidate for contraction, but Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports that yesterday's ruling may give the team another year in the big leagues.
November 20, 2001 - The future of 80 family farms in southwest Minnesota rest on the fate of a new kind of hog processing plant set to open next month. It is farmer owned and controlled and seen as an alternative to the corporate philosophy dominating the industry. The farmers will soon find out if consumers will pay more for pork raised the old fashioned way. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports: