November 13, 2001 - From Minnesota Public Radio this is Future Tense for November 13. I'm Jon Gordon. It's a huge week for video game players and electronics retailers, as Microsoft and Nintendo roll out their new game machines. X-Box from Microsoft is due in stores Thursday, while Nintendo's GameCube arrives three days later. Analysts say despite the slow economy, the 20 billion dollar video game industry is robust. Sean McGowan is co-founder of PlayDate Inc, a toy industry market services firm. ((bite 1)) X-Box, GameCube and the year-old Sony PlayStation 2 are expected to do so well this holiday season, they could help lift third and fourth quarter profits for retail chains like Best Buy and Circuit City. McGowan says it's a unique time for the industry. ((bite 2)) It's going to be a fierce battle for the hearts and minds of video game players. Microsoft alone is will spend 500 million dollars to promote X-Box. Which game console will be the big winner? ((bite 3)) Sean McGowan with Play Date Inc ((button)) In the news& The number of subscribers getting high-speed access to the Internet through cable television lines jumped 15 percent during the third quarter. That's according to the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. The 825,000 new subscribers brings the total number of U.S. cable modem users to 6.4 million. That's about 9 percent of the homes that are able to receive the service. Cable lines remain the most popular way to get broadband Internet. A fledgling aerospace company took another step toward making private space flights yesterday as a rocket-powered plane soared 9,000 feet over the Mojave desert. Xcor Aerospace's EZ-Rocket is outfitted with twin, 400-pound-thrust rocket engines. The flight was the fifth for the EZ-Rocket, which burns isopropyl alcohol and liquid oxygen, consuming about $75 worth of fuel during each short flight. The company hopes to eventually build a craft capable of flying regularly to altitudes of 60 miles that could allow scientists to conduct experiments in microgra
November 13, 2001 - If Major League Baseball goes through with plans to eliminate the Minnesota Twins and the Montreal Expos, it will mark a historic moment for the game. This would be the first league contraction in 100 years and the end of one of the charter members of the American League. MPR’s Jim Bickal interviews Bill James, one of the country's leading authorities on the history of baseball and author of the book The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract.
November 13, 2001 -
November 13, 2001 - All Things Considered’s Lorna Benson interviews Fay Vincent, Major League Baseball's former commissioner, who weighs in on MLB’s owner vote to contract two teams.
November 14, 2001 - As Congress struggles to craft an economic stimulus package, the travel industry is pushing for legislation that would encourage Americans to get on planes, stay in hotel and eat out at restaurants. A national industry group says by the end of the year more than 450 THOUSAND people in travel-related businesses will have lost their jobs. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports.
November 14, 2001 -
November 15, 2001 -
November 15, 2001 - MPR’s Tom Scheck reports that Hennepin County District Judge Harry Crump says he'll announce soon whether he'll require the Twins to play baseball in the Metrodome next year (2002). Crump heard arguments from the the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, the Attorney General's office, and the Minnesota Twins.
November 15, 2001 - The summit was formed to encourage regional businesses to establish themselves in Duluth. The number of empty business spaces is growing and it needs to be stopped.
November 15, 2001 - THERE'S A COURT HEARING SCHEDULED TODAY IN HENNEPIN COUNTY, ON A MOVE TO HOLD THE TWINS TO THEIR METRODOME LEASE. THE METROPOLITAN SPORTS FACILITIES COMMISSION HOPES TO KEEP THE TWINS IN THE DOME NEXT SEASON, BLOCKING CONTRACTION PLANS ANNOUNCED BY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL. OTHER PLANS TO KEEP THE TWINS IN THE STATE INCLUDE A MOVE BY SOME MEMBERS OF MINNESOTA'S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION, TO INTRODUCE BILLS THAT WOULD REVOKE PARTS OF BASEBALL'S ANTITRUST EXEMPTION. JEROLD DUQUETTE IS THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK "REGULATING THE NATIONAL PASTIME: BASEBALL AND ANTI TRUST. HE SAYS BASEBALL GOT ITS ANTI-TRUST EXEMPTION IN A 1922 SUPREME COURT DECISION.