February 5, 2003 -
February 7, 2003 -
February 10, 2003 -
February 11, 2003 - The House Civil Law Committee today (Tues) approved a bill that would allow nearly every Minnesotan over the age of 21 to carry a handgun. Supporters say the bill would create a statewide uniform set of standards for all applicants to receive a handgun permit. Current law gives local law enforcement discretion over who can carry a gun. Opponents say the current law is acceptable and loosening the requirements would make the state more dangerous. Minnesota Public radio's TOm Scheck reports..
February 12, 2003 - The House Civil Law Committee has approved a bill that would allow nearly every Minnesotan over the age of 21 to carry a handgun. Supporters say the bill would create a statewide uniform set of standards for all applicants to receive a handgun permit. Current law gives local law enforcement discretion over who can carry a gun. Opponents say the current law is acceptable and loosening the requirements would make the state more dangerous. The handgun legislation approved yesterday (Tues) is one of several controversial bills that Republican House Speaker Steve Sviggum wants the House to vote on before February twenty-seventh. Minnesota Public radio's Tom Scheck reports..
February 12, 2003 - Gas prices are on the rise and have hit a dollar 64 a gallon this morning in the Twin Cities. Possible war in Iraq... and a general strike in oil-rich Venezuela are major reasons for the increases. But the prices at Minnesota pumps may be especially high because of the nature of state's gasoline market. The state Attorney General's office examined the structure of the market
February 13, 2003 - Eagan-based Northwest airlines is launching a campaign to convince union leaders of the need to reduce labor costs. Company officials have told Wall Street they need to cut overall expenses by as much as a billion and a half dollars. Northwest has already cut almost 12 thousand jobs and more than a billion dollars in expenses in about 2 years. But labor leaders at the nation's fourth largest airline say the last round of concessions has bred strong resistance to another round of give-backs. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin reports.
February 17, 2003 - Office vacancies in downtown Minneapolis continue to push higher even after three years of a down market. The vacancies create headaches for owners of some of the most valuable properties in the state and increase the tax burden for residential property owners. Meanwhile, people wanting space in Minneapolis are snatching up deals. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes explains.
February 17, 2003 - General Mills officials say the company's future looks positive. Sales are expected to increase roughly 6-percent over the next three years, while share prices should jump more than 10-percent. If those projections prove true, by 2006 General Mills will be able to pay down roughly 2-billion dollars of debt associated with its purchase of Pillsbury. But in the near future company leaders are less certain they'll be able to avoid paying millions of additional dollars for acquiring the food giant. Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally reports:
February 20, 2003 - Minneapolis based U-S Bancorp plans to spin off its Piper Jaffray brokerage as a separate company by this fall. US Bank paid 730 (m) million dollars to acquire the locally based brokerage five years ago. Piper has been hit by a series of fines by regulators over the past year. But analysts point to other factors for the spin-off. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin reports.