March 13, 2003 - Mika Anderson-Coates is the kind of citizen police officials count on to help them in the fight against crime. A resident of the Seward neighborhood in south Minneapolis, Anderson-Coates helps organize citizen patrols, she connects neighbors through a community newsletter and she has been a block club leader. Anderson-Coates says she and her neighbors have worked closely with the police department's Community Crime Prevention Safe program.
March 14, 2003 -
March 17, 2003 - It's a popular notion that war is good for the economy. But as US troops mass on the border of Iraq, Minnesota experts doubt war will help the state's struggling economy. Over the last two years, Minnesota has lost 57,000 jobs. Three quarters of those jobs have been in the manufacturing sector. Traditionally, manufacturers have benefited the most from military spending. However, state economists say a war in Iraq is unlikely to help them. Minnesota Public Radio's Rob Schmitz reports. {Like most manufacturers in Minnesota, Rochester tech company is doing its best to stay afloat.
March 18, 2003 -
March 21, 2003 - Northwest Airlines says it's cutting nearly 5000 jobs due to the war in Iraq. The Eagan based carrier says it is removing 20 planes from service and reducing capacity by about 12 percent. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin reports.
March 24, 2003 - More major airlines are expected to cut flight schedules and jobs this week as the slump in travel bookings because of the war in Iraq takes a toll on the airline industry. Northwest Airlines announced Friday that it is laying off about 49-hundred employees. The company says it is also reducing its flight schedule by about 12 percent and pulling 20 planes out of service. Flight attendants, mechanics, customer service agents, and pilots will be among those laid off. Daryl Jenkins is the Director of The Aviation Institute at George Washington University.
March 24, 2003 -
March 27, 2003 - Northwest Airlines is taking heat from laid off workers, union leaders and even Governor Tim Pawlenty over executive pay increases. Last week, Northwest announced it was cutting nearly five thousand jobs due to the war in Iraq. Less than a week later, the company disclosed its two top executives saw pay increases last year totalling nearly 2 million dollars ... a year the company lost almost 800 million dollars. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin reports.
March 27, 2003 - The men's NCAA basketball tournament comes to Minnesota today, when the midwest regional finals get underway at the metrodome in Minneapolis. Wisconsin, Marquette, Pittsburgh, and Kentucky will vie for a spot in the Final Four. The event is expected to bring thousands of fans into Minneapolis, and officials are preparing to keep the dome secure. Bill Lester is the Executive Director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission. He's on the line now. That is Bill Lester, chair of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission. Tonight's Kentucky/Wisconsin game gets underway at 6:10. The Pittsburgh/Marquette game will begin at about 8:40.
March 31, 2003 - A baby is under surveillance this morning at Hennepin County Medical Center after being taken off a Northwest Airlines flight arriving in the Twin Cities from Asia. Officials were concerned the child might have Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. The fatal respiratory disease has killed at least 55 people and sickened more than 14-hundred, mostly in China. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contacted Northwest airlines after the eleven-month-old experienced coughing and diarrhea. The state health department says the baby tested positive for a common respiratory infection, but is being observed for further symptoms.