December 12, 2007 - Today is the one year anniversary of a federal immigration raid on the Swift meatpacking plant in Worthington. Officers arrested 239 illegal immigrants in the southwest Minnesota city. It was part of a nationwide action. Latinos in Worthington say they're still recovering from the raid. Other people say the raid didn't go far enough.
January 11, 2008 - Nanci has posted some more resources for Parents of "emerging adults" on our website, Minnesota Public Radio.org. There you'll also find some video interviews with U of M students who talk about why they drink. There's also a discussion underway at a Gather.com...parents, and students are posting their thoughts about binge drinking. A link to that discussion is at Minnesota Public Radio dot org. Monday night at 7, Minnesota Public radio News hosts a Public Insight Forum on the topic of College Binge drinking. Kerry Miller hosts in the UBS Forum, here at our downtown St. Paul studios. Our special report, Death by Drinking, was edited by Mike Edgerly...it's all online, at Minnesota Public Radi-dot-org.
January 17, 2008 - Governor Pawlenty wants to make low-interest loans available to small businesses and homeowners, to install renewable energy systems. The governor announced the initiative at a news conference today (THURS). He also set up a collaborative group to oversee research and development on clean energy. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports. {
February 1, 2008 - Governor Pawlenty is calling for repeal of Minnesota's moratorium on new nuclear power plants. It's part of his preliminary action plan on climate change. He also wants to reduce red tape for renewable energy projects. His proposals are included in a report sent to the legislature today. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports. {
February 5, 2008 - MPR’s Laura Yuen visits International Market, a no-frills Asian shopping bazaar in St. Paul, which attracts thousands of customers a day. Now, the owner of International Market wants to expand his business into a tourist destination. He's asking the city of St. Paul for 2-million-dollars in tax breaks to complete his dream. But first, he may need to improve his reputation with city inspectors and some tenants.
February 18, 2008 - President Barack Obama threw a $75 billionlifeline to millions of Americans on the brink of foreclosure Wednesday, declaring an urgent need for drastic action - not only to save their homes but to keep the housing crisis "from wreaking even greater havoc" on the broader national economy. The lending plan, a full $25 billion bigger than the administration had been suggesting, aims to prevent as many as 9million homeowners from being evicted and to stabilize housing markets that are at the center of the ever-worsening U.S. recession. Government support pledged to mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is being doubled as well, to $400 billion, as part ofan effort to encourage them to refinance loans that are "under water" - those in which homes' market values have sunk below the amount the owners still owe. "All of us are paying a price for this home mortgage crisis, and all of us will pay an even steeper price if we allow thiscrisis to continue to deepen," Obama said. The new president, focusing closely on the economy, in his first month in office, rolled out the housing program one day after hewas in Denver to sign his $787 billion emergency stimulus plan to revive the rest of the economy. And his administration is just now going over fresh requests for multiple billions in bailout cash from ailing automakers.
March 19, 2008 - MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill reports on ATVs in the north woods. The U.S. Forest Service is about to make a major decision about where ATVs can go and cannot go in the vast Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota. Segment includes various interviews of residents and environmentalists.
May 28, 2008 - University Avenue, the proposed route of the Central Corridor light rail line, has a colorful past that is still evolving. Four MPR reporters look at the past and the future of Minneapolis-St. Paul’s University Avenue. Story titles include “The view from Prospect Park,” “The Car Culture,” “An Entertainment Destination,” and “Immigrants Always Welcome.”
May 29, 2008 - U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar says the nation isn't ready for a lower highway speed limit. Klobuchar met with Minnesota truckers to talk about high diesel prices. Diesel fuel is 70-percent higher than it was a year ago, and truckers say it's adding to the cost of practically everything. The Minnesota Trucking Association is calling for a national speed limit of 65-miles-per-hour. Senator Klobuchar told the truckers she hopes individuals will choose to reduce their speed to save gas and money, but Congress won't require it.
July 16, 2008 - MPR's Annie Baxter presents an MPR Special Report titled "Minnesota Slowdown." Baxter looks to when Minnesota economic slowdown actually started, and it’s subesquent impacts to economy.