June 11, 1997 - Gary Gillette, baseball analyst and vice-president of Total Sports, comments on Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad making pitch to fellow baseball owners for permission to begin trying to sell or move the team…even as an offer to buy the team surfaced.
June 24, 1997 - Minnesota's 8th District DFL Congressman Jim Oberstar says airline officials should "clean-up their act" or the Congress will act. Oberstar is pushing legislation called the Airline passenger's bill of rights. Under the plan, airlines would be required to disclose their flight delay and cancellation policies. They would have to provide food and bathrooms during lengthy delays. The plan also calls for the airlines to double the payments passengers receive for lost luggage or for being bumped from a flight. Oberstar says he's encouraged by moves Northwest Airlines is making to respond to passenger complaints.
June 25, 1997 - MPR’s Bill Wareham reports that Mayor Sharon Sayles-Belton says Minneapolis will put its money where its mouth is when it comes to keeping the Twins. Throughout the Twins quest for a new ballpark, Sayles-Belton has often said she wants the baseball team to remain in the city…bur much to the consternation of stadium supporters. Sayles-Belton has never committed city resources to the project. That changed when she announced a plan for acquiring and preparing a riverfront site for a stadium.
July 2, 1997 - It was a bit of nostalgia and a bit of wide-eyed curiosity for the people who got the chance to try out a commuter train yesterday (TUESDAY). The train ride was one of several demonstration trips travelling between Minneapolis and St. Cloud. As Minnesota Public Radio's Gretchen Lehmann (lay-mun) reports, riders are eager to see if commuter rail may be the answer to easier travel in and out of the Twin Cities.
July 2, 1997 - A private, non-profit group is rebuilding houses on a rundown block in Minneapolis' Phillips neighborhood. The St. Joseph's HOPE Community has rehabilitated 8 buildings, built a playground and a community center. Much of the work is being done by volunteers and most of the financing is from donations. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.
July 3, 1997 - MPR’s Bill Wareham reports that local officials expect cleanup from the July 1st storm to last weeks, as several of the city's schools sustained heavy damage. One of the most damaged was Edison High School in Northeast community of Minneapolis.
July 4, 1997 - State Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe will become the latest white Minnesotan to be adopted by the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians on Saturday. Like several others prominent Minnesota politicians before him, Moe will become an honorary member of the band. Red Lake leaders say they feel a real sense of friendship and kinship with Moe and the other white people who've been adopted by the tribe. Minnesota Public Radio's Christina Koenig (KAY-nig) reports.
July 9, 1997 - Midday discusses the lawsuits against tobacco companies with Minnesota Attorney General Skip Humphrey. Listeners call in with questions.
July 10, 1997 - Midday looks at the new television ratings system to be unveiled in Washington with guest David Walsh, executive director of the National Institute on Media and the Family. Listeners call in with questions.
July 21, 1997 - MPR's Mary Losure files this story about the North Shore's fishing families and the environmental catastrophes that destroyed their way of life. In the 1930's, Lake Superior supported a thriving commercial fishing industry. Now, on a lake holding one tenth of the world's fresh water, only a handful of commercial fishermen and women remain.