January 31, 1997 - Lawmakers will be lobbied on the bus this morning by mayors from several Twin Cities communities who want more money for transit and cleaning up polluted ground. The bus tour grows out of discussions among central city and suburban mayors who want a united front in lobbying for some of their interests. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports. Lawmakers will board the bus at the state capitol for a relatively short ride to one of the first sites - several acres of St. Paul land dominated by a huge mound of polluted soil. St. Paul mayor Norm Coleman says a priority among several cities is money to help clean up sites which can be used for development.
February 4, 1997 - Minneapolis officials are hoping to increase the state sales tax in the Twin Cities to expand the Minneapolis Convention Center and bolster mass transit. But the proposal faces a tough fight. Governor Carlson's chief of staff, Morrie Anderson, says convention center backers should prepare to compete for state bonding support because Carlson opposes raising the sales tax. In fact, the Governor vetoed an expansion plan last year. John Labosky formerly headed Minneapolis' downtown council, so he's familiar with the fight. Now he's with the capital city partnership in St. Paul.
February 6, 1997 - In case you haven't noticed, this is Sweeps Week, when all the commericial broadcasters bring out the programming they think will bring them the biggest audiences and the biggest advertising dollar. Here's a sample of what Channels Four and Five were offering yesterday.
February 6, 1997 - A debate over a proposed large-scale dairy feedlot west of the Twin Cities moves to the courtroom today. A Wright County environmental group is suing the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, arguing the MPCA should do further study on the potential environmental effects of what could be Minnesota's largest dairy farm. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.
February 7, 1997 - Within the next several weeks the local telephone market will be opening up to free market competition just as the long distance monopoly was broken apart in the early 1980's. Throughout the country, companies that control local phone lines are scrambling to protect themselves as regulators welcome outside competitors into what's been their territory. In Minnesota US West says it's being forced to offer newcomers an unfair advantage that could lead to a deterioration of the local phone network. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports.
February 10, 1997 - Leaders of the Star Tribune newspaper had their day at the Capitol when they appeared before the Senate Elections Law Committee. They explained how a photograph of failed Minneapolis Senate candidate John Derus appeared next to an article about charity fraud. Derus says the mistake, which was published the day of the primary last September, cost him the election against Senator Linda Higgins. Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports.
February 10, 1997 - Minneapolis officials are considering opening up the city's private trash hauling contract to competitive bids for the first time in 25 years. At least one council member thinks the city could save several million dollars a year by seeking other bidders. The consortium of haulers that now handles the waste admits the city might be able to save some money -- but contends small haulers would likely go out of business in the process. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Wareham reports.
February 10, 1997 - Today the jury decided that O-J Simpson must pay $25-million dollars in compensatory damages for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. In most basic terms, they decided what amount of money equals Simpson's crime. We've been making comparisons like this for thousands of years, according to Jack Weatherford, who sees bad and good in the process. Weatherford teaches anthropology at Macalester College in Saint Paul, and his latest book is "The History of Money." Minnesota Public Radio's John Rabe and senior economics editor Chris Farrell talked with Weatherford about his book, which starts in the kingdom of Lydia somewhere around 635-B.C.
February 13, 1997 - The University of Minnesota is one of the state's largest landowners and, thus, a big neighbor. Some residents of a Minneapolis neighborhood would like the U to be a better neighbor and agree to sell some of its surplus Minneapolis campus property to homeowners. The residents want a mix of housing to try create what some call an urban village environment. They are concerned the U will sell to the highest bidder which in this case may be a developer who wants to tear down the houses. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson has more. The developer is Dinnaken Properties owned by James Cargill, Sr. a former executive of Cargill the global commodity processing and trading company. The neighborhood is what generations of U students know as Stadium Village - a collection of businesses, apartments and houses where the best known intersection is Oak Street and Washington Avenue. The U intends
February 14, 1997 - Your regional baby bell says it needs to hike prices to easy telephone congestion caused by internet users, and a McDonald's in France puts the Mcinternet on the menu.