March 17, 1998 - When you think of Minnesota tourist spots, you probably don't think of Owatonna. But that may change when Cabela's, one of the nation's biggest sellers of sporting goods, opens a retail entertainment complex on I 35. Cabela's ships out 60 million catalogs every year, and a couple of million of the company's customers could bring changes to Owatonna. Minnesota Public Radio's Lynette Nyman reports.
March 17, 1998 - A Senate committee today (TUES) voted to change a law beneficial to Northwest Airlines after some legislators charge the airline duped them into passing the law. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports: One week ago, legislators discovered that an apparently technical change they made to the state's franchise law last year was actually of great potential benefit to Northwest Airlines. The change, which was retroactive, gave Northwest a defense against a $30-million-dollar lawsuit filed against it by two small airlines in Maine. Senator Allan Spear says he was shocked to discover that he and his colleagues had inadvertently meddled in an ongoing court case: ((We have a long, admirable tradition in this Legislature that we don't pass legislation that affects pending lawsuits! And that's what
March 18, 1998 - Tom Peters, best-selling author and management guru, discusses his latest book The Circle of Innovation: You Can't Shrink Your Way to Greatness. Peters talks of risks of technology and realities of business economy. He also answers listener questions.
March 18, 1998 - This MPR special report, titled The World Turned Upside Down: An End to Inflation, examines the potential end of a long period of inflation and the growing focus and concerns of possible deflation. Program includes various interviews and commentary and is hosted by Chris Farrell, MPR's senior economics and business editor.
March 18, 1998 - MPR’s Chris Farrell and economist Arthur Rolnick discuss the potential concerns of deflation and answer listener questions.
March 18, 1998 - What's in a name? Millions of dollars according to a legal battle between North America's second largest railroad and a former engineer from South St. Paul who owns the copyright to the company's name. But the engineer, William Purdy, would say this is just the latest battle in a drawn out legal war with his former employer, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. It's a war he says is about workplace safety and free speech, but the company claims is about fraudulant use if its name and harrassment on the internet. Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts reports
March 19, 1998 - When most of us get ill, we expect a doctor to be able to figure out what's making us sick. But in some rare cases, doctors are baffled. It's especially troubling when someone gets seriously ill or dies. Since 1995, the Minnesota Department of Health has catalogued 22 cases where people got critically ill or died for no known reason. As Minnesota Public Radio's Brent Wolfe reports, scientists hope studying the cases will help them prepare to fight new diseases before they have a chance to spread. RUSTY LEE HAGAN AND IM EIGHT YEARS OLD (he
March 20, 1998 - St. Paul legislators and the Minnesota "Wild" hockey franchise are looking for a way out of the standoff over the new St Paul hockey arena. Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe has made it clear that he intends to block state funding for the arena... but today (FRIDAY) the Wild and the St. Paul delegation did their best to outmanuever him. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports: The prospects of state funding for the hockey arena have been slipping fast over the past couple of days, as news reports of private deals between the Minnesota "Wild" and the M.A. Mortenson construction company have made the whole project seem vaguely tainted. Last night "Wild" CEO Jac Sperling tried to limit the impression of foul play by sending a ream of company financial papers to key lawmakers... something the team had refused to do until now... and this morning he went before the media to say the "WILD" has nothing to hide:
March 23, 1998 - The parent company of Minnesota Public Radio announced today it is selling it's for-profit catalog operations to Dayton Hudson Corporation for $120 million. Dayton-Hudson officials say buying the Rivertown Trading Company will give the retailing giant new sales expertise in the mail-order market and potentially on the internet. Most of the profits of the sale will go to MPR's permanent endowment fund...which becomes the largest in public broadcasting. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephen Smith reports: Sun 28-MAY 11:55:34 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11/2001
March 23, 1998 - Minnesota's gubernatorial candidates will be stepping in to tricky territory when they try to outline their education proposals, judging by comments at a recent Minnesota Public Radio/Star Tribune/KTCA TV citizens forum on education. Citizens complained that the state's education system isn't meeting the needs of today's children and demanded the next Governor do something about the problem. But many said the problem with schools is that theyre being micromanaged by the state. Minnesota Public Radio's Brent Wolfe reports on the mixed messages and candidate questions that came out of the forum. TAG: Tune in to Midday this morning at 11 for more on education and the governor's race. We'd like to know what education qu