June 9, 1998 - The news from farm country is not good. Prices are low and costs are high. The squeeze is reminiscent of the farm crisis 20 years ago. The response by farmers is to buy more land and equipment to raise more food. Getting bigger in order to sell more product, the argument goes, is the only way to survive low prices. But a handful of farmers are going in the opposite direction. They're farming smaller, and they are making a living. But it may not be a style of farming others can afford to follow. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson has more. A January wind dragging temperatures below zero did nothing to cool the anger of thousands of farm families gathered 13 years ago at the capitol in St. Paul.
June 9, 1998 - Wall St. today lost some interest in the merger of Norwest Corporation and Wells Fargo. The stocks of both companies declined in heavy trading. At the same time, Minnesotans are sorting out what it means to lose the headquarters of another large Minnesota corporation. Bill Catlin has this report. Norwest officials say it makes sense to go to California, which has nearly 4 times the new company's deposits as Minnesota. The move affects 830 corporate jobs, out of Norwest's Minnesota workforce of ten thousand. The Midwest banking operations will remain headquartered here. Bill Cooper, the head of TCF Financial says he was surprised that Norwest would agree
June 10, 1998 - Representatives from Northwest pilots union met face to face with the company for the first time since contract talks broke off at the end of May. A federal mediator ordered both sides to the bargaining table in Washington D.C. today to begin three days of talks. The contract disagreement has become very public of late, with the company taking out ads criticizing the pilots for rejecting their offer. The pilots are asking for forteen percent raises the first year, and five percent annual raises thereafter. Steve Flanagan is a Northwest pilot who wears a union cap as well. He says the negotiations are playing a large role in his personal life.
June 11, 1998 - Minneapolis officials say an environmental impact statement for expansion of the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport is flawed. They'll work today on the city's official response, incorporating comments from a public hearing last night. As Minnesota Public Radio's Eric Jansen reports, Northwest Airlines' domination of the market was a key topic last night: City council member Dore Mead says among her chief criticisms of the Environmental Impact Statement is that its estimates of future airport usage about 600,000 flights per year by 2010 -- are, in her words, "way off base.": "Were asking them to admit theyre low we all know it.
June 12, 1998 - Federal Aviaton Administration officials confirmed today the agency is looking into allegations of deficiencies in Northwest's maintenance of DC-9 aircraft. Airline officials say the agency hasn't told them of any current investigation. The airline says allegations have been made, investigated and settled, and the F-A-A has raised no concerns about safety. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin reports. The investigation is the focus of a front page story in the Wall Street Journal, which notes that the airline has saved billions of dollars by upgrading elderly DC-9's instead of replacing them with newer aircraft. The article quotes an F.A.A. official saying the agency has received allegations that appear to have some credibility and th
June 12, 1998 - A grain elevator exploded in Plainview, Minnesota this morning, about 20 miles northeast of Rochester. No one was hurt but it knocked out power and phone service to the town's downtown. The Doane (DOAN) Grain Services Incorporated elevator burned for about two hours. Authorities aren't sure what caused the explosion. The Plainview explosion comes just days after a grain elevator explosion in Wichita, Kansas killed five people. One man is still missing. Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration manager and former grain elevator inspector Terry Mueller (Myoo-ler) says most explosions are caused by some sort of friction in the mechnics of the elevator which ignites the grain dust.
July 7, 1998 - Curt Johnson, Chair of the Twin Cities Project on Media and the Public, discusses its new report on restoring trust in the media and improving the quality of local news reporting. Johnson also answers listener questions. The program begins with a report from MPR’s Chris Roberts on the Twin Cities Project on Media and the Public ‘s critical study, noting local news distortion of reality and sensationalism.
July 17, 1998 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from Ely, Minnesota. Program highlights the northern Minnesota town and the BWCA, twenty years after major Congressional legislation in 1978…a controversial Act that banned mining, logging and most motor use. In this first hour of program, MPR’s Rachel Reabe interviews Mark Van Every and Barb Soderberg, representatives from the National Forest Service; and canoe outfitters John Waters and Gary Gotchnik about the various aspects of the BWCA.
July 17, 1998 - MPR’s Leif Enger takes a look at the BWCA twenty years after legislation to protect it, and the divide in viewpoints on the land that have existed throughout the 20th century. Segment includes various interviews and commentary.
July 20, 1998 - Lowell Pratt, President of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities; Ray Waldron, President of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council; and Harry Melander of the St. Paul Building Trades Council, discuss shortage of construction workers in the region and outlook for the construction trades. Group also answers listener calls. The program begins with a report from MPR’s Cara Hetland on the construction dilemma impacting Spencer, South Dakota and St. Peter, Minnesota, in the aftermath of tornados.