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 - Kurt 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.
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.
July 21, 1998 - Michael Cox, Vice President and Economic Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas discusses his new report, "Time Well Spent: The Declining Real Cost of Living in America." Cox explains study that states while prices have gone up over the years, the cost of living is more modest than in past. Cox also answers listener questions.
July 22, 1998 - Steve Correll and Vicki Tobin, representatives of the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, discuss how criminal background checks are done, and their effectiveness. Main topic is on checks done during a hiring process. Correll and Tobin also answer listener questions.