September 4, 1998 - MPR’s Eric Jansen reports on status of Northwest Airlines strike. Report includes numerous clips of commentary, including Walter Mondale, who is an NWA board member. The U.S. Transportation Department has ordered Northwest Airlink flights to resume, despite Northwest Airlines being shut down by a pilot’s strike. Also, Northwest flight attendants who were laid off this week rallied at the state capitol to say they're 100 percent behind the pilots. The Federal Department of Transportation ordered Mesaba Aviation and Express Airlines to resume flights to 17 rural communities. The two airlines fly Northwest Airlink routes to Northwest Airlines hubs in Minneapolis.
September 4, 1998 - A little more than a week before the primary election, Minnesot's tightest race may be one that hasn't had much attention until the last few days. Three DFLers are vying for the party nomination for Attorney General, and the race is turning into one of the most negative statewide campaigns this year. Minnesota Public Rado's Bob Collins reports.
September 4, 1998 - NORTHWEST AIRLINES STRIKE STORY - COMPETITION PROSPECTS DAN OLSON/MN PUBLIC RADIO. SUGGESTED INTRO: The seven day old Northwest Airlines strike has customers wondering if other airline companies see an opportunity to grab some of Northwest's business. The answer so far is competitors are adding some service but none is making long term plans to try break Northwest's near-monopoly control of its hubs including Minneapolis St. Paul passenger business. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports. Restive Northwest customers have watched with envy as cut-rate airlines offering rock bottom rates have gained a toe hold at other airports.
September 7, 1998 - FOR MONDAY ME!!!!!! National Mediation Board talks aimed at restarting contract negotiations between Northwest Airlines and its pilots' union resume tomorrow (Tuesday). The NMB recessed talks after two days in Chicago saying BOTH SIDES needed time to reconsider their positions. The next round of discussions will take place in the Twin Cities. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports... | D-CART ITEM:1276 | TIME: 3:12s | OUTCUE: SOC
September 7, 1998 - MPR's Tom Robertson reports from Bemidji, where It's harvest time for wild rice in Minnesota, and nowhere is the season more important than on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. The reservation has more than 6,000 acres of wild rice beds within its boundaries.
September 7, 1998 - Production this tomato season in Minnesota has been off the charts. Warm days and timely rains have fueled the growth of the luscious red fruit. But you'd never know it's been a stellar season judging by the tomatos being served at most restaurants. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports. For reasons not entirely clear, The French call them "love apples"... but restaurant reviewer Bebe Newell's recent visit to a pricey Minneapolis dining establishment with wonderful service, pleasant decor and great food included one unlovable exception. audio . . . and there on the plate next to this gorgeous food was this pale, pink, hard skinned, mushy thing.
September 7, 1998 - Negotiators for Northwest Airlines and the Pilots Union took Labor Day off today, after a weekend of federally mediated "exploratory talks" in Chicago yielded no progress. The Air Line Pilots Association decided to give some of its members a break from the walkout by holding a morale-building picnic at a Minneapolis park. As Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Roberts reports, some of the pilots and their families found themselves developing a new appreciation for Labor Day.
September 7, 1998 - The last day of the Minnesota State Fair is more than just one last opportunity to walk around in public eating fried cheese on sticks. Today is the culmination of the 4-H livestock competitions, when all the prize-winning animals go up for auction. The bids are well above market price, and the money is split between local charities and the 4-H kids who raised the winning animals.
September 8, 1998 - Northwest Airlines says it will help its regional airlines Mesaba and Express One resume flying.....within the constraints of its current pilot strike. That comes in response to a federal transportation department order last Friday. Mesaba and Express One shut down their operations last week saying they were too intertwined with Northwest to fly when Northwest pilots were on strike. Minnesota public radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports: The department of transportation ordered Northwest to provide its regional airlines with the same resources it gave them *before* Northwest pilots went on strike. That includes: ticketing; scheduling, banking and ground services. Northwest said it cannot guarantee how long or to what it extent it will help Mesaba and Express One...but it will *try* to help both airlines get back in the air.
September 9, 1998 - The first public meeting to tell people about plans for the proposed Hiawatha Avenue light rail transit line will be held tonight in Minneapolis. The meeting is at the Air National Guard base next to Twin Cities International Airport. It's one of the first opportunities for people to learn about plans for buildling light rail through several Minneapolis neighborhoods from downtown to the Mall of America. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson has more. Tonight's open house is being billed as an information not a planning session, and Longfellow resident Duane Townsend has some questions. Plans call for three light rail stations in his Minneapolis neighborhood. Townsend is the Longfellow Community Council president and an LRT supporter. He says the station plans he has seen don't include parking spaces for cars. LRT planners want to use buses to bring lrt riders to stations. Townsend says many riders