March 21, 2002 - Northern Minnesota is better known for iron mines and wilderness areas than for cutting edge industry. But one start-up company in Duluth is out in front in an important field - water quality monitoring. Apprise technologies products help protect water supplies all over the world. Mainstreet Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports. {
March 22, 2002 - To: The MPR Morning Edition Crew From: Mark Seeley, University of Minnesota Department of Soil, Water, and Climate Topic: Snow in Abundance Marquette, MI has recorded an exceptionally snowy winter. With 60 inches of snowfall so far in March, their winter total is now over 277 inches, breaking the record for seasonal snowfall of 272 inches set in 1996-1997. A warmer than normal Lake Superior has fueled this abundant snow
March 26, 2002 - Habitat for Humanity chapters around the country are building a new kind of volunteer crew. Women make up half of Habitat's volunteer force, but they do a lot of behind-the-scenes work like fundraising and public relations. Not many of them pound nails or fire up a saw. On the construction crews, only about one in seven is a woman. A new program called Women Build helps women develop construction skills, and gets more homes built for people in need. Two Women Build homes are under construction in Duluth. Mainstreet Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports. {
April 1, 2002 - An April snowstorm is snarling road and air traffic in the state. More than 100 vehicle crashes have been reported including one that killed two people. And, Northwest Airlines has had to cancel nearly 100 flights out of the Twin Cities. A spokesperson for the airline expects operations to be back to normal tomorrow. Craig Edwards is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Chanhassen. He says after a mild winter, Minnesotan's are finally getting a dose of reality:
April 2, 2002 - Wisconsin could become the first state in the country to force electric utilities to reduce the amount of mercury they put into the air. Coal-burning power plants are the largest single source of airborne mercury pollution. Mercury can cause brain damage and reproductive problems in fish, animals, and people. Mercury that lands in the water can build up in the food chain. People take in mercury when they eat fish. Wisconsin, Minnesota, and other Great Lakes states have fish advisories. They warn people not to eat too much fish caught in the region's lakes and rivers. Mainstreet Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports.
April 8, 2002 - If you computer gathering dust in a closet, you're not alone. According to one estimate, Americans will discard about 500 million PCs in the next five years. Computer parts contain lead and other heavy metals. They shouldn't be sent to the landfill or burned in incinerators. Now the industry has taken the first step in setting up a national system to deal with used electronics gear. They plan to impose a disposal charge on sales of new equipment. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports the state of Minnesota has had a leading role in developing the system. {
April 16, 2002 - Craig Edwards, Meteorolgist-in-Charge at the National Weather Service; and Mark Seeley, Climatologist and Meteorologist at the University of Minnesota, discuss the favorite Minnesotan conversation topic, weather, in honor of "Severe Weather Awareness Week."
April 17, 2002 - As part of Severe Weather Awareness Week in Minnesota, Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Bill Hughes, a SKYWARN spotter and a spotter instructor. Hughes says spotters cannot be replaced by technology.
April 19, 2002 - Morning Edition, April 12, 2002 Topic: Costing our National Weather Service
April 26, 2002 - Earlier this week when light snow occurred over the far northern Red River Valley, Gillam, in northeast Manitoba reported nearly 6 inches of snowfall with an overnight low of just 8 degrees F, ..a measure of the cold air that is still north of us this late into April. Topic: April 2002 behaving like a winter month