January 24, 2001 - MPR’s Laura McCallum reports that Governor Ventura began taking his case to the public in St. Paul with a breakfast at the Governor's Mansion. Meanwhile the lobbying has begun in earnest as groups that feel short-changed by the Governor's budget are starting to rally their supporters.
January 25, 2001 - MPR’s Laura McCallum reports on the debate over higher education state funding between Governor Jesse Ventura and University of Minnesota president Mark Yudof. Neither side is backing down on what promises to be one of the biggest budget debates this session.
January 29, 2001 - Across southern Minnesota the preparations for the ice-storm began early... long before the first drops of freezing rain fell. Minnesota Public Radio's Laurel Druley reports the majority of southeastern Minnesota schools closed today. {Rochester public school transportation manager Jeff Cappers says his thoughts were more on the possible state of country back roads this afternoon when he made his decision to close his schools early this morning.
January 30, 2001 - Wilson Bradshaw is President of Metropolitan State University, which is part of the MnSCU system. He says Ventura's budget is a place to start.
January 30, 2001 - MPR’s Patty Marsicano reports that the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System stepped up their drive today for more higher education state funding than Governor Jesse Ventura has proposed.
January 31, 2001 - Governor Ventura took his budget proposal for the University of Minnesota to the editorial page of the Star Tribune today. His piece, titled "Maybe Money Isn't the 'U' Problem," suggests the University could get by with fewer resources. The Governor's budget plan calls for a $56-million increase in U of M funding while the University has asked for almost four times that. Richard Pfutzenreuter (fitz-en-roy-ter) is Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of the University of Minnesota. He takes issue with the governor's strategy of comparing the U of M to the University of Wisconsin, which Ventura says enjoys a higher research ranking even though it pays its professors less than Minnesota.
February 5, 2001 - MPR’s Chris Julin reports from Cloquet High School, “checking” the growing popularity of high school girls hockey. In 2001, 120 Minnesota high schools have girls hockey teams and two-thirds of the girls playing high school hockey in the entire country live in Minnesota.
February 15, 2001 - A new poll commissioned by Minnesota Public Radio and the St. Paul Pioneer Press suggests many Minnesotans would rather hold down tuition at the University of Minnesota than get a tax cut or rebate. The poll says holding down tuition is ALSO more important to Minnesotans than raising faculty salaries....and that University President Mark Yudof's job approval rivals Governor Ventura's. Minnesota Public Radio's Patty Marsicano reports:
February 15, 2001 - Suicide depression campaign, working with Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE), is raising awareness about suicide.
February 19, 2001 - Through out its 150 year history, the University of Minnesota has struggled with its dueling missions of academic access and academic excellence. The U of M's General College has been at the heart of much of that debate. Some say the General College is an essential entry point for students, who have yet to reach their academic potential. Others argue that role is better served by the state's community colleges. As a part of our week-long series "Universal U," Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports on the fight over the complex and sometimes competing missions of the U of M.