January 23, 2001 - SHORT LEAD: The Caring Sharing hands proposal is actually only one of several plans to open residential facilities for children in Minnesota, but as Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Stucky reports there is still fierce opposition.
January 23, 2001 - Ventura says that public education was the winner of his budget a couple of years ago. Now the focus needs to now go elsewhere.
January 24, 2001 - MPR's Patty Marsicano reports that Governor Ventura's proposed budget for higher education has stunned the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Systems. They say they won't even be able to keep up with inflation, let alone proceed with their plans for vital growth.
January 24, 2001 -
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.