May 8, 2001 - The Minneapolis School Board is holding a public meeting tonight to discuss the district's plan to radically change high schools to improve performance. Minneapolis has a 47 percent graduation rate... the second lowest in the state. The district will use a one (M)million dollar grant from the McKnight foundation to create what it calls "smaller learning communities." Bob McCauley is co-chairing the project. He says most dropouts return to highschool multiple times before leaving for good:
May 8, 2001 -
May 9, 2001 - According to results from the Basic Skills Tests, sophomores are getting smarter by each year. This is the third year students were required to take the Basic Skills Tests.
May 11, 2001 - Health experts who have fought the negative effects of tobacco use are now researching possibilities of reducing harm of tobacco.
May 11, 2001 - Republican Jim Abler owns two buildings, leased to charter school parents. In the 1999-2000 session, he broke public trust when he voted for the state to give money to charter schools. It was a matter of conflict of interest.
May 11, 2001 -
May 14, 2001 - The University of Minnesota fired women's basketball coach Cheryl Littlejohn today (Mon) for violating NCAA rules. An investigation completed last week found Littlejohn gave cash and other gifts to players, interfered with a university investigation into the program, and broke the NCAA limits on practices. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports...
May 14, 2001 - University of Minnesota gives a public statement about the women's basketball violations and states that Coach Littlejohn is fired.
May 15, 2001 - The University of Minnesota has fired its women's basketball coach. The school says Cheryl Littlejohn committed a pattern of deliberate rules violations. A university investigation found she gave money to a player, and interfered with a previous investigation by telling players to lie. The school says the violations will likely be considered a major infractions case by the N-C-A-A. Murray Sperber (SPUR ber) is a professor at Indiana University, and author of "Beer and Circus: How Bigtime College Sports is Crippling Undergraduate Education." He's on the line now.
May 17, 2001 - MPR’s Elizabeth Stawicki reports on dedication of Mondale Hall at University of Minnesota Law School, which naked its building complex after its most acclaimed alumnus, Walter Mondale. Former President Jimmy Carter spoke at the dedication and praised Mondale as a man of integrity.