December 31, 2001 - Over the years more than six million children have seen the Minnesota's Children's Theatre Company. For many it was their first theater experience The Children's Theatre Company, now in its 37th season, has outgrown its Minneapolis facility. It's asking the state for $12 million to expand. Mainstreet Radio's Rob Schmitz has this report.
December 31, 2001 - St. John's University in Collegeville is home to the largest woodburning kiln in North America. The kiln holds more than 5,000 pots in its three chambers. A new book called "Body of Clay, Soul of Fire" tells the story of the kiln and Richard Bresnahan, the local potter and teacher who helped build it. Bresnahan grew up in North Dakota and studied ceramics at St. John's in the early 1970s. He earned the title "master potter" during a four-year apprenticeship with a thirteenth-generation potter in Japan. Bresnahan says that in order to understand why the kiln works so well, you have to understand what it DOESN'T do well:
January 7, 2002 - Since the events of September 11th, America's public schools have helped teach the nation some powerful lessons in charity, tolerance and patriotism. Students have raised money for the victims' families. They've embraced their Arab and Muslim classmates. And they're reciting the Pledge of Allegiance with renewed spirit. Many students also say they have a different outlook about the world and their place in it. As a part of our series on How We've Changed, Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire talked with a group of suburban high school students with a link to the tragedies who say their lives were forever changed...
January 7, 2002 - Over 100 teachers were let go and budget had to be cut by $6 million.
January 8, 2002 - The 27 metro school districts that make up the Association of Metropolitan School Districts are together facing a budget cut. This correlates with the projected $2 billion shortfall in the state budget.
January 9, 2002 - Minneapolis School District needs to cut $30 million. The budget cut will bring challenges: staff reduction, larger classes, bus service cutbacks, and wage freezes for all non-teaching staff.
January 10, 2002 - MPR’s Laura McCallum provides an overview of Governor Ventura’s budget plan. In a press conference, Ventura outlined his plan for addressing a nearly two-billion dollar projected budget deficit, saying he would not hide behind quick decisions and that everybody is sharing the hurt…and there's plenty of pain to go around.
January 10, 2002 - MPR’s Laura McCallum reports on comments from Ventura's finance commissioner, Pam Wheelock, who says the budget plan will include a combination of spending cuts, tax increases and dipping into the state's budget reserves. She says resolving a deficit of this magnitude will be painful.
January 10, 2002 - MPR’s Tim Pugmire reports on Governor Ventura's budget cut of 1% from the education portion for this coming year…and that he wants to take another 2%-3% the following year. While a smaller cut than other areas of the budget, many educators are concerned at the negative impact cuts will create in areas such as specialized aides, grants, and charter schools receiving less money to lease buildings.
January 11, 2002 - As the new year begins, people in Albert Lea are doing their best to put 2001 behind them. The year has been a tough one for this southern Minnesota community. In July, the Farmland Foods plant, the city's third largest employer, burned down. The disaster left almost 500 residents unemployed. Then, in November, city residents voted down a proposed school levy referendum, forcing its school district to cut more than a million dollars from the budget. In the meantime, the city's population is declining, and businesses are leaving the city. Mainstreet reporter Rob Schmitz visits the city's schools in the aftermath of major budget cuts. HOST BACKANNOUNCE: Monday on Morning Edition, Laurel Druley reports on the how Albert Lea's economy has fared since the Farmland Foods plant burned. Families have moved away, and other businesses are struggling.