November 6, 2002 - Minnesota Governor-Elect Tim Pawlenty met with reporters today and talked with outgoing Governor Jesse Ventura about making the transition into office. Pawlenty says the election means Republican ideals will have a much smoother time at the Capitol than in the past. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.
November 25, 2002 -
November 25, 2002 - MPR’s Tim Pugmire reports on NCS Pearson, a test scoring company that mishandled thousands of Minnesota high school exams, agreeing to pay seven million dollars in damages to affected students and their families. The settlement comes more than two years after state education officials uncovered the errors, and just days before a class action lawsuit was scheduled to go to trial.
December 5, 2002 -
December 10, 2002 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer interviews W. Harry Davis, prominent local civil rights activist and educator, about his autobiography, entitled "Overcoming." In it, he describes growing up in poverty, helping found the Minneapolis Urban Coalition, running a local Golden Gloves Boxing organization and serving on the Minneapolis School Board for 20 years.
December 11, 2002 - Mainstreet Radio’s Cara Hetland reports on modern violin makers who want to unravel the mysteries of how the old great instruments were made. The Stradivari violins are among the most mysterious and most expensive instruments. For centuries, makers have wanted to copy the techniques used by Antonio Stradivari but they don't know how.
December 12, 2002 - In Rochester Governor-elect Tim Pawlenty today agreed to a genomics research partnership with the Mayo Clinic. The announcement comes a year after Mayo leaders said they'd be lobbying for more state funding. Mayo officials claim other nationally known medical centers already receive public funding and the clinic doesn't want to lose its position as a pre-eminent research institution. Mainstreet Radio's Laurel Druley reports. {Pawlenty would not talk specifically about how much money the state is willing to give to the research partnership. But last year Mayo Clinic said it needed $80 million over the next four years to become a leader in the rapidly developing field of genomics.
December 16, 2002 - MPR’s Michael Khoo presents highlights of four years with Governor Jesse Ventura, and Minnesota's brief experiment with three-party government.
December 27, 2002 - Young people at St. Mark A-M-E Church in Duluth are having some serious fun with religion. The small church has youth outreach programs that perform praise dances and offer a ministry of stepping and stomping for other young people all over the country. Mainstreet Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports.
December 31, 2002 - If voters knew one thing about Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Pawlenty it was this: under no circumstances, he said, would he raise state taxes. Now, governor-elect Pawlenty is facing a $4.5 billion budget deficit over the next two years, far bigger than most had anticipated. Pawlenty says the unexpected size of the shortfall hasn't diminished his resolve to stand tough on taxes. But critics say his pledge could damage the state's long-term prospects. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo has more.