September 26, 2003 - This (FRI) afternoon Governor Pawlenty stopped at Rocori High School in Cold Spring. Cold Spring classes resumed just two days after the fatal school shooting. Students say it was hardly a typical day of school -- the halls were relatively quiet, and teachers put their normal lesson plans aside. The goal for the day was mostly to make sure students kept their hands and minds occupied. And that they had someone to talk to if they needed it. Minnesota Public Radio's Jeff Horwich reports.
September 26, 2003 - Cold Spring is a community where people know each other's business. They're involved in the schools. And even the elderly are connected with teenagers. But feelings have changed. Students and teachers say a 15 year old opened fire on his peers at Rocori High School on Wednesday. One student is dead and another in critical condition. And when a teen acts out so violently, it raises questions of how well adults know their kids. Mainstreet Radio's Annie Baxter reports.
September 29, 2003 - Brad Williams spent almost 30 years at the iron mine in Eveleth. Now he's going to school. He's older than his classmates. Most of them are 18 or 19. When they were born, Brad Williams had already worked at the mine for ten years. But the mine shut down last May, and Brad Williams doesn't want to leave his home. So he's studying to be a nurse. Chris Julin met up with him at school. He has this Mainstreet Radio report.
September 29, 2003 -
September 30, 2003 - More than 1000 people gathered in Cold Spring yesterday at the funeral of a student killed in last week's school shooting; the community still faces weeks and months of grief. Bill Bond has first-hand insight into what Cold Spring's healing process might be like. Bond was the principal at Heath High School in Paducah, Kentucky. On December 1, 1997, a freshman at the school shot eight students, killing three of them. Bond dealt with the aftermath of the tragedy, and guided the school through the recovery process. Bond now serves as the Resident Practitioner for Safe and Orderly Schools for the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Bond says a shooting at a school affects people particularly deeply.
September 30, 2003 - It hasn't even been a week, but for the people of Cold Spring, everything is different. They've already mourned and buried one of their own, and still grieve over another, still in critical condition at St. Cloud Hospital, after last Wednesday's school shooting at Rocori. As Mainstreet Radio's Annie Baxter reports, children and adults are grasping for ways to communicate their feelings.{
October 1, 2003 -
October 1, 2003 -
October 3, 2003 - The Minneapolis chapter of the NAACP has become good at one thing steady self-destruction. Last weekend, the Rev. Albert Gallmon became the latest in a long line of distinguished, well-intended people chewed up by a small group of people in a once-meaningful organization. Gallmon, who became president of the Minneapolis branch in December, fell on his sword with grace in announcing that he was stepping down from the position.
October 3, 2003 - University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks says the institution is robust and poised to become even greater despite its current budget crisis. At his State of the University address yesterday Thursday Bruininks outlined recent university successes and new priorities for the coming year. Following the speech, Bruininks was put on the defensive by union workers and their supporters who are critical of the university's policy on salaries. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.