May 9, 1997 - Remember the Minnesota Budget Surplus? The state's bookkeepers made a splash in the news when they said they expected to rake in 2-point-3 BILLION dollars more in tax dollars over the next two years than they'd anticipated. The announcement set lawmakers at the state capitol to claim some of the money on their pet projects. Now, as the legislative session draws to a close, Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports on what's happened to the budget surplus: ((sound of taxes conference negotiations)) The details of the state budget have yet to be finalized in negotiations like this one, where House and Senate negotiators are slogging through hundreds of pages of new tax statutes. But you can already make out the general trend, and that's higher spending. K-12 spending is going up te
May 12, 1997 - Police officials and now civilians across the country are looking for a man suspected of killing four men in a spree stretching from Minnesota to New Jersey. The last victim was a cemetery caretaker in New Jersey on Friday. Authorities there say suspect Andrew Cunanan (koo-NAN-in) could be anywhere by now. Cunanan (koo-NAN-in) has been on the run since April 29th, and there have been some rumblings about why the suspect hasn't been caught yet, and whether law enforcement or the media are to blame. Nick O'Hara is the superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Before that, he spent thirty years with the F-B-I, including seven years heading up its fugitive task force. We asked him whether the frustration in not catching Cunanan (koo-NAN-in) is justified: | D-CART ITEM: 1681
May 13, 1997 - Minneapolis and Saint Paul school officials say the fastest growing segment of their enrollment is immigrant students, who are unable to speak English. Both districts are directing considerable resources toward English as a Second Language and bilingual education programs. But increased immigration has brought even more students speaking a myriad of native languages...and qualified teachers are hard to find. The state pays much of the cost to teach such students, but districts say it's still a big financial burden. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire looks at the impact of immigrant students and one alternative project trying to help... 1624
May 14, 1997 - Reporters are running out of synonyms for the word "standoff" to describe the K-12 education funding situation at the state capitol. Governor Carlson says he'll settle for nothing short of education tax credits; legislative leaders say tax credits are the ONE thing they won't give him. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports on this legislative game of chicken: Teachers unions and other supporters of the current public schools system are tired of losing ground at the capitol. Two years ago, they watched lawmakers cave in to the Governor and put a cap on K-12 spending... and in the years before that, they lost fights over charters schools and open enrollment. But House Majority Leader Ted Winter says this year will be different: ((We dug in on this last year and the year be
May 15, 1997 - Midday looks at Governor Arne Carlson's insistence that tax breaks for education expenses, including private school costs, be part of any education funding bill passed by the legislature. On this Talk of Minnesota, listeners call in and comment on whether the governor should stick to his guns or be willing to compromise.
May 16, 1997 - (For Friday Morning Ed) Legislative leaders have given up trying to reach a compromise with Governor Carlson over education tax credits. Senate negotiators last night (Thurs) abandoned a plan known as "Common Schools of Excellence," which they had hoped would satisfy the Governor's desire to let families spend public dollars on private education. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste has the story: The DFL leaders of the House and Senate went into Governor Carlson's office on Thursday afternoon hoping to coax his signature for their school funding bill. By the time they came out, they's resigned themselves to a veto. Speaker Carruthers: ((Carruthers being gloomy))
May 19, 1997 - A Voices of Minnesota interview with retiring Augsburg College president, Charles Anderson. Also Israeli novelist Abraham B. Yehoshua is in the Twin Cities to speak on the topic of "Israeli Identity in a Time of Peace" and "Modern Democracy and the Novel". He has won numerous awards for his writing and is an activist in the Israeli Peace Movement, working for a compromise with the Palestinians.
May 20, 1997 - Midday discussion with the four legislative leaders from the State Capitol. Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe, Senate Minority Leader Dean Johnson, House Speaker Phil Carruthers, and House Minority Leader Steve Sviggum share their thoughts on the close of the regular legislative session and the chances of a special session due to potential governor veto on education bill. The guests also answer listener call-in questions.
May 22, 1997 - Governor Carlson and DFL legislative leaders turned a political stand-off into a dueling face-off today when they called back to back press conferences at the state capitol. (today-thurs) Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports...BOTH sides are firm in their positions over whether 150-million dollars in tax credits and deductions ought to be attached to the K-12 Omnibus funding bill. In the closing days of the legislative session the Governor drew a clear line in the sand.....fail to pass a K-12 funding bill that includes his Tax credits for people who want to send their kids to private school, and seal its fate with a VETO. Well, that fate isn't SEALED because the governor hasn't vetoed it yet. He's hoping for some more GIVE by lawmakers, and to get
May 23, 1997 - *****ATC VERSION****** High school seniors in Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota are back home this weekend for graduation. The school year ended abruptly last month in both school districts when the Red River consumed the two cities. Some students fled to finish out the school year elsewhere. Others spent their unexpected vacation helping clean up flood damage. School administrators, teachers and students say they expect these graduation ceremonies to be an especially emotional end to a traumatic spring. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports | D-CART ITEM: 3508 | TIME: 2.45 | OUTCUE: "...soc