June 29, 1999 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman visits Camp Ajawah to profile a new Girl Scout troop in Minnesota. It's not like most other Girl Scout troops in the state because Troop 2675 is for Southeast Asian girls. Born in the United States and growing up in the Twin Cities, these new girl scouts, who are mostly Hmong, are experiencing and learning in ways often unavailable in traditional Hmong homes.
June 30, 1999 - Garrison Keillor gives a speech at the spring commencement for the Class of 1999 at the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts. Keillor talks about growing up, what’s next for the graduates, and doing good in the world.
July 13, 1999 - The Saint Paul school district's new leader is shaking up her administration and turning up the heat on schools to perform. Superintendent Pat Harvey says the reorganization will get her closer to the schools and better define the lines of accountability. By summer's end, she also plans to place the district's lowest performing schools on notice that test scores and attendance must improve.
July 16, 1999 - Governor Jesse Ventura reiterated familiar themes during his "Lunch with the Governor" broadcast from the St. Cloud State University campus today.
July 23, 1999 - Concordia College in Moorhead has gained an international reputation for its foreign language immersion summer camps. Most of the language villages are nestled in the woods of northern Minnesota. But this summer, for the first time, students from around the world are coming to Moorhead for an english language camp.
July 23, 1999 - The Department of Children, Families and Learning is offering school districts a way to get around the requirements of the Profile of Learning, but so far there are few takers. The state's top education official says the lack of interest might mean schools are learning to live with the complex system of graduation standards.
July 27, 1999 - The St. Paul School district is dropping its lawsuit against the state of Minnesota claiming lawmakers were not providing enough funding to meet the specific needs of St. Paul students. More than half the district's students are eligible for free and reduced lunch and many do not speak English. The agreement comes after a series of mediation sessions that began after Governor Ventura was elected last November. Mary Thorthon Phillips is Chairwoman of the St. Paul School Board. She says the district was able to find some common ground with the Ventura administration.
July 29, 1999 - Minneapolis school officials say they're hoping the district's largest ever summer school will also be the most successful. They won't know for sure until test scores are tallied this fall. Summer school classes ended today for many Minnesota schools.
July 30, 1999 - An independent structural engineer says the 90 year old high school in Pipestone is deteriorating and will only get worse. But he says for now, the school is not in danger of immediate collapse.
August 6, 1999 - A reorganized district administration has begun its task of improving Saint Paul public schools. Superintendent Patricia Harvey has promised big reforms in the district and says the new leadership team will help her make the changes. The new administrators began their jobs this week and were echoing their boss's goal of raising student achievement.