July 4, 2000 - MPR’s Bob Kelleher takes a look back on the one year anniversary of BWCA blowdown, and what has happened since.
July 4, 2000 - MPR’s Lorna Benson interviews Cathy Quinn, a crew leader on the eastern end of the Gunflint Trail. She says it may be two years before the clean-up is complete and speaks to the enormity of change to landscape.
July 4, 2000 - For most of its long history of building dams and straightening rivers, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hasn't had to worry much about endangered species. But that's changing. This spring, the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service released a sweeping document known as a "jeopardy opinion." It says the corps' operations on the Upper Mississippi River threaten two endangered species, including one called the pallid sturgeon. Fish and Wildlife is expected to issue another document soon, saying corps operations threaten the pallid sturgeon on the Missouri river as well. Now, the Fish and Wildlife Service wants the corps to make some changes in how it runs the nation's largest river system. But change for the Corps does not come easy. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.
July 5, 2000 - FOR WEDNESDAY MORNING 7-5 Officals at North Dakota State University continue to cleanup after a disastrous flash flood swamped much of the campus. Heavy rains caused millions of dollars of damage to NDSU's library. Some departments remain without phone service. *While much of the damage was immediately obvious, some of the storm's toll is still submerged. School officials are still trying to gauge the long term impact *to the nearly 800 acres devoted to* crop research. Some say the loss of *this growing year* for *crop and seed developers* may be more important than the monetary damage. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Reha reports. *On a recent summer day, *the sun makes an appearance* on the NDSU campus.
July 5, 2000 - MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill catches up with a small band of environmental crusaders starting a planned walk around Lake Superior to bring attention to the need to protect the greatest of the Great Lakes. The walk is fulfillment of an the idea from Walter Bresette, a prominent Ojibwe activist.
July 5, 2000 - A federally funded water project in southwest Minnesota designed to serve farms and small towns is doing business with a large agri-business company, an arrangement which appears to violate federal regulations. The Lincoln Pipestone Rural Water system provides water to almost three thousand farms and rural homeowners and some two dozen small towns and cities. Critics say the company has over-pumped environmentally sensitive areas and they blame the federal agency that funded much of the project for ignoring their own rules about who should get water. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports:
July 10, 2000 -
July 11, 2000 - The president of Minnesota Brewing says newly installed equipment has reduced the odor from ethanol production at the Saint Paul plant ... and further steps may eliminate the odor complaints that have plauged the West Seventh neighborhood for the last two months. But residents attending a community meeting last (Mon) night insisted the stench remains a problem. Some say the smell is causing health problems and they hope to stop ehtanol production at the plant. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen has more...
July 11, 2000 - MPR’s Erin Galbally reports on record breaking floods that have divided downtown Austin, Minnesota. Heavy rains caused the Cedar River, Dobbins Creek and Turtle Creek to overflow into basements and roadways. Some in community find themselves without a home or belongings.
July 12, 2000 - The public and the press will be excluded from some proceedings in the Donald Blom kidnapping and murder trial. The jury is due to hear opening statements today. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports. { Judge Gary Pagliacetti ruled Tuesday that he will close the trial to the public during certain arguments when the jury is not present. That unusual move was opposed by three newspapers and a television station. Mark Wernick, president of the Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, says it's a move to ensure a fair trial, specifically so the jury will base its verdict solely on evidence presented in court and not what they may hear, even inadvertently, in the media or from friends. .