September 22, 2000 - MPR’s Laura McCallum interviews Winona LaDuke, vice-presential candidate for Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader. LaDuke discusses the Green Party platform and local support in Minnesota.
September 27, 2000 - I'm Art Hughes in Rochester. While the DM&E project raises significant questions for communities all along the route, Rochester has consistently been the epicenter of opposition. Most cities---large and small---along the tracks have signed agreements with the railroad. But Rochester has steadfastly refused to comprimise.
September 28, 2000 - The odor of a Saint Paul brewery is becoming too much to handle. Mayor Norm Coleman discusses his plans to get rid of the odor.
September 28, 2000 - The Boy Scouts recieved bad news from 2 places today: Medtronic decided to exclude the group from its United Way donation this year and the United Way of Duluth voted to pull its funding of the Voyaguers Area Council of the Scouts. This is the first United Way in Minnesota to decide against funding the group because of the recent Supreme Court ruling that the Boy Scouts can exclude homosexuals. Roger Engle is the Volunteer President of the Voyaguers Area Boy Scout Council He says he was dissapointed when he heard the decision:
September 28, 2000 - It's harvest time on Minnesota's farms, and soon many farmers will take one last pass with the tractor to till the soil before winter sets in. But a soil scientist in Morris says the practice of intensive tilling is ruining the state's soil and contributing to green house gasses. He proposes changes, which to some farmers, look like an expensive prospect. Mainstreet Radio's Tim Post reports.
October 4, 2000 - With winter-like temperatures descending upon us, the rising cost of heating oil will be showing up in your monthly utility bills. The Clinton administration is hoping that tapping the government's strategic oil reserves will lower energy costs. But increasing the supply of oil is just one part of the solution. Hunter Lovins is the co-founder of Rocky Mountain Insititute, a non-profit resource policy center based in Snowmass, Colorado. Her organization helps governments and companies around the world decrease their demand for energy. She spoke in the Twin Cities today at a conference sponsored by the Green Institute. Lovins says Americans are more resourceful than we think:
October 4, 2000 - Hunters shoot more black bears in Minnesota than in any other state. The Department of Natural Resources relies on hunting to control the bear population, but this year, hunters aren't bagging as many bears as the D-N-R hoped for. There's plenty of natural food in the woods, and bears aren't coming to the bait hunters set. The number of bears in Minnesota is at an all-time high, and DNR officials say the lack of hunting success could mean more problem bears in years to come. Chris Julin reports from Duluth. {
October 6, 2000 - People attending a memorial service in Duluth today will celebrate the life of a lost friend, but they are also hoping her story will raise awareness of a health crisis in America. At the age of 27 Heather Henderson had been a writer and a magazine editor. She'd dedicated the last few years to combating dangerous images of women in the media. She was spurred in part by her personal decade long battle with anorexia and bulimia, a battle she lost last week. Stephanie Hemphill reports .
October 9, 2000 - State officials today announced creation of a unified plan for managing water in Minnesota. They say "Minnesota Watermarks" represents the first time local, state, and federal agencies and some citizens' groups have collaborated to create a common vision for water quality and use. Minnesota Public Radio's Lynette Nyman reports.
October 10, 2000 - Taconite mining creates a lot of waste rock. After thirty years of dumping the rock, or tailings as the miners call it, the Evtac facility near Eveleth has just about filled its dump. Now the company faces a new challenge: return the rock pile to a natural looking landscape. Evtac has been looking at a number of options, and as Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports, the hot favorite appears to be what the experts call bio-solids, and the rest of us call sewage sludge. Turning iron ore into taconite creates twice as much waste rock as taconite. Since the Evtac mine opened over 30 years ago, waste rock has been piled in one place. The pile is now a mountain a mile long, a mile wide and 150 feet high. It looks like a lunar landscape, and it's virtually sterile.