December 20, 2000 -
December 22, 2000 - A Fillmore County judge this afternoon ruled against the state's pollution control agency and ordered further environmental testing of a proposed feedlot site. Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally reports.
December 28, 2000 - Health officials in Wisconsin and Minnesota are re-evaluating the effectiveness of efforts to get the word out about the dangers of mercury in fish. Mercury can cause developmental and neurological problems, especially in fetuses and young children. Most Minnesota and Wisconsin lakes are contaminated with mercury as a result of airborne pollution, and both states publish advisories indicating how much fish people should eat from various lakes. But a recent study showed only about a fourth of Wisconsin women of childbearing age know about the advisories. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports. Mercury accumulates in the flesh of fish. The older and larger a fish, the more contanimated it's likely to be. Minnesota's advisories are lake-specific suggesting limits depending on fish size and the age of the consumer. For instance, it tells children - and women who might have children - they should not eat 20-inch or larger walleye from the St. Louis River near Duluth. And they should limit their meals of smaller walleye to one each month. But how are non-angling fish-eaters to know that? For years the advisories have been available with fishing licenses and at bait shops. The Wisconsin DNR's Jim Amrhein (AM-rine) says the word isn't getting from the anglers to their families.
December 28, 2000 - By the time this storm ends tomorrow, the Twin Cities could see up to 9 inches of new snow added to our current 21 inches, moving us close to a December record. Meteorologist Bruce Watson says it has also been unusually cold this month.
December 29, 2000 - The National Weather Service says we'll be ringing in the new year in bitterly cold weather . According to the forecast, it will be as cold AS 20 below zero this weekend. All around the region people are struggling with higher energy bills. It's been a double whammy this winter: colder than normal temperatures coupled with about a 50 percent increase in the cost of natural gas. There are several ways to cut down on your energy expenses this winter all the while remaining comfortable in your home or apartment. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports...
December 29, 2000 - The snow created bad road conditions in many other parts of the state as well. We checked in with Renard Fritz of the state patrol in Detroit Lakes to see how things are going in that area of the state. Renard Fritz is a radio communications operator for the State Patrol in Detroit Lakes.
December 29, 2000 - How people in the Twin Cities are faring the morning rush hour.
December 29, 2000 - Meteorologist Mark Seeley on the weather. It was a snowy December.
December 29, 2000 - Governors of the eight Great Lakes States have floated a series of proposals intended to keep Great Lakes water in the five Great Lakes. The plan by the Council of Great Lakes Governors would make it a lot harder to sell water to anyone outside the region. But first, they've got to convince two Canadian provincial governments and a handful of environmental groups the proposals are tough enough. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports: {Great Lakes residents were alarmed two years ago when a private company announced plans to sell ship loads of Lake Superior water to Asia. Few would have missed the water. But it could have established a precedent ... and some predicted future deals might involve much more than a few ship loads at a time.
January 4, 2001 -