March 30, 2001 - Tests on two North Carolina pigs supsected of having Foot and Mouth Disease came up negative today. Minnesota State Veternarian Tom Hagerty says chances are very low that a Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak could occur in the U-S. Hagerty is just back from a meeting with other state veternarians and U-S agriculture officials in Washington D.C. He says the meeting was helpful for establishing a federal strategy for containing any U-S cases of Foot and Mouth:
April 2, 2001 - Duluth's restaurant smoking ban - now three months old - is generating more controversy than ever. A few restaurants are openly defying the ordinance. Supporters of the ban say it just needs more time. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports. {Duluth's restaurant smoking ban has been complicated and confusing from the time it was first proposed. And oddly enough, both supporters and detractors agree on what's causing the biggest problem - the exemptions built into the law. Bars and bowling alleys are exempt. Restaurants that show a 15% loss of business can also get an exemption. To complicate matters further, after 8:00 at night, restaurants that are also bars CAN allow smoking.
April 2, 2001 - A new report says it's feasible to build an enhanced iron pellet operation in Northeastern Minnesota - but that LTV Steel's shuttered Hoyt Lakes taconite plant may not be the best place to do it. A consultant for a state development agency has formed a new company to produce iron pellets at an existing taconite plant in Silver Bay -- a project he says would eventually provide one hundred jobs. But the future of the LTV mining plant remains in doubt. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher, reports: {A new study says, yes, it's possible to produce high iron-content pellets in the closed LTV Steel taconite plant in Hoyt Lakes, but, no, it's not likely to happen any time soon. Instead, a steel industry consultant expects to produce Minnesota's first enhanced iron pellets in Northshore Mining company's taconite plant in Silver Bay.
April 2, 2001 - Agriculture students were quarantined because of the Foot and Mouth outbreak.
April 2, 2001 - If clear skies prevail, the Northern Lights could provide viewers a spectacular show tonight. Astronomers are predictinga colorful display because of an enormous sun spot explosion last Thursday. Astronomer's say the magnetic sun spot or solar storm occurs in eleven year cycles. Bob Bonadurer, director of the Minneapolis Planetarium, says this is the cycle's peak:
April 3, 2001 - The U-S Fish and Wildlife Service is putting the final touches on a plan to restore an historic migration route of one of North America's most endangered birds. The whooping crane was on the verge of extinction in the early 1940's, with only 16 birds left in the world. The species is now about 400 strong, with three separate groups of birds nesting in the wild. One of the flocks migrates across the American west, following a path from Canada to Texas. Now officials hope to establish a second migration route, this time in the eastern U-S... from Wisconsin to Florida. Joan Guilfoyle is an external affairs officer at the Minneapolis office of the U-S Fish and Wildlife Service. I asked her to describe what the birds look like:
April 3, 2001 - A lot of the rivers around the state are starting to flow, but the Minnesota River is the closest to cresting.
April 3, 2001 - The Minnesota Department of Agriculture announced today it has formed an inter-agency task force to coordinate state and federal efforts to prevent Mad Cow Disease. The highly contagious disease, which is also called BSE, wastes the brains of cattle and can be transfered to humans. The state agriculture department's Meat Inspection supervisor Kevin Elfering says Minnesota has ALREADY been taking precautions to make sure the disease doesn't infect the state's livestock:
April 4, 2001 - A bill making it a felony to kill or injure pets is getting a better reception from state lawmakers than previous efforts to prevent animal cruelty. This is the fifth time supporters have introduced a felony animal cruelty bill. Opposition from hunting and agricultural interests killed earlier bills, but this year the measure faces little opposition. The Senate version awaits a floor vote, and yesterday Helms reports.
April 4, 2001 - Minnesota's bald eagle population is at its highest level since 1972, when the state first started collecting data on the species. There are now almost 700 nesting pairs in the state. Mark Martel is the coordinator of conservation programs at the University of Minnesota's Raptor Center. He says the birds are nesting in areas that weren't traditionally considered prime habitat: