January 31, 2001 - The North Shore of Lake Superior is one of Minnesota's favorite playgrounds. Just beyond the Lester River northeast of Duluth, it's a drive into wilderness. Small homes on large lots and a few motels dot the rugged rock shoreline, and the generous expanse of the Lake gives a feeling of solitude. But that may change dramatically in the next few years as a planned sewer line is laid down from Duluth to Knife River or even as far as Two Harbors. Advocates say the sewer line is needed because most of the individual septic tanks along the shore are failing, allowing raw effluent to drain into the ground water and the lake. But a sewer would allow more development, which critics say could irrevocably change the character of the North Shore, and actually bring MORE pollution to the area. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill has the second in a series of reports about development along the North Shore.
February 1, 2001 - Small towns all across Minnesota are trying to attract businesses to provide jobs for workers. In Cook County on the North Shore of Lake Superior, businesses are thriving but there aren't enough places for the workers to live. It's a problem that plagues many resort areas, and people in Cook County are coming up with some innovative solutions. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill has the third in a series of reports about growth along the North Shore of Lake Superior.
February 15, 2001 - After skiing and parasailing across Anarctica for more than 90 days, explorers Ann Bancroft and Liv Arneson will test a different skill... waiting. The pair have decided to cut their expedition short by having a plane pick them up on the Ross Ice Shelf, instead of continuing another 470 miles on to McMurdo station. The plane rescue is not cheap-- it adds about 200-thousand dollars to the trip's expenses. Charlie Hartwell is president of yourexpedition.com, the Minneapolis company supporting the trip. He says with the anarctic winter closing in, continuing on would have been a risk:
February 15, 2001 - Controversy about where to lay the track for the DM&E Railroad: through Rochester, Minnesota or through farmland?
February 16, 2001 -
February 16, 2001 - Rochester citizens do not want to have DM&E Railroad to run right through the city. It should bring in more business for the city, but the city council wants a bypass through farmland.
February 19, 2001 - Until 1943 taconite was considered a waste product of Minnesota iron mining. Then University of Minnesota engineer Edward W. Davis developed the process to refine the low grade ore into the iron pellets that would mean jobs for thousands of Minnesotans. As part of our series "Universal U", Minnesota Public Radio's Steven John reports on taconite and the university's link to the Iron Range.
February 19, 2001 - After Katie Poirier was abducted from a Moose Lake convenience store and murdered in May of 1999, many gas stations around the state upgraded their security systems. Some stores decided to close at night. The federal government doesn't require safety measures to protect convenience store workers, but the Minnesota legislature is considering new requirements. Last year a similar measure stalled, but advocates are trying again. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports a new version will be introduced today. There are lots of "if-onlys" after the death of Katie Poirier. If only she hadn't been alone in the store. If only she had been protected by a bullet-resistent barrier. If only the store had had a window for late-night customers to pass their money through without going inside. These are some of the recommendations the federal government makes to convenience store owners. But it doesn't require any of them. In Minnesota lawmakers are talking about ORDERING stores to use at least one of these safety measures late at night.
February 20, 2001 - The president of the Dakota Minnesota and Eastern Railroad rejected a proposal by Rochester city officials this afternoon TUESDAY that would have secured the cities support for a rail expansion - as long as the freight tracks bypassed the city. Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally reports
February 20, 2001 - The rebound in the number of birds of prey is due in part to the work of a small branch of researchers and volunteers at the University of Minnesota. As part of our series this week, "Universal U," Minnesota Public Radio's Steven John reports on the work of The Raptor Center. {Dr. Pat Redig was a veterinary student in 1974 when he co-founded the Raptor Center. The Raptor Center would play a key role in bringing back from the brink of extinction, the bald eagle, peregrine falcon and osprey.