June 12, 2002 - An unusual house is going up in Duluth. The beams and outside walls were built in a factory, using technology developed in Japan. It's only the second house to be built in North America with the Japanese system. The builders say the idea could be an opportunity for a new industry in Minnesota. Mainstreet Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports.
June 17, 2002 - MPR’s Eugen Cha reports on efforts by Minnetonka-based company Cargill and the University of Minnesota to turn corn into plastic. It may give the state a lead in an emerging area of biotech, where the finished products are not medicines, or even crops, but industrial materials like plastic.
June 19, 2002 - Oral arguments concluded today in a hearing over Donald Blom's request for a new trial. Blom was convicted two years ago of murdering Moose Lake convenience store clerk Katie Poirier. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports.
June 25, 2002 - The three major party candidates for governor debated in Duluth today. They spoke at the Minnesota Rural Summit, a yearly meeting of rural economic development workers. This year the summit's focus was the link between health care and rural economic development. Mainstreet Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports.
July 8, 2002 - Nearly one third of homes in Minnesota use on-site systems to treat household wastewater. And the number is growing, as baby boomers retire to northern lakes. Many on-site systems, especially in northern Minnesota, don't protect groundwater and nearby lakes from contamination. Now, people are trying new technologies that may cost more but may work a lot better. And health officials are gradually moving toward new ways of monitoring the performance of on-site septic systems. Mainstreet Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports.
July 10, 2002 - Northeastern Minnesota has some special challenges when it comes to handling human waste. Health officials say most of the septic systems in St. Louis County don't function properly. Now, people are beginning to experiment with new kinds of septic systems that might work better than the traditional trench system. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports.
July 12, 2002 - The stadium debate will be back at the Capitol again next year. Now that a new Twins ballpark in St. Paul seems all but dead, Hennepin County officials say they'll try to persuade lawmakers to take up the issue again next session. The four major party gubernatorial candidates say they're willing to allow Hennepin County to bid for a new ballpark, but some key legislators are skeptical about the prospects for revisiting the issue. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.
July 23, 2002 - David Thornton, manager of policy and planning at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, discusses the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's issuing of two air pollution alerts already this summer and talks about what causes air pollution and it's impact statewide.
July 30, 2002 - Many Americans are distressed about the stock market, and angry about corporate fraud. At a conference in Duluth, some people are trying to get organized to do something about both. Mainstreet Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports. {
August 1, 2002 - The August edition of the MPR series Voices of Minnesota features riverboat captain Bill Bowell (interviewed by William Wilcoxen) and National Park Service Ranger John Anfinson (interviewed by Kate Smith).