May 29, 1998 - The Minnesota Zoo is celebrating its 20th anniversary this weekend. The "new zoo," as some of us still call it, stretches over five hundred acres in Apple Valley, and now boasts over twenty-thee hundred animals, over a hundred of which are endangered species. Jim Streeter is the Zoo's conservation manager. He says protecting these endangered species is a vital part of the zoo's mission: Jim Streeter is the conservation manager for the Minnesota Zoo which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this weekend. There are a number of events for families going on this weekend, including a special exhibit featuring fr
June 1, 1998 - MPR’s Laura McCallum reports on severe storms that rolled through the state the night of May 30th. The storms dumped hail in central Minnesota and roared through the Twin Cities, snapping trees in half and downing power lines. One particularly hard-hit area was South Saint Paul, with 80 mph winds measured.
June 2, 1998 - The Who's Song "My Generation" spoke for many baby boomers in the sixties, who couldn't envision the day when they'd be their parents' age. Thirty years on.... it's happened. According to the American Association of Retired People, one person every eight seconds turns 50 in the United States. Over time, the impact of baby boomer numbers has changed schools, the workplace and family life. And now, officials in Minnesota and throughout the country are trying to anticipate what kind of impact they'll have on the greying of America. Minnesota Public Radio's Gretchen Lehmann reports.
June 2, 1998 - The March tornadoes in southwestern Minnesota forced many farmers to ask some very tough questions about their future. Rebuilding a farm operation broken apart by a tornado is difficult.... and this year's recovery is complicated by low grain, livestock and milk prices. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports: The tornado tore a good chunk of the roof off the dairy barn on the Ron and Penny Mohr farm near New Ulm. It also ruined a couple of feed silos, toppling concrete blocks from one into the barn. Ron Mohr says within a few hours of the storm he knew he might have to sell his milk cows: :17 (There was guy came here at ten o'clock at night to help
June 2, 1998 - MPR’s William Wilcoxen visits St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood, where the clean up along the Highland Parkway is taking place after a windstorm downed much of the tree canopy in area. Along with trees, homes and cars were left damaged or destroyed.
June 2, 1998 - Stress is taking a toll on residents of Newport who are still without power. The town of four thousand people is eight miles south of St. Paul on the Mississippi river. About half of Newport's residents are still without power. The Saturday night storm hit the town hard, felling hundreds of old trees and causing extensive property damage. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson has more. audio . . .ambience Newport has the feel of a village. Modest homes, some only a stones throw from the Mississippi are shaded by state
June 2, 1998 - There are still some seventy-thousand people in the metro area without power after Saturday night's storm. That's down from nearly half a million in the immediate aftermath of the storm, but for those still without power, NSP is now estimating it could be near the end of the week before they're back on line. Gerry Larson is the General Manager of Electric Delivery for NSP: Gerry Larson is with NSP. Three Minneapolis public schools that lost power in the storm will
June 3, 1998 - An MPR special on the environmental implications of the deformed and declining populations of frogs. Ron Heyer, Curator of Amphibians & Reptiles at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and the Chair of the Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force, discusses the issue and answers listener questions. Program begins with a report from MPR’s Mary Losure, who interviews various experts in the science community.
June 3, 1998 - Thousands of Twin Cities area residents are still waiting for the lights to come back on after last Saturday's storm. As of this afternoon, Northern States Power reports 41-thousand-200 customers without power. That's down from a total of 434-thousand Saturday night. But the utility says it could be Friday before all service is restored. Utility crews are working non-stop, but some customers are losing patience. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports... (Sound of crew) On a stretch of rural road in Afton, utility workers prepare an auger to drill fresh holes in a ditch cluttered with broken tree branches. They'll erect new wooden poles and replace the power line neede
June 3, 1998 - In the years since the first reports about the disappearance of frogs worldwide, many researchers have warned the plight of amphibians may be an early sign of environmental problems that could affect humans. More recent reports of DEFORMED frogs have added to these concerns. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure has the final report in our series on vanishing frogs. Around the world, frogs are disappearing for reasons scientists don't understand. Now, that mystery has a new twist---the DEFORMED frogs first reported in Minnesota in 1995, and later from many other states.