March 3, 1998 - Minneapolis will spend millions of dollars over the next few years to upgrade its water treatment system, and St. Paul may have to follow suit. The expenditure is in response to proposed federal regulations which are largely the result of the 1993 cryptosporidium outbreak in Milwaukee. 100 people died and 400,000 got sick from a parasite in the water. Minnesota Public Radio's Perry Finelli reports.
March 3, 1998 - The cities of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks... at least as the locals knew them... disappeared April 19th, 1997, when the Red River burst the dikes, washing through the streets, destroying houses and businesses. In the days following the flood local officials worried about a mass exodus from the area. Some people predicted as many as 20 percent of the people would leave forever. That didn't happen.... in the end, only three percent moved elsewhere. But as Minnesota Public Radio's Hope Deutscher reports in the second report of our flood series, rebuilding has been a long and frustrating process that is still far from over.... (sound of measuring...work, etc.)
March 4, 1998 - The devastating flood and fire that struck Grand Forks and East Grand Forks nearly a year ago forever changed the physical face of the communities. The less immediately noticeable changes are perhaps more profound...the disaster stretched and tore the social fabric of the community. In part three of our series on the flood of 1997 Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Gunderson examines how people were changed by disaster.
March 5, 1998 - FOR AIR THURSDAY AM Late last week the Grand Forks and East Grand Forks City councils officially endorsed a 300-million dollar flood protection plan. The proposed dikes will snake along both sides of the Red River...and if all goes as the Army Corps of Engineers plan it will prevent the re-occurrance of flooding on the scale of 1997. But as Minnesota Public Radio's Hope Deutscher reports in Part 4 of our flood series, the construction of new dikes will come at the cost of more peoples homes and local history. For the people of Greater Grand Forks, the planning see
March 5, 1998 - Carl Vogt, an Extension Forester with the University of Minnesota, discusses how the maple sap is flowing and the prospects for the syrup harvest.
March 6, 1998 - The flood of 1997 set records all along the Red River of the North. The river rose to levels no one alive has ever seen. The high water caused billions of dollars in damage, but it also gave flood fighters some valuable insights that may help their communities and communities across the country fight future floods. In the final part of our series on the flood of '97, Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Gunderson examines what lessons were learned.
March 17, 1998 - Resort owners in the Northwest Angle of Minnesota are fed up with Canadian fishing regulations and the U-S's lack of response to their concerns. So fed up, in fact, that they're threatening to secede from the United States and join Canada. The Northwest Angle is that little notch of territory on the top of Minnesota. Thanks to a surveyor's error in 1775, the Angle is part of the United States, even though it's attached to Canada on one side, and otherwise surrounded by Lake of the Woods. The problem, say resort owners, is Canada won't allow people staying in Northwest Angle resorts to keep fish caught in Canadian waters. That's bad for businesses that depend on anglers. The one hundred or so residents of the Northwest Angle have one powerful ally in their quest for fishing justice... Minnesota 7th District Democratic Congressman Collin Peterson. Peterson's planning to introduce a bill in the next couple days that would allow the Northwest Angle to secede:
March 20, 1998 - The economy is strong - unemployment is low...seems just the equation that MIGHT mean the end for the nation's food shelves. But many food shelf operators say it's likely they'll serve even MORE people this year because of welfare reform. There have already been reports of a jump in the number of new clients looking for food. At this point, the connection isn't conclusive, but food shelf operators believe they are in a unique position to gauge the effects of welfare reform. Minnesota Public Radio's Gretchen Lehmann reports. It's the beginning of the month, the only down time here at St. Francis Food Shelf in Little Falls. By month's end, when paychecks have been stretched thin, there will be a long line of people waiting to pick up their monthly allot
March 27, 1998 - The recovery from last spring's flooding is going faster in Breckenridge, Minnesota, than anywhere else in the Red River Valley. Dikes already line the river banks of two rivers in the city. The Army Corps of Engineers is studying the city's need for further dike protection. But city officials are concerned the community could experience spring floods for years while they wait for the study to be completed. Minnesota Public Radio's Hope Deutscher reports. In the middle of downtown Breckenridge, the Bois De Sioux River and the Ottertail River converge to form the Red River. This spring the rivers look peaceful...the water is slowing moving through the channel. It's a much
March 30, 1998 - Hundreds of people are working to repair the damage left in the wake of a tornado that swept through the city of St. Peter last night. People are stunned but grateful. Looking across the cityscape, some residents say its is hard to imagine only one person was killed. Minnesota Public Radio's Lynette Nyman reports. Sun 28-MAY 11:52:28 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11/2001