May 28, 1998 - "Boreal" means northern, as in "aurora borealis." The terms is also used to describe the forests of northern Minnesota, full of pine and spruce, and the birds that live there. Today (Thursday) the Gunflint Trail in Cook County kicks off its first annual boreal birding festival, celebrating the variety of birds to be found in the northwoods. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports. Driving up the Gunflint Trail, a paved road that begins in the town of Grand Marais on Lake Superior, Sue McDonnell points excitedly out the windows at an ever-changing forest. McDonnell: We have the north shore hardwoods area, maples, poplar, then get into the decisuous/conifer mix, and then the conifers
May 28, 1998 - Wolves are also thriving in the northwoods of Minnesota. Their population is estimated to be over 2-thousand and they soon may be pulled from the endangered species list. But Minnesota doesn't have the largest population of wolves in the United States. Doctor David Mech is a renowned biologist who has studied wolves in Minnesota since 1966. He's in town today to speak about the wolves of Denali National Park in Alaska, the subject of his new book: "The Wolves of Denali".
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.