May 21, 1998 - More than 125 Native American tribes from across the nation are represented at a tribal environmental conference underway at the Prairie Island Dakota Community. One session addressed a key issue facing Prairie Island and other tribes - the storage of nuclear waste on or near their lands. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports... One Prairie Island official says the most ominous issue facing the tribe is its nuclear neighbor. Northern States Power Company's Prairie Island plant sits less than a mile away from the reservation, along with its seven dry casks storing spent nuclear fuel. Whether tribes should accept nuclear waste for storage has been hotly debated across the country - Robert Hold
May 25, 1998 - The Chippewa National Forest in northern Minnesota is celebrating its 90th anniversary this weekend. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Robertson takes a look at the history of the forest, and why thousands of visitors come back year after year. Teddy Roosevelt was in his seventh year in office when the Chippewa National Forest was established in 1908, the first national forest reserve established east of the Mississippi River. It followed a heated debate between the logging industry, eager to harvest the timber, and a growing number of conservationists who believed strongly in setting the lands aside. With the help of the Minnesota Federation of Womens Clubs, the conservationists were victorious in establishing what was then known as the Minnesota National Forest.
May 26, 1998 - The federal government has awarded more than $21 million dollars to the city of Minneapolis for housing and community development. Federal officials say Minneapolis is an example of what they want cities to do to get federal housing money. Minnesota Public Radio's Eric Jansen reports.
May 28, 1998 - Minnesota is one of the few places without complaints against El Nino. The mysterious change in the weather has brought us a mild, sunny spring and staved off the humidity of summer. Commentator Wendy Knox says that the fabulous weather makes her think of cows. Wendy Knox is the artistic director of the Frank Theater and a gardening enthusiast. Sun 28-MAY 11:03:53 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11/2001
May 28, 1998 - A local company has come up with a new method for washing food that it hopes will significantly reduce food-borne illness. St. Paul-based Ecolab president and CEO Al Schumann says washing fruits and vegetables with periocidic acid kills more germs on fruits and vegetables than the usual chlorine wash. Ecolab president and CEO Al Schumann. Ecolab says the periocidic acid poses no threat to consumers and isn't harmful to the environment. Sun 28-MAY 11:03:01 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11/2001
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.