December 24, 1998 - Despite a court order barring them from the site... Earth First !and Mdewaketan-Sioux protesters chained themselves to trees today at the site of the proposed re-routing of highway 55. The group is asking for a restraining order to prevent authorities from clearing trees, the group says are sacred, from the site. So far, police have not arrested the protestors. On Sunday authorities arrested 33 people who had occuppied government-owned homes on the site. Protester Bob Greenberg says he does not know what the authorities plan to do about this latest occupation, but he says the group will continue its protest despite the cold weather.
December 28, 1998 - On Sunday March 29th a huge storm tore across more than 60 miles of south/central Minnesota. The storm took out much of the small town of Comfry. Then, around 5:30 pm, an F3 tornado, carrying winds of up to 206 miles per hour, smashed through St. Peter. Two people died--one, a boy just six years old.
December 29, 1998 - Most farmers in our area will shudder when they think back on 1998. The agricultural economy moves in well defined peaks and valleys. 1998 was a valley. Nearly every farmer felt the disquieting unknown of economic hard times. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports: The seeds of the farm slump were as farflung as the asian financial crisis and as down-home as weather, overproduction and disease. It was a year when Minnesota farmers took home their first billion bushel corn crop, a record soybean harvest and wagons full of red ink. The farm crisis o
December 31, 1998 - MPR’s Laura McCallum reports that Minnesota lawmakers who've argued for less government regulation say 1999 could finally be the year they claim success. With a Republican-controlled House and a new Governor who campaigned on the issue, legislation cutting regulations may fare better than in previous sessions.
January 6, 1999 - This January edition of Voices of Minnesota features MPR’s Dan Olson interviews with Dean Abrahamson, medical doctor and professor at University of Minnesota, and Eville Gorham, recently retired professor of ecology at University of Minnesota. Abrahamson discusses global warming, and its present and future impact on the Minnesota region. Gorham, who discovered the harmful influence of acid rain, discusses the past and current state of this pollution problem on the global environment.
January 6, 1999 - Experts say farm chemicals are the big source of Mississippi River pollution. But farmers point the finger right back at urban areas and say city dwellers need to do more to clean up their act. Tens of millions of dollars are being spent to upgrade the Twin Cities sewage treatment system to do just that. The goal is to remove phosphorous from sewage. Environmentalists applaud the action as a step in the right direction. But they say the Mississippi's health will improve only when more far reaching steps are taken to restore the river's ecology.
January 8, 1999 - Snow fall has done a lot to lift the spirits of Minnesota businesses dependent on winter activites like snowmobiling and skiing. Resorts, restaurants and service stations are welcoming back thousands of ski and snowmobile enthusiasts who had little chance to enjoy winter sports since the Spring of 1997. But for some businesses, snow may be too late.
February 3, 1999 - Minnesota Republican Senator Rod Grams wants to rename the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in honor of a prominent Democrat. Today, Grams introduced a bill to rename the BWCA the Hubert H. Humphrey Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Grams says doing so would honor the late Vice President.
February 4, 1999 - Folks in Devil's Lake North Dakota read in their morning paper that they'd be part of a space experiment today. The Mir space station was planning to shine a mirror on them at 7:30 tonight and illuminate the town. Space officials hoped the operation would prove it is possible to use to moon to give extra light to sun-starved cities. But the experiment hit a snag when the mirror got caught on the cargo ship's antenna. Fred Bott is the Mayor of Devil's lake. We asked him how it felt to find out he'd be part of an experiment, and then NOT.
February 23, 1999 - MPR’s Amy Radil reports on ‘green design’ taking place on the North Shore. The idea of building a cabin using old hoses and pickle barrels may seem fantastic, but that's exactly what is happening along the shore of Lake Superior near Tofte. The unconventional materials are being used to fulfill the mission of Medora Woods, a Twin Cities-based psychologist, to build the most earth-friendly home possible.