December 8, 1998 - ******for Tuesday, Dec. 8 morning edition.***** A long- disputed proposal to build a 3-storey high metal shredder on the banks of the Mississippi in Minneapolis will go before the the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency today. American Iron and Supply Company wants to build the "Kondirator" at the company's riverside scrapyard in a north Minneapolis neighborhood. The fight over the project dates back to the late 1980's. Now, PCA staff members have recommended approval of the Kondirator, despite vocal opposition by the city of Minneapolis. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.
December 8, 1998 - The Kondirator metal shredder proposed for the Mississippi riverbank in Minneapolis took a step forward today. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Citizens Board voted unanimously to give the project the necessary permits without further environmental studies. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports. Neighborhood residents are concerned about emmissions, noise, and dust from the shredder. The city of Minneapolis opposes the 3-storey metal shredder and took the issue to court more than two years ago to force the MPCA
December 11, 1998 - The Minneapolis City Council has passed a budget that will raise city property tax levies for the first time in five years....but councilmembers say residents won't have to pay more out of their own pockets. Minnesota Public Radio's Eric Jansen reports: Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton got just about everything she asked for in her 842-million dollar 1999 budget. But she had to work for it. Last night she scolded councilmembers who threatened not to pass it, saying it contains MONEY FOR projects they want: 35:41 "I don't think anyone can sit around this table and say the things included in this budget are not in the interests of the city of Minneapolis. From Armitage Park to Central Park to the riverfron
December 16, 1998 - Minnesota hog farmers are wondering when a price slump which has made their pigs almost worthless will end. Prices fell sharply again yesterday as an oversupply of hogs continues to drive the market down. More than 300 producers voiced anger at their precarious economic situation last night in Marshall, during a meeting organized by congressman David Minge. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports: The collapse of the hog market is the crisis of a lifetime for pork producers. the worst slump they've ever experienced. The Mar
December 17, 1998 - for morning edition Thursday, Dec 17 Members of a state council set up to reform Minnesota's forestry practices are scheduled to vote today on a long- awaited set of guidelines for loggers. The voluntary guidelines are intended to protect wildlife, lakes and streams from environmental damage caused by increased timber harvesting. The timber industry says the guidelines are a significant step forward, but environmental groups say they fall far short of what's needed. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports. For more than a decade, environmental groups have been concerned about increased logging to feed the expansion of Minnesota's pulp an
December 17, 1998 - The crumbling farm economy in Northwestern Minnesota is starting to erode local government budgets. Polk county commissioners are struggling to balance the county budget. It appears employee layoffs and reduced services for county residents are inevitable. Mainstreet Radios Dan Gunderson reports. Polk county tax revenue took a big hit when hundreds of East Grand Forks homes were washed off the tax rolls by the flood of 1997. But its budget problems started long before the flood. For the last half dozen years Polk county commissioners took the path of least resistance. They held down tax increases by trimming a l
December 21, 1998 - The cold weather has settled in just in time for the official start of winter. The winter solstice is today, it marks the exact moment the earth starts to tilt back towards the sun. For those of us in the norhtern hemisphere, this means we'll begin to see longer hours of daylight. The Minneapolis Planetarium is marking the occasion with a special celebration tonight. Bob Bon-a-DUR is the Director of the planetarium. He says people have been celebrating the solstice for most of recorded history: Bob Bon-a-DUR is director of the planetarium. Tonight's celebration began at 5 o'clock. Shows will run every half hour until 8 p-m, with a fireworks display to mark the official moment of the solstice at 7:56.
December 22, 1998 - Mainstreet Radio's Tom Robertson reports on the people behind the balsam boughs in Minnesota.
December 23, 1998 - In these days of plastic, tinsel and even aluminum christmas trees, many people prefer the smell of a REAL tree. An increasing number of Americans are returning to the tradition of cutting their own Christmas tree... But as Minnesota Public Radio's Hope Deutscher reports this surge in sales comes as many Christmas tree growers are getting out of the business... Driving down the lane through Sherman Mandt's 60-acre tree farm near Perham, Minnesota...Durk and Bobbie Currier and their three children are trying to pick the perfect Christmas tree. Bobbi Currier explains the difficulty:
December 23, 1998 - Elk once roamed much of Minnesota, but unregulated hunting in the 1800s so reduced the elk population it's now limited to a handful in the northwestern part of the state. A herd of about 30 animals lives near the town of Grygla, a product of an elk reintroduction program in 1935. Since then, the herd has been the subject of controversy because of damage it has caused to local crops. As Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Robertson reports from Bemidji, the Department of Natural Resources is seeking public comment on a draft management plan for how best to deal with Minnesota's elk.