June 22, 1999 - Mainstreet Radio’s Leif Enger reports that the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe are looking ahead at a future without gaming. Like many Indian tribes, the Mille Lacs Ojibwe got an enormous boost from gaming in the 1990s. Its two casinos brought in millions of dollars annually, and hundreds of new jobs. Now the Band is trying to broaden its economy.
June 29, 1999 - The defeat of gun control legislation in the U-S House recently came as no suprise to gun policy expert Tom Diaz. In his new book Making a Killing: The Business of Guns in America, Diaz says a better strategy would be to challenge gun manufacturers on their marketing of increasingly deadlier products. Diaz comes to gun policy from the perspective of someone who loved guns. From his boyhood scouting experience in Mississippi, to his military service, to collecting guns as an adult, Diaz says there were always guns in his life. Then his law degree landed him a job with the House Crime subcommittee.
July 7, 1999 - Northwest Airlines flight attendants will soon vote on a contract offer. Union leaders have been holding informational meetings around the country, explaining to the rank and file details of the agreement they reached with Northwest last month. Yesterday evening several hundred flight attendants gathered at a Bloomington hotel. Many were there to criticize the contract. Another session is planned for later this morning in the Twin Cities.
July 9, 1999 - The US Justice department has approved Cargill's purchase of arch rival Continental Grain Company's grain business. To win that approval Cargill agreed to sell grain handling facilities in 9 cities. The Justice department says the requirements are designed to prevent the combined companies from artificially lowering prices paid to farmers. Critics have said the acquisition would give Cargill too much power in the market.
July 9, 1999 - Agriculture experts from around the world gathered in St. Paul to talk about the future of farming. The University of Minnesota conference comes at a time when farmers are facing unprecedented pressures resulting from plunging prices, rapidly changing technologies, and increasingly stiff competition in world grain markets. The challenge For US policy makers is equally tough, for taking care of farmers at home may clash with equally important objectives -- one of these is inducing Foreign countries to open their markets more fully to American agricultural exports. ANOTHER is get them to end or lower subsidies for their own farmers that may crowd American farmers out of other export markets.
July 12, 1999 - The St. Paul Companies announced it's getting out of the personal insurance business and cutting hundreds of jobs at its downtown headquarters. The insurance giant is selling its personal insurance divisions to Metlife because it thinks it can make more money focusing on commercial insurance products. 17 hundred people work in the company's personal insurance operation -- 500 in Minnesota. . Metlife says it will retain all of them through the end of the year and that after that it will keep as many as possible.
July 13, 1999 - Mayor Norm Coleman says the loss of hundreds of St. Paul company jobs hurts, but he also says the cuts come while the city is on the upswing. The St. Paul companies announced yesterday it will cut 500 to 600 jobs as a result of selling its home and automobile insurance businesses to MetLife of Rhode Island. The deal also may jeopardize an additional 530 Minnesota jobs which are being transferred to MetLife Auto and Home.
July 13, 1999 - The Minnesota Department of Finance today revised its estimate of the revenues collected by the state during the last fiscal year -- increasing it by almost $300 Million dollars. That means slightly bigger sales tax rebate checks for Minnesotans later this summer... with money left over for next year. That left over money has Governor Ventura and legislative leaders already jockeying over NEXT year's tax relief package.
August 3, 1999 - The St. Paul Companies is cutting another one thousand jobs. The St. Paul based insurer says the move will lower expenses by 100 million dollars next year. The announcement comes a week after the company reported a sharp increase in second quarter profits. Officials say the job reductions will boost profits further.
August 5, 1999 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast of Minnesota Citizens’ Forum, live from FarmFest in Redwood Falls. In the first hour of program, Minnesota Farm Radio Network’s Tom Rothman hosts a discussion of the importance of a strong rural economy to Minnesota.