June 8, 1998 - MPR's Senior Business and Economics Editor Chris Farrell talks about the banking industry's latest merger, Norwest Corporation of Mpls, and Wells Fargo of San Francisco. It's a 34-billion-dollar deal and follows on the heels of the First Bank-US BankCorp takeover. Farrell also answers listener questions.
June 8, 1998 - intro: The Mille Lacs 1837 Treaty case will get its day in the US Supreme Court. Minnesota Public Radio's Leif Enger reports. tape runs :58 The 1837 Treaty preserving the hunting and fishing rights of 8 chippewa bands was upheld through seven years of lower court decisions and appeals; it was described as an epic losing streak for the state. But with the Supreme Court's decision to review, one of the landowners' attorneys challenging the treaty says the momentum has turned. Randy Thompson is encouraged by what he calls a string of recent court setbacks for Indian tribes, including one announced today making it harder for tribes to avoid taxation on re-purchased reservation land. Randy: "I think it's a trend in which the courts are saying, We're gonna take a very hard look at these Indian law cases and decide them on the issues we think are presented."
June 8, 1998 - As the DFL Convention at St. Cloud State's National hockey Center wound down Sunday morning, Mike Freeman and Ruth Johnson ... on the heels of thei
June 8, 1998 - It had none of the hype and fanfare of the D-F-L state convention, but Minnesota's third major party quietly held its state convention over the weekend. Reform Party delegates met in Brooklyn Park to endorse three candidates for statewide office - Jesse Ventura for Governor, Alan Shilepsky (shih-LEP-skee) for Secretary of State and Jim Dunlop for Treasurer. They also tackled the hotly-debated issue of whether to unite with supporters of former Presidential candidate H. Ross Perot. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports... (nat - buzz of delegates)
June 8, 1998 - Saint Paul: 1992 was dubbed the "Year of the Woman" in national politics, with more women winning congressional seats than ever before. But when the 103rd Congress convened, women only made up ELEVEN percent of the House and SEVEN percent of the Senate. THIS election year pundits say it's the "Year of the Woman" in Minnesota politics. Women dominate the slate of DFL endorsed Candidates for statewide office following this weekend's state party convention in St. Cloud. But as Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports, women STILL have yet to gain a spot at the TOP of the DFL party ticket:
June 9, 1998 - Midday presents a Mainstreet Radio special broadcast on what's being called the "New Midwestern Farm Crisis." The program contains reports on farming issues, including insurance, scab plant disease, government programs, global markets, and Freedom to Farm Act.
June 9, 1998 - Norman Ornstein, Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and respected political analyst, addresses Minnesota Meeting. Ornstein’s speech was titled, " Getting Big Money Out of U.S. Politics: What We Can Do Now." Speech is followed by a question and answer period. Minnesota Meeting is a non-profit corporation which hosts a wide range of public speakers. It is managed by the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
June 9, 1998 - With President Clinton's signature now affixed to the massive transportation bill, two Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness portages become mechanized. Motor vehicles such as trucks will be allowed to pull boats across the narrow forest paths between fishing lakes. Now the US Forest Service will have to determine just how to allow trucks back on the portages and who will get to operate them.
June 9, 1998 - St. Paul Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman edged out State Attorney General Skip Humphrey in a straw poll of Minnesota AFL-CIO members. But the results may indicate big labor won't rally around a single candidate until after the September primary. Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports.
June 10, 1998 - Scott County and the city of Savage have abandoned their plan to extend a highway through a rare wetland known as the Savage Fen. The proposed road was blocked by the state Department of Natural Resources in order to protect the wetland and its rare and threatened plants. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports. SFX bird sound The Savage wetland is what scientists call a