August 30, 2000 -
August 30, 2000 -
August 31, 2000 - MPR’s William Wilcoxen reports how the race to succeed the retiring Bruce Vento has turned into the state's hottest House race. The tradition of political discourse at the State Fair continued as DFL and Independence Party candidates for the 4th Congressional District seat debated at the Minnesota Public Radio booth.
September 1, 2000 - Governor Jesse Ventura made what he says will be his only visit to this year's State Fair, in contrast to his nonstop campaigning there during the governor's race in 1998. But in addition to extolling the virtues of footlong hotdogs and lemonade, Ventura does some campaigning for his party in endorsing U.S. senate candidate Jim Gibson, and uses his “Lunch With the Governor" radio show to lay out his upcoming political agenda and to poke fun at the other politicians glad-handing at the fair.
September 1, 2000 - The U-S Department of Health and Human Services has released a report that ranks Minnesota among the top 10 states for binge drinking, youth smoking and teen marijuana use. Some health care experts say results of the agency's annual National Household Survey on Drug Abuse show the state needs to do more to stop teens from experimenting with "gateway drugs." Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
September 1, 2000 - MPR’s Tom Scheck reports on how the veneer of civility disappeared as four DFL candidates for the U.S. senate tore into each other at a Minnesota State Fair debate. The campaign had been relatively quiet, but in an effort to distance herself from the other candidates, Rebecca Yanisch attacked the two frontrunners on gun control and a campaign that has seen little fireworks erupted into finger pointing and accusations.
September 1, 2000 - The hotly-contested DFL Senate primary is now the most expensive in Minnesota history. DFL candidates Mike Ciresi and Mark Dayton have put more than $8.7 million of their own money into the race, while Democrat Rebecca Yanisch has put more than a half a million dollars into her campaign. But campaigns also rely to varying degrees on individual contributors, people who are willing to write a check for $50 or a $100 or $1,000, the maximum allowed by law, to candidates they support. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum looks at the individual contributors in the Senate race.
September 5, 2000 - The two major daily newspapers in the Twin Cities have issued their endorsements in the DFL US Senate race. The Star Tribune endorsed Democratic US Senate candidate Mike Ciresi as the best DFL candidate to run against incumbent Republican Senator Rod Grams. The St. Paul Pioneer Press endorsed Rebecca Yanish last month. Vaughn Ververs is managing editor of the Hotline, a daily news briefing on American politics. He says that in today's world of the internet, television and newstands full of magazines an endorsement is not as important as it was in the early days of print:
September 6, 2000 - Money problems have delayed today's (Weds) expected announcement from the Metropolitan Council that it has awarded a major contract for light rail construction. Officials expect to make the announcement next week, but in the meantime planners are recommending the Metropolitan Airports Commission increase it's contribution to the project as a way to help cover a higher-than-expected bid for the light line tunnel at the airport. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports. {Last week project managers said they were ready to recommend that the Metropolitan Council award the three hundred million Hiawatha Avenue light rail line construction contract to California-based Granite Construction Company and Minnesota-based C. S. McCrossan Company. But Tuesday, Metropolitan Council officials said a final vote on the award is delayed so planners can try find a way to cover a twenty five million dollar gap that appeared at the end of August. That's when officials learned the low bid for building the mile and half long light rail tunnel under the Twin Cities airport is one hundred ten million dollars compared to the eighty five million alloted for the project. The Metropolitan Airports Commission is managing tunnel construction. The MAC's Nigel Finney says the airport commission may need to contribute more to the project. audio . . . .we've been talking previously about a contribution of seventy million dollars. We'll be recommending at least as a staff to the commission they increase that level of participation to help offset the costs. (what might be increase?) I'd say on the order of sixteen to eighteen million dollars.
September 6, 2000 - Republican Linda Runbeck will have one competitor in the 4th District primary: Ramsey County Soil and Water Conservation Commissioner Patricia Reagan. Reagan has run for public office many times, under several different names. She says she's now using her middle name Patricia because she feels former president Ronald Reagan has been mistreated.