September 11, 2001 - The state of Minnesota will resume contract negotiations with two of its unions on Thursday in hopes of averting a strike. The Minnesota Association of Professional Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Council 6 say they'll strike next Monday (SEPT 17th) if a contract agreement cannot be reached. Lead negotiators say the major unresolved issues include pay raises and health benefits. Health economists and labor experts say health care costs are becoming a major issue in labor negotiations as insurance premiums continue to rise at double digit rates. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
September 12, 2001 - MPR’s Art Hughes reports on Minneapolis mayoral primary results. Political newcomer and internet consultant R.T. Rybak will face two-term incumbent Sharon Sayles Belton in the Minneapolis mayoral election in November. Rybak was the top vote-getter in a race that included two other viable challengers to Sayles Belton.
September 12, 2001 - D-F-Lers Jay Benanav and Randy Kelly have emerged from the Saint Paul mayoral field to face one another on the November ballot. The winner will succeed Norm Coleman, who is not seeking a third term as mayor. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports on the primary results...
September 19, 2001 - A large crowd gathered last night at the Church of Saint Edward in Bloomington to remember Thomas Burnett Junior. Burnett died along with 45 others after United Flight 93 crashed in Western Pennsylvania last week after the plane was hijacked. Burnett's wife says her husband called from the plane and told her that he and some other passengers were going to "do something" to thwart the attack. That action has prompted many around the nation to call Burnett a "hero." MInnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
September 20, 2001 - MPR’s Art Hughes reports on first public forum of Minneapolis mayoral candidates. Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton and challenger R.T. Rybak faced off on various city issues.
September 21, 2001 -
September 21, 2001 - Wellstone says he pleased with the change in tone he herad from the President last night. That's Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone. Wellstone says its also important for the American people to educate themselves about terrorism and international politics.
September 24, 2001 - It might become more difficult for international students to attend college in Minnesota. The FBI says some suspects and material witnesses in the September 11th terrorist attacks appeared to have entered the country on student visas. Some Minnesota schools say that could prompt changes in how the government issues those visas. Minnesota Public Radio's Patty Marsicano has more:
September 25, 2001 - Twin cities executive Vance Opperman said in Sunday's Star Tribune, "it is time for patriotism to take a more active and permanent form". He says nobody is too old to guard the homeland, so the US should draft the people.
September 25, 2001 - As our nation faces a new kind of war, much has been made about what has changed in our world. Even our appreciation of history, is evolving. In 1991, then President George Bush signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Hundreds of missile silos and launch facilities in the Midwest were demolished. The START agreement provided that one silo and launch command center be preserved to teach future generations about the Cold War and contemplate the power of nuclear weapons. Mainstreet Radio's Cara Hetland takes us to two sites in South Dakota, a minuteman missile silo and launch command that have a new assignment.