September 25, 2001 - State officials are asking pipeline operators around Minnesota to step-up security in the wake of this month's terrorist attacks. 85 pipeline companies operate 62-thousand miles of line that carry natural gas and several hazardous liquids. Those lines criss-cross the state. A presidential commission warned in 1997 that the nation's pipeline system is an attractive targets to terrorists. But Univeristy of Minnsota Chemical Engineering professor Lenny Schmidt says terrorists using the pipelines wouldn't get an effect anything like the September 11th attacks.
September 25, 2001 - Many Americans were stunned by the intense hatred harbored by the terrorist hijackers who hit the World Trade Center and Pentagon. But in other parts of the world, this sentiment, rooted in extreme Islamic fundamentalism, is a part of daily life. And frequently, those who dare speak out against it are persecuted. That's what happened to Tahar Djaout (Tah HAR Jah-OOT). The prominent Algerian writer was murdered as he left his home because, as one of his professed attackers put it, "he wielded a fearsome pen that could have an effect on Islamic sectors." That was in 1993. This month Ruminator Books is publishing the English translation of Djaout's (Jah-OOT's) final manuscript, called "The Last Summer of Reason." Publisher Pearl Kilbride says Ruminator took on the project, because Djaout (Jah-OOT) was a promising writer.
September 26, 2001 - Martin Sampson, University of Minnesota political science professor, talks about the Middle East and the history of US policy toward Israel and its neighbors.
September 26, 2001 - Officials with the Metropolitan Airports Commission say they've instituted massive cost cutting because of a more than twenty MILLION dollar budget shortfall. The MAC says revenue from operations at the Minneapolis St. Paul airport is falling because of scaled back flight schedules there and airport officials say compounding problems is Northwest's decision NOT to pay for its operations. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports...
September 26, 2001 - Mainstreet Radio's Laurel Druley reports on the looming government workers strike. State agency officials say they have contingency plans in place to compensate for the void a strike could leave.
September 26, 2001 - Every ten years the Legislature has to redraw political districts based on population changes reported in the census. By next November, all the legislative, congressional and municipal districts will be different. Lawmakers are already working on plans they hope Governor Ventura will approve, but as DFL'ers, Republicans and, for the first time, an Independence Party governor argue over plans that will maximize their partisan political power, there's already talk a court will end up drawing the final districts. It's sometimes hard for the public to follow the complicated process of redistricting, but it poses important questions for communities around Minnesota. In few places are the issues as clear as they are in St. Cloud. Minnesota Public Radio's Jeff Horwich has this Mainstreet report.
September 26, 2001 - Since the terrorist attacks in New York, political campaigns for the top offices in the Twin Cities have taken on a more somber and less combative tone. Candidates have to walk a fine line to promote their political agendas while also appearing sensitive to the tragedies. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.
September 27, 2001 - MPR's Laurel Druley reports that Governor Ventura told the citizens of Rochester he supports President Bush's plan to call up National Guard troops to tighten security at airports across the nation. His comments came as the Governor spent the day in Rochester talking with state employees.
September 27, 2001 - President Bush visited Chicago's O'Hare Airport today where he urged Americans to get back in the air. Seeking to soothe a nation left anxious about air travel, the President outlined a broad strategy for tightening aviation security, including temporarily sending National Guard troops to major airports. Governor Jesse Ventura announced he would move quickly to dispatch Minnesota troops to the Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport. Democratic Senator Mark Dayton sent a letter to Bush earlier this week suggesting the National Guard idea. He says he's not sure if the President took his advice OR if he had already planned on using the troops at airports, but Dayton says he's pleased with Bush's decision.
September 27, 2001 - Under the new Anti-Terrorism bill proposed by John Ashcroft would put hackers in prison for life.