March 26, 2002 - Andrew Zimbalist, a professor of economics at Smith College and the author of a book called Baseball and Billions, comments on local stadium actions. Fifty St. Paul business owners started a campaign against a proposed food, beverage, and lodging tax to fund a Twins stadium, while Minnesota House approved a bill for a $330 million open-air stadium that allows the host city to levy the tax to help repay bonds.
March 26, 2002 - The Senate has given preliminary approval to a budget balancing bill that erases the state's debt for the current biennium and tackles a portion of the debt in the next two-year budget. The bill uses accounting shifts and several tax increases to cover the projected $439 million remaining in the deficit. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
March 27, 2002 - The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has re-affirmed that cities do have legal authority to restrict adult businesses. In the case between Jake's Bar versus the city of Coates the court ruled in favor of the city. It's a case that may influence decisions in other cities where the locaiton of strip clubs is an issue. Minnesota Public Radio's Laurel Druley has this report.
March 28, 2002 -
March 28, 2002 - The Metropolitan Council has approved a new definition for what constitutes an affordable home in the Twin Cities. The council has determined an affordable home costs 170-thousand dollars or less. That's up from 134 thousand last year. According to the council's standard, a family of four making 76-thousand dollars a year can afford to buy a 170-thousand dollar home without spending more than 30 percent of its gross income. Met Council chair Ted Mondale says the jump is both good and bad news for the region:
March 28, 2002 - Minnesota lawmakers are heading home today for the beginning of the Easter-Passover holiday. They won't return to work until Tuesday. House and Senate leaders had actually hoped to finish their work by yesterday afternoon, but now say it will be a struggle to wrap up anytime soon. They have yet to agree on some major bills, including the budget, bonding, and transportation funding packages. We called two local editorial page writers for their perspectives on developments the capitol... Steve Dornfeld from the Pioneer Press and Lori Sturdevant (STURR-dah-vint) from the Star Tribune. Sturdevant says that while the session began at a fast pace, lawmakers have now returned to a more normal speed.
March 29, 2002 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer interviews students on who will be meeting with R.T. Rybak about community issues. A group of students from South High School in Minneapolis want to solve the social problems they see around them, and they'll get a chance to share their ideas with mayor R.T. Rybak. The students were asked what they'd like to change about their community. Ryan Peterson and Nora Williams are two students who will meet with the mayor. Peterson says the students first identified the issues that affected their community the most. One planned topic of discussion is police profiling.
March 29, 2002 - MPR’s Tom Scheck reports that Governor Ventura has renewed his threats to veto any proposed tax increases by the Minnesota Legislature and hinted he may call lawmakers back for a special session. Ventura said he was unhappy that only a few lawmakers are negotiating their budget balancing, transportation, and bonding proposals behind closed doors.
April 1, 2002 - American RadioWorks’ John Biewen presents “Corrections, Inc.,” a documentary that examines the business and financial aspects of imprisonment, and how some of those with vested interests help to shape who gets locked up and for how long.
April 1, 2002 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer presents audio clips of various commentary from listeners calling in about a new stadium for the Minnesota Twins. Some were supportive, but most were critical.