May 6, 2002 - Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe -- the DFL endorsed candidate for governor-- plans to talk with reporters this afternoon about legislative business and his campaign for governor. The veteran legislator beat out State Auditor Judi Dutcher and State Senator Becky Lourey to win the party endorsement over the weekend. Republicans say DFL delegates could not have picked an easier candidate to beat. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports...
May 6, 2002 - Moe appeared at a DFL unity rally. He is not facing rivalry within the democrats.
May 6, 2002 - The Minnesota Supreme Court is considering a case that could have wide implications for the use of DNA testing in court. The justices will decide whether the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension should continue to use a new DNA test, even though the company producing the test kits won't release certain data about them. Defense attorneys say that unless the information is made available for scientific peer review, there's no way to be sure the kits are reliable and accurate. Dave Peterson is the assistant laboratory director for the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. He says federal guidelines on DNA testing have changed over the years and the BCA is simply following current standards:
May 8, 2002 - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced today he's terminating the Army's $11 (B) billion dollar Crusader weapon project. The Crusader is a 40-ton, self-propelled, rapid-fire cannon that was to have entered service by 2008. The system was designed in Fridley, where United Defense Industries employs about 18-hundred people - 800 of them on the Crusader project. The Crusader system would have been manufactured in Oklahoma. Democratic Senator Mark Dayton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is in committee meetings today to finalize the defense spending authorization bill for 2003. He says the Rumsfeld's decision contradicts what he, along with the joint chiefs of staff and army commanders, have already told the Armed Services Committee:
May 8, 2002 - New information is passing between St. John's Abbey and the Stearns County Sheriff about monks accused of sexual abuse. Officials at the abbey say the information was never restricted. But recent interest in cases of sex abuse by clergy led the abbot at St. John's to begin talking more openly about monks who have been accused of sexual misconduct. He revealed that a former abbot, still living in the monastery, had abused two monks in the 1970s. Twelve other monks and priests continue to have their activities restricted in some way because of sexually-related allegations. The sheriff says for now he's simply double-checking facts and supplementing his criminal files with any information he can get from St. John's abbey. Mainstreet Radio's Jeff Horwich reports from Collegeville.
May 8, 2002 - MPR’s Laura McCallum reports that Governor Ventura and his staff are preparing for the worst. If the government doesn't figure out a budget, then he will do it himself and call the legislature into a special session. He can also call a special session in September, during election months, which some see as a way to make the candidates look bad.
May 9, 2002 - A bill that appeared to be on the fast track in the Minnesota Legislature hit a stumbling block yesterday (Weds) in a House Committee. The bill would give voters the option of deciding if they want a portion of the state's sales tax to go towards conservation and envirnomental programs. But one lawmaker says voters should also be allowed to decide if they want another portion of the state's sales tax to go towards education. The move prompted several supporters to say some House DFLers are playing political games in an effort to kill the bill. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports....
May 9, 2002 - By tomorrow night, the Minnesota National Guard will be gone from Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. The Guard soldiers began patrolling the airport after President Bush requested more airport security following the September 11th terrorist attacks. The new transportation security administration has issued a directive requiring airports replace guard members with police officers. Jim Welna is director of Public Safety at the Metropolitan Airports Commission. He says the MAC will have enough police officers in place on Saturday, but will have trouble meeting the directive long term:
May 9, 2002 - Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports that Governor Ventura re-entered budget negotiations as the legislative session heads into its final stages. Ventura called legislative leaders to his office to tell them what he expected in the proposed budget balancing plan, transportation financing package and bonding bill.
May 13, 2002 -