December 31, 2002 - If voters knew one thing about Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Pawlenty it was this: under no circumstances, he said, would he raise state taxes. Now, governor-elect Pawlenty is facing a $4.5 billion budget deficit over the next two years, far bigger than most had anticipated. Pawlenty says the unexpected size of the shortfall hasn't diminished his resolve to stand tough on taxes. But critics say his pledge could damage the state's long-term prospects. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo has more.
December 31, 2002 -
January 1, 2003 - A new Minnesota law that takes effect today requires people selling a home to disclose problems with the property to potential buyers. Some cities already have similar laws, but this is believed to be the first statewide regulation. The law won't apply if the buyer and seller agree to a professional home inspection. Republican state representative Mary Liz Holberg sponsored the bill. She says she supported the bill because she had a family member who bought a house with major hidden problems:
January 2, 2003 - The civil rights sit-ins and voter registration drives of the 1960's were dangerous, sometimes deadly. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day is Monday, Jan. 20th, and in a "Voices of Minnesota" broadcast, we hear from Chuck McDew and Willie Mae Wilson. McDew is a founder and the first chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee or SNCC. Wilson was one of the thousands of people who marched with SNCC organizers to end segregation in southern cities.
January 3, 2003 - Governor-elect Tim Pawlenty will be sworn into office on Monday. Pawlenty has already made several appointments, including Lieutenant Governor Carol Molnau as transportation commissioner. And yesterday, he named his longtime friend and colleague Charlie Weaver as chief of staff. Weaver served as commissioner of public safety under Governor Ventura and led Pawlenty's transition team. Commissioner Weaver joins us on the phone this morning.
January 3, 2003 - Youth, alcohol and mild winter weather are factors contributing to a sharply higher number of road deaths in Minnesota. State safety officials say there's an eighteen percent increase in the state's traffic crash fatalities in 2002 from the year before. A surprising finding is most of the fatalities are on Minnesota's rural roads during daytime hours. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.
January 3, 2003 - MPR's Michael Khoo reports on what is likely to be Governor Jesse Ventura’s last news conference as Minnesota's chief executive. Ventura has had a sometimes difficult relationship with the reporters who cover him, and although event was cordial, it was in many ways characteristic of previous appearances before the men and women he knew as "jackals."
January 3, 2003 -
January 6, 2003 - Republican Tim Pawlenty today (MONDAY) became the 38th person to hold the office of Minnesota governor. Pawlenty and the state's other constitutional officers were sworn in during a ceremony at the Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul. Governor Pawlenty inherits a projected four-and-a-half billion dollar budget deficit, and his closest advisor says he's prepared for the challenge. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports...
January 6, 2003 - Republican Tim Pawlenty took over as Minnesota's governor today at a noontime swearing-in ceremony in downtown St. Paul. He is the 38th person to hold the office. Pawlenty must find a way to eliminate a four and a half billion dollar budget shortfall over the next two and a half years while adhering to a campaign promise not to raise taxes. And he didn't shy away from the issue in his speech: