April 11, 2003 - In northern Iraq yesterday, Saddam Hussein loyalists tried to kill a pair of Star Tribune journalists. Though reporter Paul McEnroe and photographer Richard Sennot escaped unharmed, the incident underscored how close journalists are to the violence. The two were covering the action as Kurdish fighters took Kirkuk (keer-KUUK). Most of the Iraqi Army fled from the area. But 50 supporters of Saddam Hussein remained behind and were hiding in a bunker shielded by smoke from a burning oil well. Two of those fighters decide to attack the Star Tribune journalists when they discovered they were Americans. McEnroe says the Iraqi fighters started driving towards him and Sennot in a truck filled with weapons, but were soon surrounded by six local Kurdish armed men, intent on looting the truck:
April 14, 2003 - The Minnesota Senate has passed and sent to the governor a bill that would require a woman seeking an abortion to wait 24 hours before the procedure is done. Governor Pawlenty has said he'll sign it into law. Supporters of the waiting period say it provides women with information about possible risks. Opponents say the bill is an attempt to chip away at a woman's right to choose. Minnesota would be the nineteenth state to have such a law when the governor signs the bill. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
April 15, 2003 -
April 15, 2003 -
April 15, 2003 - Governor Tim Pawlenty took his no-new-taxes message to Duluth today. He spoke to a neighborhood business group. Protesters outside and business leaders inside expressed reservations about the governor's plan, but Pawlenty stuck to his message. Mainstreet Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports. {
April 15, 2003 -
April 16, 2003 - A provision in the House Health and Human Services budget bill would forbid three thousand state workers from striking. The provision would declare workers at regional treatment centers, group homes and other state run health facilities essential employees. The state already forbids several categories of state employees from walking off the job, most notably law enforcement and corrections officers. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
April 17, 2003 - A bill that would allow slot machines at Canterbury Park racetrack in Shakopee is on its way to the House floor. The slots would be operated by the State Lottery, and revenues would be divided between the state and the track's owners. By Canterbury estimates, that means the state would get about 100 million dollars over the next two years. House Republicans are counting on those proceeds to support their budget plan, but Senate DLFers and Governor Pawlenty have both voiced opposition to the plan. Bill Eadington (EED ing ton) is an economics professor and Director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada in Reno. He's on the line now.
April 17, 2003 -
April 17, 2003 - Governor Tim Pawlenty and leaders from the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic today THURSDAY formalized a research alliance. The partnership is designed to make Minnesota a world leader in cutting-edge bioscience research. They say the fields of biotechnology and medical genomics hold promise for advances in medicine, agriculture and manufacturing. Their plans include more than $100 million in state investment over the next five years, including a new research center in Rochester. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports...