August 5, 2003 - MPR’s Gary Eichten interviews Don Samuels, Minneapolis City Council member, about crime control and “National Night Out.” Samuels has worked to fight crime and violence in the city and says he's pleased Governor Tim Pawlenty will deploy 12 members of the State Patrol's Special Response Team to Minneapolis to help combat a spike in violence. The announcement follows several shootings in the city, including the critical wounding of a 19-month-old girl in North Minneapolis.
August 5, 2003 - Minnesota is already a national leader in alternative energy, thanks to the state's abundant wind power and support for corn-based ethanol. Officials also think the state can be a player when it comes to hydrogen fuel cells. The potentially pollution-free power source is being touted for cars, laptop computers, and homes. Yesterday (MONDAY) Governor Pawlenty ceremonially flipped on one of the state's first industrial fuel cell generators. Minnesota Public Radio's Jeff Horwich reports.
August 5, 2003 - Massachusetts Senator and Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry paid a visit to Minnesota today to speak out against the U.S. Labor Department's proposed changes to the nation's overtime rules. He also lobbied Minnesotans at a fundraiser in Minneapolis. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
August 5, 2003 -
August 6, 2003 - Tuesday night marked the first shift for 12 state troopers who've come to Minneapolis to help the city's police force handle a spike in violent crime. Half the troopers were deployed to the 4th Precinct in North Minneapolis, which has been the site of some of the most recent shootings. The deployment coincided with National Night Out and the troopers got a chance to see that even in one of the most troubled parts of the city, there are a lot of people working for change. Minnesota Public Radio's Brandt Williams reports:
August 6, 2003 - This weekend 19 year old Private First Class Michelle Loftus will be the subject of celebration at her family farm near Rochester. Loftus was seriously injured in an attack near Baghdad two weeks ago July 23rd. Loftus is lucky to be alive. She's now on the mend and recovering well. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik visited her this week.
August 6, 2003 - A Ramsey County judge has ruled the details of an investigation into the head of Minnesota's National Guard will stay private...at least for 2 12 weeks. The Governor had planned to release the information from its investigation of Major General Eugene Andreotti on Monday. The judge also barred all of the parties, including the Governor and his staff from talking publicly about the probe until an August 22nd hearing. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki joins me now.
August 7, 2003 - Tuesday night marked the first shift for 12 state troopers who've come to Minneapolis to help the city's police force handle a spike in violent crime. Minneapolis Police Chief Robert Olson joins to discuss.
August 7, 2003 - As peacekeeping forces enter Liberia, a conflict between Liberians in Minnesota is brewing. Some Liberians here accuse members of their own community of fundraising for rebel groups. These are the same groups partly responsible for the violence there in recent weeks. Minnesota Public Radio's Rob Schmitz reports suspicions of rebel ties have divided the Liberian community in the Twin Cities. {In his eighth floor office at the University of Minnesota,
August 11, 2003 - Minnesota's political parties are uncommonly far apart in ideology, according to a book about political parties that's due out next year. Joel Paddock, a political science professor at Southwest Missouri State University, took a look at Minnesota's Republican and DFL state party platforms and surveyed party committee members and county party chairs. He compared what he found to similar information from other states... and found the divisions in Minnesota are unusually large.