August 19, 2003 - The funeral service for Randy Scott is scheduled for A prosecutor says South Dakota congressman Bill Janklow did not stop at a stop sign before his car was hit by a motorcycle. The motorcycle rider died in the Saturday crash in rural South Dakota. Janklow's son today (Tuesday) acknowledged his father's failure to obey a stop sign led to the fatal accident. Mainstreet Radio's Cara Hetland reports from Sioux Falls:
August 19, 2003 -
August 20, 2003 - When the Minnesota State Fair opens tomorrow visitors will see signs at entrances banning guns from the fairgrounds. Fair officials say their ban is nothing new and makes pratical sense. Gun rights advocates say the fair has no legal authority under Minnesota's new concealed carry law to prohibit permit holders from bringing handguns to the fair. They say if the fair goes ahead with its ban, it'll likely face a lawsuit.
August 20, 2003 - Thirty members of the Minnesota National Guard's 34th Military Police Company will be deployed to Afghanistan. The soldiers are expected to be on duty for a year, providing security support at an unnamed U.S. installation in the war torn country. This morning (WEDS), members of the Company and their families were honored at a deployment celebration held in Rosemount. Minnesota Public Radio's Brandt Williams reports
August 20, 2003 - California Governor Gray Davis was on statewide TV last night in his political fight for survival. Challenger Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the first candidates running television ads, and a judge today may rule on whether to delay the recall effort. Two Minnesotans, well known in political circles, are helping California gubnatorial candidate Arianna Huffington. Dean Barkely is her campaign manager, and Bill Hillsman is heading up the ad campaign. Hillsman is known for his creative ads for the late Senator Paul Wellstone and former Governor Jesse Ventura. Hillsman says the biggest reason he's working for Huffington is that they are friends.
August 21, 2003 - In a live broadcast from the Minnesota State Fair, Midday’s Gary Eichten interviews Amy Klobuchar, district attorney for Hennepin County; and Susan Gaertner, district attorney for Ramsey County, about current events and major issues of fighting and preventing crime in the Twin Cities and Minnesota. Klobuchar and Gaertner also answer audience questions.
August 21, 2003 - An anti-tobacco coalition in the Fargo-Moorhead area wants local bars and restaurants to go smoke free. They've proposed an ordinance to local city officials. They hope it's approved by the end of the year. Mainstreet Radio's Bob Reha reports.
August 21, 2003 - Several attorneys who represent patients in the Minnesota Sexual Offender Program say they'll file a lawsuit against the state unless Governor Pawlenty lifts his executive order forbidding any offenders from leaving the program. Pawlenty issued the order in July after a report alleging the administration was considering putting several offenders in community based settings. Attorneys who represent some of the patients in the program say Pawlenty is undermining the constitutionality of the program. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
August 21, 2003 - More than 160 priests in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee have signed a letter arguing that married men should be allowed to enter the priesthood. The letter marks the first time since the mid-1970s that a group of priests has spoken out in favor of loosening the rules on celibacy, said Dean Hoge, a sociologist at Catholic University of America.
August 21, 2003 - The head of the state's treatment program for sexual psychopaths has announced he's leaving his position in September. Dr. Michael Farnsworth also oversees mental health evaluations and criminal commitments for patients who commit non-sex-related crimes. But a recent controversy about moving sex offenders from state hospitals to less restrictive settings thrust him into the spotlight. The plan called for eventually moving some patients into the community under state supervision. Following some criticism when talks of releasing offenders became public, Governor Pawlenty issued an executive order barring any release without a court order. Farnsworth is stepping down to start a private forensic psychiatry consultation business which will allow him more direct contact with patients. He says that there was no political pressure to leave his position.