October 31, 2003 - Charlie Weaver, Governor Pawlenty's chief of staff, is stepping down to become the head of the Minnesota Business Partnership, an association of chief executives from Minnesota's 100 largest companies. Weaver says the opportunity was one he couldn't pass up.
October 31, 2003 - Four members of the committee that came up with proposed new social studies requirements say the standards are so flawed they can't be fixed. The committee meets tomorrow (SATURDAY) to begin revising the proposed standards. Critics say the first draft is biased and not age-appropriate for students. Governor Pawlenty says some of the critics are equally biased. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.
October 31, 2003 - Minnesota's Court of Appeals turns 20 years old on Sunday. 95% of the time, it's the court that issues the final ruling on a case. And unlike other courts, the 16 judges must rule within 90 days, the shortest deadline of any appellate court in the nation. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports:
November 1, 2003 - The American RadioWorks documentary “Whose Vote Counts” looks at voting issues in the United States. Reports include various viewpoints on the problems and potential solutions.
November 4, 2003 - Three of America's most compelling presidents - John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richrad M. Nixon bugged their White House offices and tapped their telephones. They left behind thousands of secretly recorded conversations, from momentous to mundane. In this documentary project, American RadioWorks eavesdrops on presidential telephone calls to hear how each man used one-on-one politics to shape history.
November 13, 2003 - Former Minnesota Democratic U.S. senator and former Presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy in the MPR studios with Gary Eichten to talk about politics and current events. McCarthy discusses the state of the DFL, polarization of the parties, war, his 1968 campaign, and also answers listener questions.
November 14, 2003 - An 800-million dollar loan package earmarked for an electrical power plant on Minnesota's Iron Range has survived in the Federal Energy Bill. The loan package is one provision in a 17-hundred page bill that's expected to go before the U-S House and Senate next week. The bill also includes support for the region's ethanol industry. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports
November 14, 2003 - The U.S. Department of State's Richard Boucher is in the Twin Cities speaking about Iraq, terrorism, and foreign policy. The State Department spokesman led a town hall meeting in St. Paul yesterday. He told the audience that the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq does not mean they won't be found eventually or that the original invasion decision was wrong. Several of Boucher's comments provoked some heckling from the audience. I spoke with Boucher this afternoon about the U-S approach to Iraq. He said the Bush administration is accelerating the process of turning authority over to a new Iraqi government.
November 14, 2003 - Some people in northern Minnesota are frustrated over a new law regulating all-terrain vehicles. The law says it's illegal to ride an ATV on certain types of wetlands. But in Koochiching County on the Canadian border, most of the land -- more than a million acres -- is wet. County officials say the law needs to be changed. As Mainstreet Radio's Tom Robertson reports, some lawmakers agree...
November 14, 2003 - Police statistics show most crime in downtown Minneapolis is decreasing. Even so, a growing number of people who live and work downtown are concerned about public safety. They say nuisance crimes are increasing and hurting downtown's image as a safe place. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.