November 14, 2003 - Back in 1998, Minneapolis was among the first cities to start its own e-democracy list. And over the years, while the issues that are discussed have drawn attention, the list itself has received coverage for the impact it's had on city politics. David Brauer is a founder of the Minneapolis Issues list. He's also editor of the Minneapolis-based newspapers Southwest Journal and Skyway News. He says the list has a core membership of 900 people. And although only about 50 of them consistently post messages, Brauer says you'd be hard pressed to find a local forum with a larger number of engaged participants.
November 14, 2003 - Hennepin County officials expect another overflow crowd today (FRIDAY) for a hearing on funding cuts to many social service providers. It's the third such hearing as the county wrestles with budget cuts brought on by reductions from the state. The cuts in Hennepin's Human Services division is also taking it's toll on county employees. Officials have already eliminated hundreds of positions and expect to lay off up to 350 more employees in January. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes looks at one small group of Hennepin County social workers that have stopped taking new clients because of their work load.
November 17, 2003 - The St. Paul Companies plans to merge this spring with a rival nearly twice its size. The St. Paul would join with Travelers Property Casualty, a Connecticut-based provider of business and personal insurance. The combined company would be the nation's second-largest commercial insurer. The company will have its headquarters in St. Paul. But the move raises questions about the future in Minnesota of one of the state's oldest companies. Minnesota Public Radio's Jeff Horwich reports.
November 17, 2003 - A group of St. Paul community activists plans to kick off a petition drive today (MONDAY) to try to recall Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher. The people organizing the petition drive say Fletcher abused his power after a city council candidate debate last month. Fletcher took a stack of cards containing questions for the candidates, after one of the cards read aloud by the moderator made claims about the relationship between Fletcher and candidate Kris Reiter (RY-der) that both say are false. Fletcher says he and Reiter were defamed, and he didn't abuse his authority when he took the cards. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports...
November 17, 2003 - Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch was in Hennpin County District Court this morning to ask a judge to force the drug company GlaxoSmithKline to produce documents related to sales in Canada. Hatch is conducting an investigation into whether Glaxo and other drug companies are conspiring to limit drug sales to Canada in retaliation for cross-border drug sales. Many Canadian mail order and internet pharmacies are profiting by selling less expensive, price-controlled prescription drugs to Americans. Hatch says he wants Glaxo to turn over any documents that exist in Canada and England, where the company is based. Glaxo attorneys say Hatch is overstepping his authority. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
November 18, 2003 - Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman chaired a hearing today on the practice of marketing tax loopholes. The accounting firm KPMG is alleged to have developed, marketed and implemented tax shelters for wealthy clients. Coleman is the chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which is holding this week's hearings. He says KPMG isn't the only accounting firm to have used such practices.
November 18, 2003 - Congress is nearly finished with a bill that would add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare and increase the role of private insurers in the program. House and Senate negotiators announced over the weekend that they had reached initial agreement on the 400 billion dollar measure. One of the criticisms of the bill is that it does too little to control the cost of presciption drugs. While it does make it easier for generic copies of brand-name drugs to get approval, it leaves in effect the current ban on the importation of lower-cost prescription drugs from other industrialized countries. The bill would allow Americans to buy drugs from Canada, but only if the FDA certifies that the drugs are safe... which the FDA has said it won't do. Minnesota Republican Congressman Gil Gutknecht favors the importation of prescription drugs and authored a House bill that would allow importation from 25 countries. He joins us now.
November 19, 2003 - The Massachusetts Supreme Court yesterday struck down a ban on gay and lesbian marriage. The court gave lawmakers six months to change state laws, a move that could make Massachusetts the first state in the country to legalize same-sex marriage. Phil Duran is the Legal Policy Analyst at OutFront Minnesota, the largest organization serving the state's gay-lesbian-bisexual and trans-gender communities. He says the Massachusetts ruling has revived debate about same-sex marriage in Minnesota, but will have little impact on the state's gay and lesbian couples.
November 19, 2003 - The community of Northome (NORTH home) is mourning the loss of one of its native sons. Army Staff Sergeant Dale Panchot (pan-SHAHT) died in Iraq Monday -- becoming the third Minnesotan to be killed in the conflict. Mainstreet Radio's Tom Robertson reports... {
November 19, 2003 - The National Transportation Safety Board says the cause of the crash that killed Senator Paul Wellstone and 7 others was a result of pilot error. The crash happened in October of last year during the heat of Wellstone's campaign for a 3rd term. The NTSB said the plane lost air speed, and the aerodynamic lift required to keep the plane in the air, as it approached the airport in Eveleth. The Board also agreed with investigator's findings that the pilots lacked proper training in crew coordination. Former Wellstone campaign director Jeff Blodgett says the findings of the report are difficult to take.