December 10, 2003 - Governor Tim Pawlenty is scheduled to spend this weekend in Bosnia... visiting with Minnesota National Guard troops stationed there. The troops are in the region as peace keepers, enforcing the 1996 Dayton peace accords. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo will cover the governor's trip. He joins us in the studio this morning.
December 10, 2003 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Tony Bouza, former Minneapolis police chief, on his thoughts about the hiring of a new police chief. According to Mayor Rybak's PR people, the mayor will release names of finalists for the job of police chief in Minneapolis. They anticipate six or seven finalists. Tony Bouza discusses the process, including benefits of hiring outside the department. He also speaks of hiring a black or female police chief.
December 10, 2003 - The verdict is in. Now the question is whether U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow will do time for convictions on four crimes from an Aug. 16 accident that killed Randy Scott of Hardwick, Minn. Judge Rodney Steele scheduled sentencing for Jan. 20, the day Janklow said his resignation becomes official. A Moody County jury Monday convicted him of speeding and running a stop sign, which both have maximum penalties of 30 days in jail and a $200 fine; reckless driving, which carries a top punishment of a year in jail and a $1,000 fine; and one felony, second-degree manslaughter. For that, he could get up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
December 10, 2003 - National Guard troops from Minnesota and North Dakota will help search for Dru Sjodin later this week. Some law enforcement officials now say they doubt the 22-year old college student will be found alive. New details about the case against the man accused of kidnapping Sjodin have been released by a North Dakota judge. Mainstreet Radios Dan Gunderson reports.
December 11, 2003 - Six children were crushed to death by a collapsing wall during an assault by U.S. forces on a compound stuffed with weapons in eastern Afghanistan, an American military spokesman said Wednesday, the second time in a week that civilians have died in action against Taliban and al-Qaida suspects. Today on MIDDAY, an update on the situation in Afghanistan and a discussion with Ambassador Peter Tomsen.
December 11, 2003 - House Democrats are blaming Republican budget cuts for double-digit property tax increases facing many communities. They say many homeowners will see significant increases next year, while homeowners in suburbs that tend to vote Republican will see little or no increase. Officials with the Pawlenty administration say they didn't target certain areas for budget cuts, and some of the property tax increases stem from other factors. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports...
December 11, 2003 - It's been more than a decade since the archdiocese first acknowledged that abuse by clergy was an issue that needed to be addressed. Among other things, that acknowledgement prompted changes to the way seminarians are trained for the priesthood. Bishop Frederick Campbell is the Rector of The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity. He says that the seminary has had such a program in place for over 10 years. The program includes psychological testing of potential divinity students, as well as in-depth orientation for seminarians to the life of a priest.
December 12, 2003 - Governor Pawlenty says the blizzard of criticism he's receiving about changes to state snowplowing policy is misguided. On his weekly radio show today (Fri), Pawlenty defended MnDOT's plowing after this week's heavy snowstorm. MnDOT officials say they've made some changes in the snowplow schedule to save money on overtime pay, but the agency's snowplowing goals haven't changed. Some DFL lawmakers say commuters are angry, and the issue is a political problem for the governor. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports...
December 12, 2003 - Hundreds of people lined up outside of the Minnesota Department of Health's office in St. Paul today in hopes of getting a flu shot. Demand for the vaccine has increased in the last week after the two manufacturers who make the vaccine said they've run out and won't be able to make any more in the near future. Twenty-four states to date have reported a widespread flu outbreak. The concern has also prompted some Minnesota health plans to reverse an earlier decision and start covering the cost of FluMist, a new, more expensive, nasal vaccine. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports....
December 12, 2003 - The U.S. military is using more so-called non-lethal weapons in the Iraq war. It's giving hundreds of soldiers weapons like electric taser-guns and rubber bullets. The idea is controlling crowds and civilian populations with fewer fatalities.