December 23, 2003 - The hacker hero known as "DVD Jon" is cleared -- again. In another blow to the entertainment industry, an appeals court in Norway has upheld the acquittal of a Norwegian man charged with piracy for releasing a program that could crack DVD security codes. Prosecutors had appealed Jon Johansen's January acquittal of charges that he violated Norway's data break-in laws. The prosecution wanted a 90-day suspended jail sentence, confiscation of computer equipment and a $3,000 fine. Cindy Cohn is legal director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an American legal advocacy group that backs Johansen.
December 24, 2003 - Nearly 600 military families in the Little Falls area are celebrating the holiday season without family members who are on overseas missions. And the Camp Ripley Family Assistance Center is trying to help them cope with the void. Cal Brumbaugh works at the center. He says the absence of someone in the military can make the holidays especially stressful.
December 24, 2003 - Depending on whom you ask, Minnesota's new tax free zones are either strong medicine for the state economy -- or a slow-acting poison. In the coming years, it will fall to state officials and outside economists to measure which prediction comes closer to the truth. Even then, adversaries may never agree on just how much benefit we're getting from the zones -- and what they're costing us. Minnesota Public Radio's Jeff Horwich reports.
December 26, 2003 - The Greater Minneapolis Convention Center and Visitor's Association is developing a plan to have a major new hotel constructed in Downtown Minneapolis. It would be a 1200 room hotel built near the Minneapolis Cinvention Center. Reporter Scott Smith wote about the project in this week's edition of The Business Journal, and he joins us in studio.
December 29, 2003 - Republican U.S. Senator Norm Coleman is approaching the one year anniversary of his arrival in Washington. Coleman says he's living up to his campaign promise to "get the job done." He says his first year has been a success, particularly for a freshman. Minnesota DFL party leaders say there's no question Coleman's been busy, but they say he has focused on building up his own public profile-- not on helping Minnesotans. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik reports...
December 30, 2003 - Was it order--or disorder in Minnesota's Courts in 2003? Steven Kaplan is the editor of Minnesota Law & Politics Magazine. He took note of a number of Minnesota lawsuits that made the news this past year--including a lawsuit filed by a Forest Lake senior citizen. The woman felt she was being illegally forced out of her home.
December 30, 2003 - Governor Pawlenty says the state's transportation system is in crisis, and is offering up toll lanes as one solution. The Pawlenty administration will soon seek bids from private entities to build toll lanes on congested corridors. Some legislators question whether the proposal will do much to solve the state's transportation problems. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.
December 30, 2003 - The Minnesota Supreme Court has denied public defenders' request for emergency relief from soaring caseloads and budget shortfalls. The Court said while it acknowledged the office is in a fiscal crisis, it is the legislature that should grant relief in the form of more funding. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports.
December 30, 2003 - Next week marks the end of Governor Tim Pawlenty's first year in office. Pawlenty says he accomplished nearly everything he set out to do. The governor kept his campaign pledge to balance the budget without raising state taxes, and pushed through the bulk of his legislative agenda. But during the last half of the year, he took some heat for the effects of his budget, for income he earned from a political ally when he was a candidate and for the release of a level three sex offender since he took office. Pawlenty says he doesn't think the public is paying attention to the criticism. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.
December 31, 2003 - U.S cattle futures fell today for the fifth straight market session since last week's announcement that a cow in Washington has bovine spongiform encephalopathy, more commonly known as Mad Cow Disease. It's the first known case of mad cow in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has implemented several safety measures to ensure beef carrying the deadly brain wasting illness out of the food supply. Researchers at the University of Minnesota and the Minneosota Health Department held a video conference today to discuss the new rules and address any concerns that cattlemen, veterinarians and consumers might have. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.