March 1, 2004 - 15 years after state officials signed gaming compacts with Minnesota's Indian tribes, 18 casinos have been built. They generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, far more than anyone imagined they would. The state of Minnesota gets only a small sliver of that money and it's used to regulate the casinos.
March 2, 2004 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer talks with Fred de Sam Lazaro, of Twin Cities Public Television, about his experience with a Minnesota delegation in Thailand. The group is visiting a resettlement camp where 15,000 Hmong refugees are currently living. Because of the large Hmong population here, the Twin Ciites is expected to attract many of the refugees.
March 3, 2004 - The Minnesota State Board of Investment adopted a resolution today that would encourage the drug company, Pfizer, and other drug companies, to change their business practices. Minnesota's pension funds own about 476 million dollars in Pfizer stock. Governor Pawlenty, who sits on the investment board, proposed the resolution after the company cut off supplies to Canadian drug wholesalers that sell to Americans. Some worry that the proposed action could decrease Pfizer's stock price and hurt retirees who depend on the state's pension fund. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
March 4, 2004 -
March 4, 2004 - While thousands of people tried out alternative methods to get around during the transit strike, hundreds of Twin Cities bus drivers and supporters rallied at Metro Transit headquarters in Minneapolis today (THURS). There is no resolution in sight to bring the 22-hundred union members off the picket line. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.
March 5, 2004 - St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly returned from Thailand where he visited Hmong refugees awaiting relocation to St. Paul and other U.S. cities. The State Department recently declared about 15,000 Hmong refugees eligible to apply for relocation to the U.S., with between 4,000-10,000 Hmong refugees arriving in Minnesota as early as June 2004. Fred de Sam Lazaro, correspondent for PBS's Newshour with Jim Lehrer based at Twin Cities Public Television, traveled with Kelly to Thailand and prepared this report.
March 9, 2004 - Midday presents a report and conversation regarding Minnesota lawmaker’s debate of a bill that could lead to a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The constitution would state: "Only the union of one man and one woman will be recognized as a marriage in Minnesota."
March 12, 2004 -
March 15, 2004 - Legislators have a full range of issues to deal with again this spring. Topics include the bonding bill, the state budget deficit, and a raft of proposed constitutional amendments such as the gay marriage amendment. Not to mention the fallout from the transit strike, health care, education, criminal sentencing, and the stadium. Gary Eichten. House Speaker Steve Sviggum, and Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson discuss issues before the Minnesota State Legislature.
March 15, 2004 -