June 3, 2005 -
June 6, 2005 -
June 10, 2005 - Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports on the death of 1st Lieutenant Michael Fasnacht, who was killed by a roadside bomb Wednesday near Tikrit, Iraq. The Minnesota soldier is being praised today for his love of family and country.
July 1, 2005 - Mainstreet Radio's Tom Robertson reports that the Minnesota Legislature passed a $686 million dollar funding bill that averts a state park shutdown over the busy holiday weekend. Environmentalists are angry over one of the bill's provisions, which loosens restrictions on riding all-terrain vehicles in state forests north of Highway 2.
July 6, 2005 - A group of more than 6-thousand Hmong people in Thailand is reportedly without food or shelter today after the Thai government forced them from temporary homes. The group had apparently built shelters on the land of sympathetic landowners in Thailand's remote Phetchabun (PET-cha-bahn) province. The government says they are illegal immigrants from neighboring Laos and is trying to force them to return to that country. The displaced Hmong are appealing to the United Nations for Help. Joung-Ah Ghadini (Jong-ah Gah-DEE-nee, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees says her organization is trying to gain access to the group of 6,000 Hmong.
July 9, 2005 - Minnesota state workers are back on the job this morning after Governor Pawlenty and legislative leaders have reached an agreement that ends the state's first ever partial government shutdown. Earlier this morning, Pawlenty and legislative leaders agreed on an overall budget. Pawlenty also signed a temporary "lights on bill" into law after the House and Senate quickly passed the measure. The law allows furloughed state workers to go back to work while lawmakers iron out the final details in the tax and spending bills. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
July 11, 2005 - A spokesman for the president of the Somali interim government has told Minnesota Public Radio the government will NOT accept Keyse Jama or thousands of other Somalis on the U.S. deportation list. Immigration wants to deport Jama for committing a third degree assault in Waseca more than four years ago. In January, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled immigration could deport Jama to Somalia even if no official there would accept him.
July 15, 2005 - Mainstreet Radio’s Dan Gunderson reports that many farmers in northwest Minnesota aren't sure how much longer they can hang on after several years of crop failure. Minnesota Farm Service Agency officials are adding up the damage from wet fields in northern and western Minnesota. A report will go to Governor Pawlenty in preparation for seeking a federal disaster declaration.
July 17, 2005 - Minnesota Somali Keyse (KAY'-zee) Jama (JAH'-muh) walked out of the Washington County jail Saturday a free man. Jama, who's been locked up since 1998, spent most of his time in custody not because of his crime but because he's awaiting deportation. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports:
July 18, 2005 - Governor Pawlenty says he's willing to consider legislation that would prevent another government shutdown. Minnesota was not alone in failing to make a July first budget deadline. But other states that went into overtime have a safety net that keeps government from shutting down, even if the lawmakers can't get their work done on time. That safety net is starting to look good to the governor and some Minnesota legislators. Minnesota Public Radio's Annie Baxter has more.{