August 10, 2001 -
August 10, 2001 - Allina Health System has named a new board of directors for its hospitals and clinics. The move means the group's 17 hospitals and 47 clinics are now legally separate from its HMO, Medica. The shakeup follows months of pressure from Attorney General Mike Hatch, who has alleged Allina executives mis-spent millions of dollars on excessive consulting fees, administrative expenses, and executive perks. Hatch says he's winding up his audit of the big health group, and will make the report public by Labor Day. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
August 13, 2001 - Researchers from the University of Minnesota and the National Cancer Institute are analyzing data from a four-year study on how easy it was for minors to buy tobacco in rural communities. They sent fifteen, teenage girls from the metro area to small towns across the state to test the effectiveness of local anti-tobacco ordinances. While final compliance numbers are not available yet, 16-year-old study participant Danielle Eastberg says in a number of cases, she was able to purchase cigarettes.
August 13, 2001 - Somewhere in South Dakota today eight teenagers will light a cigarette for the first time and three adults will die from a smoking related illness. A recent Surgeon General's report shows South Dakota leads the nation with the highest rate of female teenage smokers. Anti-smoking advocates say the ranking shows the state is behind in anti-smoking campaigns and programs - but teenagers say those programs wouldn't prevent them from lighting up. Mainstreet Radio's Cara Hetland reports:
August 15, 2001 - Minnesota's two largest food banks have announced they will merge at the beginning of October. Second Harvest Greater Minneapolis will combine with Second Harvest St. Paul to create a new organization that will be able to provide an extra 5-million pounds of food annually. Dick Goebel has been the executive director of Second Harvest St. Paul for nearly 20 years. that's Dick Goebel who is retiring after 20 years with the Second Harvest Food Shelf of St. Paul.
August 16, 2001 - There's one Minnesota politician who's attracted more media coverage than Governor Ventura this summer - Attorney General Mike Hatch. Hatch has been in the news recently for his investigation of Allina Health System, and throughout his term, has gotten attention for focusing on health care, privacy and consumer issues. Political observers say Hatch would be smart to seek a second term next year, although the Democrat has long sought the office across the hall - the one occupied by Jesse Ventura. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports...
August 21, 2001 -
August 22, 2001 - E-P-A officials are outlining a plan to clean-up asbestos-contaminated property in Northeast Minneapolis at a neighborhood meeting tonight. The contamination was caused by asbestos fibers in vermiculite ore. The E-P-A expects to spend more than one-million dollars to complete the clean-up. The agency hasn't set a deadline for homeowners to request an assesment of their property... But neighborhood activist Kevin Reich is worried E-P-A officials will leave before all of the affected residents have had a chance to come forward:
August 23, 2001 - The Minnesota Zoo has closed down its popular sheep and goat barn because of a contagious virus. The virus, sometimes called orf, causes pimples, blisters and scabs- much like chicken pox- primarily around an animals mouth and eyes. Jim Rasmussen is the Zoo Veterinarian. I asked him how the sheep contracted the virus:
August 23, 2001 - A study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine shows intra-uterine birth control devices are much safer than previously thought. In the 1980's, a Minnesota law firm led a legal battle against the makers of an I-U-D called the Dalkon Shield... which caused pelvic infections that made many women sterile. The Dalkon shield was taken off the market in the early 1980's...and I-U-D use plummeted in the United States. David Hubacher is an epidemiologist at Family Health International and lead author of the study. He says his research on women in Mexico-- where modern I-U-D's are popular-- shows the devices don't pose an increase risk of infection: