November 19, 2001 - Thirty years ago the fight to improve the lives of the nation's children looked much as it does today, according to child welfare advocates. Former Vice-President Walter Mondale and a panel of experts reflected on the failed Child and Family Services Act of 1971.
November 19, 2001 - Three unexplained deaths have prompted the Minnesota Health Department to ask all hospitals in the state to suspend elective knee surgery. Three men died earlier this month of septic shock within days of undergoing the same type of knee surgery. Two of the men had surgery at St. Cloud Hospital, and the third at a hospital 70 miles away in Alexandria. The Health Department is asking the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta to assist in the invesitgation. State epidemiologist Doctor Harry Hull says the case is unprecedented:
November 20, 2001 - About 65 million Americans have sought health information online, but a new survey finds that their activity is not hidden from information privacy acts.
November 21, 2001 - Minnesota's oldest regional development commission has run out of money and is fighting for its life. A failed tourism center in Worthington is the problem. Officials with the Southwest Regional Development Commission hope its members, nine area counties, will bail out the organization. But its been a tough sell. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports:
November 22, 2001 - The cast of Mamma Mia serves turkey to the homeless on Thanksgiving.
November 26, 2001 - The Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging states to adopt new quarantine laws to prepare for bioterrorism. Legal experts say if there were an outbreak of smallpox or some other highly contagious disease, the legal authority to act would fall to states, NOT the federal government. The CDC has floated a model state law calling for strict quarantines and compulsory vaccinations. So far, at least seven states including Minnesota are considering measures based on the CDC model. Minnesota's proposed legislation would give state health authorities powers greater than any they've used in the past, even during historic outbreaks of smallpox. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.
November 27, 2001 - Some of the state's leading experts on business, safety and health gathered at the University of Minnesota today (Tuesday) to discuss the lingering effects of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The forum was organized by Minnesota congressmen Martin Sabo and James Oberstar. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.
November 28, 2001 - Human cloning and stem cell research have become hot topics of debate again this week after a company announced that it was the first to clone human embryos. Advanced Cell Technology says they have taken human eggs, and combined them with cells from adults, and turned them into embryos. Lori Andrews is an author and medical ethicist at Chicago-Kent College of Law. She will deliver a speech today entitled "Embryo Stem Cell Policy, the Intersection of Values, Science and Law" at the University of Minnesota Law School later today. Professor Andrews joins us on the line now. That's Lori Andrews who will speak today at 11:30 at the University of Minnesota Law School.
November 28, 2001 - Minnesotans are amoung the most prolific inventors in the country. A review of filings with the U-S Patent and Trademark office from 1990 to 1999 ranked Rochester 3rd and the Twin Cities 10th in number of patents for every 100-thousand residents. Minnesota was the only state to place two metro areas in the top ten. The review was conducted by an online newsletter called Demographics Daily. Mike Moore is the director of health technologies at the University of Minnesota. He says both the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota have large research budgets that drive innovation:
November 29, 2001 - Student union leaders at the University of Minnesota could decide tonight whether to ban the sale of tobacco products on the Twin Cities campus. The products are currently sold at three stores on campus, and the student unions get some of the profits. Two committees at the University's Boynton Health Service passed resolutions last spring requesting a ban. School health officials say campus surveys show a 60% increase in tobacco use since 1992 by students 18-24 years old. Kristen Moore is the president of the Twin Cities Student Unions' Board of Governors, the group which could decide at a meeting tonight whether or not to continue selling the products. That's Kristen Moore, the president of the Twin Cities Student Unions' Board of Governors.