June 20, 2003 - President Bush traveled to Minnesota yesterday THURSDAY to highlight the tax cuts he recently signed into law. The president spoke to about two-thousand people at an electronics manufacturing firm in Fridley. He says the tax relief package will help Micro Control Company and other small businesses create jobs. Economic issues could be crucial in the president's re-election bid. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports...
June 25, 2003 - The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's Citizen's Board gave the go-ahead to Rochester Public Utilities on its plan to increase its coal consumption by 55 percent. The decision makes it the first time in ten years that the MPCA has allowed a power plant to INCREASE its burning of coal. Minnesota Public Radio's Rob Schmitz has this report. {Rochester Public Utilities, or RPU, will increase its coal consumption by up to 73,000 tons per year. It will produce steam to power new buildings at the Mayo Clinic. The nine-member MPCA Citizen's Board listened to five hours of what was mostly intense criticism of the plan before unanimously voting for it. The board did write an amendment to the permit requiring RPU to complete what the board called an 'economic analysis' and a 'feasibility study' on developing cleaner burning technology. RPU will have to present the study to the MPCA in November. Norm Erickson represents the Rochester Energy Futures Coalition, the main opposition to RPU's plans. He says he's satisfied by the amendment, but he's worried it won't be enough.
June 26, 2003 - South Dakota lawmakers head into a special legislative session today. There's only one item on the agenda - that's to create a health care risk pool for people who cannot get health insurance. About a thousand people in South Dakota are unable to get insurance. Their poor health is only part of the problem. More and more insurance companies are pulling out of South Dakota refusing to insure anyone. Mainstreet Radio's Cara Hetland has the story.
July 1, 2003 -
July 8, 2003 - Fridley-based Medtronic announced it has received the FDA's blessing to market what it calls an "intelligent" insulin pump and glucose monitoring system. The new system combines a Medtronic MiniMed insulin pump with a glucose monitor from Becton Dickinson to check blood sugar, calculate the insulin needed and signal an implanted pump to send the right dose. Jeff McCaulley is Vice President and General Manager of Medtronic's Mini-Med division. He says the new device could transform the lives of the estimated four million diabetics who depend on insulin to regulate their blood sugar.
July 8, 2003 - The closing of the Minneapolis Shriner's Hospital will be put off for at least another year. Last fall, the Shriners' national board of governors recommended closing the children's hospital. But on Monday, Shriners attending the annual convention held in Minneapolis rejected the proposal. Instead, they voted to accept a plan that seeks alternatives to closing the hospital. Minnesota Public Radio's Brandt Williams reports
July 15, 2003 - Several Minnesota business leaders told a top U.S. trade official yesterday Mon that they could use more help from Washington. U.S. Undersecretary for International Trade, Grant Aldonas, is touring the country to hear from American manufacturers. In Minnesota, many believe the present and future of manufacturing are tied to medical devices and biotechnology. But six leaders in the field told Aldonas the government is not always giving them the support they need. Minnesota Public Radio's Jeff Horwich reports.
July 16, 2003 - Four undocumented immigrants may be denied kidney transplants by Hennepin County Medical Center because they don't have the money to pay for the operations. The state Human Services department estimates that over 21-hundred immigrants are losing General Assistance Medical Care because of stricter eligibility requirements regarding legal immigrant status. Dr. Steve Miles is a professor with the Center for Bioethics in the University of Minnesota's Department of Medicine. He says the fact the patients are illegal immigrants should have no bearing on their ability to receive healthcare.
July 17, 2003 -
July 22, 2003 - Golfers fear it, and experts say it can add five strokes to a players game. We're talking about the "yips." As Mainstreet Radio's Rob Schmitz reports, Rochester's Mayo Clinic is trying to find the cause. For many golfers it's an everyday nightmare. You're on the green of the tenth hole and you're shooting for a birdie. All you have to do is sink a simple, two-foot putt. The last thing that goes through your mind is: "Anyone can make this putt." But you don't. You either freeze up and barely hit the ball, or your wrist makes a jerking motion that sends the ball sailing past the hole. You probably should've taken a gimmee, but you've just yipped it. And golfer Alan Ferguson knows exactly how you feel.