April 4, 2001 - Advocates pitched state lawmakers yesterday on the notion of at least considering legalizing marijuana for medical use. They told members of the Senate Transportation and Public Safety Budget Division the illegal drug has beneficial uses to treat certain illnesses. They want the state to spend 100 thousand dollars to conduct further research on the drug. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
April 4, 2001 - Here in Minnesota, a new non-profit is helping foreign doctors learn new techniques to treat people with HIV. This year, PlanetAide is sponsoring four doctors from Ecuador who have been meeting with Minnesota AIDS specialists, talking to people who are HIV-positive and gathering information to use in their own clinics. Dr. Lilly Marquez, an Ob-Gyn from Guayaquil, (Gway-ah-keel) Ecaudor has been in Minneapolis since late January. She says there are very few AIDS drugs in Ecuador.
April 6, 2001 - The Minnesota Partnership for Action Against Tobacco is kicking off a 5 and a half million dollar advertising campaign to raise public awareness about the dangers of secondhand smoke. The organization says most Americans don't know that secondhand smoke has severe health effects for non-smokers. Anti-tobacco activists say this type of advertising discourages people from smoking. But even the Minnesota group gears up its latest effort, House Republicans are eyeing another pot of anti-smoking money they say could be better spent elsewhere. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
April 6, 2001 -
April 11, 2001 - Democrats in the Minnesota Senate say they want to spend about 600-million dollars more than Governor Ventura's budget on education, transportation and health care, and about 400-million dollars more than House Republicans. Senate D-F-L'ers revealed their spending priorities today WEDNESDAY, setting the stage for the end-of-session negotiations between the three players in Minnesota's tripartisan government. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports...
April 12, 2001 - The State Supreme Court is forcing Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota to reconsider its plans for a massive anti-smoking campaign. The insurer proposed the campaign to spend down a surplus it ran up because of its 1998 settlement with the tobacco industry. The court didn't rule on the merits of the plan itself, but said the commerce commissioner had the authority to reject it. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports:
April 13, 2001 - Many Granite Falls residents will take time off from the sandbag lines this weekend to celebrate the Easter holiday. Bruce Kenzel is the Pastor of Granite Falls Lutheran Church. He says his congregation will be ready for the break after a long bittersweet week:
April 19, 2001 - Minnesota's American Indian tribes have won a 200-thousand-dollar award for promoting preventive health for the elderly. The University of Pennsylvania's Institute on Aging recognized the state's eleven tribal communities along with the Minnesota Board on Aging for developing the Wisdom Steps program which provides education and healthy-living activities. Minnesota was one of three recipients this year of the university's SHARE award. Mary Snobl, an Indian elder specialist with the Minnesota Board on Aging says it's important that her community focus on healthy practices because on average, American Indians live 8 to 10 years less than many Americans.
April 19, 2001 - At a conference of social workers, judges and attorneys, the Chief Justice of Minnesota's Supreme Court posed this provacative question: Is it possible the child protection system itself represents a form of child abuse and neglect? Justice Kathleen Blatz cited research that shows 80 percent of Minnesota's prison inmates had some contact with the child protection system and she announced a plan to rethink how the system protects children. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports.
April 25, 2001 - As soon as the Mississippi River reopens to barge travel, rafts of corn kernels will head down river en route to their final destination -- Southeast Asia. Along the way kernels will be tested and retested for traces of Starlink, a genetically modified corn now banned around the world. Last fall Starlink turned up in taco shells and corn chips, prompting mass recalls and a shake up on the export market. The corn's manufacturer continues to push for full governmental approval which would allow for human consumption, but with the spring thaw, Midwestern grain elevators and their customers are preparing for round two. Mainstreet Radio's Erin Galbally reports: