October 30, 2001 - A new company will bring high-tech science to Sioux Falls. Hematech labs will produce antibodies in cattle aimed at fighting human illnesses. The Connecticut company will employ 20 scientists and technicians beginning early next year. There could be as many as 4-hundred employees within a few years. Mainstreet Radio's Cara Hetland reports:
October 30, 2001 - Anthrax and postal workers.
October 30, 2001 - MPR's Tom Scheck reports that the chairman of the state Senate Finance Committee is calling on state agencies to get tougher with the state's health care providers. The committee held a hearing on Attorney General Mike Hatch's audit of Allina Health Systems.
November 2, 2001 - Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, gives an update on the anthrax threat in the United States.
November 8, 2001 - MPR's Andrew Haeg reports that Minnesotans continue to ponder life without the Minnesota Twins. The team is a prime candidate for elimination if Major League Baseball carries through its intended plan to contract the league. If the Twins are shut down, businesses will lose customers….and local community organizations will lose an important benefactor.
November 8, 2001 - Blue Cross Blue Shield outlined a new plan for its tobacco settlement proceeds which includes 60-million dollars in subscriber rebates. The idea of refunds has been a point of contention for State regulators, who rejected an earlier Blue Cross plan that earmarked the money for anti-smoking and heart health programs. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports:
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: