October 15, 2003 - The University of Minnesota this week is marking the 25th anniversary of its first human heart transplant. A number of people who have received new hearts at the hands of university surgeons will gather to mark the anniversary,including the university's longest-surviving heart transplant recipient. The first human heart transplant was done in South Africa in 1967. Since the U of M began doing the procedure 11 years after that, university surgeons have performed almost 500 heart transplants, including 28 so far this year. The recipients have ranged from 6 months to 70 years old. Dr. Leslie Miller is the director of the University's heart transplant program. He joins us now.
October 15, 2003 - Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich brought his presidential campaign kick-off tour to Minneapolis last night. About two-thousand supporters gathered at Roosevelt High School, one of 12 stops Kucinich scheduled over three days. Kucinich supporters say their candidate is the only presidential contender who truly represents a change from George W. Bush. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.
October 16, 2003 - Governor Pawlenty announced a plan today that would make it easier for Minnesotans to buy lower priced prescription drugs from Canada. Pawlenty wants the state to create a website that lists Canadian pharmacies that meet state standards for safety. He's also asking state officials to look at importing foreign-made, government-approved drugs for Minnesotans. Critics say the plan isn't safe for consumers and could endanger the economic health of pharmacies across Minnesota. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports.
October 21, 2003 - Nearly two-thousand University of Minnesota clerical workers are walking the picket lines at this hour. Marisa Helms reports.
October 21, 2003 - The University of Minnesota's clerical union is on strike today. Marisa Helms has followed the negotiations. She has spent much of the day at the Twin Cities campus of the U of M, where news conferences by the union and university administrators have just wrapped up. She joins us now.
October 22, 2003 - Members of the University of Minnesota's clerical union are off the job and on the picket lines again this morning. Marisa Helms reports.
October 23, 2003 - A lawsuit over supplying anti-rejection drugs to an illegal immigrant may be close to resolution. The suit involves a 16-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico who under went a kidney transplant at the Mayo Clinic earlier this year. At the time the cost of the transplant was covered by the state. So was aftercare. But since then Minnesota law has changed. And expensive drugs the young man needs are no longer covered. Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally reports.
October 23, 2003 - The third day of the strike by University of Minnesota clerical workers passed with no sign of movement from either side to break the impasse. No talks have been scheduled since the negotiations broke off Monday evening. Since the strike began the two sides have disagreed about how many workers have taken to the picket lines. The university says nearly sixty percent of the 19-hundred workers covered by the clerical contract have shown up for work. Union leaders say the number is half that. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa reports.
October 24, 2003 - Minnesota Health Department officials say there's plenty of vaccine to go around this influenza season. But having flu vaccine available and preventing the spread of the flu are two different things. Many people still need convincing to undergo innoculation. Dr. Jon Hallberg is the medical director of the University of Minnesota Primary Care Center and our regular medical analyst. He says the flu virus kills nearly 36,000 Americans each year and infects up to 20 percent of the US population.
October 24, 2003 -