Climate change, industry, parks, air and water quality are issues that are debated in congress, compete for funding and enpassion many Minnesotans.
September 1, 2000 - weather insights from Professor Seeley.
September 4, 2000 - As of Sunday, attendance was up by about 50,000 people over last year and organizers say the great Minnesota get-together has gone smoothly. In a festival that celebrates sameness and tradition, fairgoers gave thumbs up to some of this year's new, adventurous culinary offerings. Meanwhile, some merchants blamed this year's cool weather for throwing off sales of thirst-quenching treats. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil has this report.
September 6, 2000 - The Nature Conservancy of Minnesota has nearly doubled its holdings with the purchase of 25,000 acres in Northern Minnesota. While it is now prairie, gravel and wetlands, the conservation group's new land once was completely underwater, part of the Lake Aggasiz lakebed. Aggasiz was huge, three times the size of Lake Superior. It covered parts of what is now Minnesota, the Dakotas and Canada. When it drained, the Aggasiz shoreline became wetlands and prairies. "Glacial Ridge," as the Nature Conservancy is calling its new purchase, was part of that former shoreline. Rob McKim, the State Director of the Minnesota Nature Conservancy, says that the area is important because it connects other wildlife management areas, and because Aggasiz left behind a unique topography.
September 11, 2000 - Two Republicans are vying for the chance to take on Democratic Congressman Jim Oberstar in Minnesota's 8th district, stretching from the Iron Range down to the northern Twin Cities suburbs. Oberstar has held the seat for 26 years. But so far, much of the Republican attempt to unseat him has centered more on an internal dispute on who should control the party. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports. { The dispute boils down to this. Bob Lemen, a Grand Rapids computer consultant, has the GOP party endorsement. Warren Nelson, an engineering consultant from Chisago County, says the endorsement should have gone to his friend Mike Darling. Darling's candidacy did get a vote of support, but party leaders say it happened at a meeting which was not meant to endorse anyone. Darling is now running as an independent.
September 15, 2000 - Mark Seeley's weather commentary
September 21, 2000 - Local governments in the Minnesota's seven-county metro region have worked together for years to plan for growth and coordinate transportation and other services. Now more and more communities in the rest of minnesota are dealing with issues that call for regional cooperation, but many local politicians are suspicious. A state law requiring regional cooperation in planning efforts is subject to a sunset clause, and will go off the books next summer. Planners are gathering in Duluth today to discuss regional issues and one of the items on the agenda is the effort to save the concept if not the law itself. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports. { The 1995 Community-Based Planning law set aside money for pilot regional planning efforts, primarly along the booming Twin Cities-St. Cloud corridor. Minnesota Planning's Steve Reckers says the law's chief benefit was it's requirement that local governments work together to deal with growth.
September 27, 2000 - I'm Art Hughes in Rochester. While the DM&E project raises significant questions for communities all along the route, Rochester has consistently been the epicenter of opposition. Most cities---large and small---along the tracks have signed agreements with the railroad. But Rochester has steadfastly refused to comprimise.
September 28, 2000 - The Boy Scouts recieved bad news from 2 places today: Medtronic decided to exclude the group from its United Way donation this year and the United Way of Duluth voted to pull its funding of the Voyaguers Area Council of the Scouts. This is the first United Way in Minnesota to decide against funding the group because of the recent Supreme Court ruling that the Boy Scouts can exclude homosexuals. Roger Engle is the Volunteer President of the Voyaguers Area Boy Scout Council He says he was dissapointed when he heard the decision:
October 6, 2000 - People attending a memorial service in Duluth today will celebrate the life of a lost friend, but they are also hoping her story will raise awareness of a health crisis in America. At the age of 27 Heather Henderson had been a writer and a magazine editor. She'd dedicated the last few years to combating dangerous images of women in the media. She was spurred in part by her personal decade long battle with anorexia and bulimia, a battle she lost last week. Stephanie Hemphill reports .
October 10, 2000 - Taconite mining creates a lot of waste rock. After thirty years of dumping the rock, or tailings as the miners call it, the Evtac facility near Eveleth has just about filled its dump. Now the company faces a new challenge: return the rock pile to a natural looking landscape. Evtac has been looking at a number of options, and as Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports, the hot favorite appears to be what the experts call bio-solids, and the rest of us call sewage sludge. Turning iron ore into taconite creates twice as much waste rock as taconite. Since the Evtac mine opened over 30 years ago, waste rock has been piled in one place. The pile is now a mountain a mile long, a mile wide and 150 feet high. It looks like a lunar landscape, and it's virtually sterile.