Climate change, industry, parks, air and water quality are issues that are debated in congress, compete for funding and enpassion many Minnesotans.
August 11, 2003 - A team of paleontologists and geologists have just begun a dig in an area of Montana that hasn't been excavated in at least 100 years. Kristi Curry Rogers, the curator of paleontology at the Science Museum of Minnesota, is part of the group. Earlier this year she helped to uncover evidence of cannibalism among dinosaurs. For the past week, Curry Rogers has excavated in a remote area of Montana known as the Missouri Breaks National Monument area. Curry Rogers says site has potential to be a very useful and important area for paleontology.
August 12, 2003 - A new round of soil testing is underway at the St. Regis Superfund site on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation. The former St. Regis wood treatment plant operated near downtown Cass Lake for about 30 years. The plant left behind cancer-causing chemicals in the soil and water. The federal government has been working to clean up the mess since the mid-1980s. But the site is still contaminated and poses a health risk to people living there. Mainstreet Radio's Tom Robertson reports...
August 13, 2003 - Elk farmers in Minnesota are facing tough times. The fear of Chronic Wasting Disease has cut into the market for elk meat. For some farmers new regulations to limit the spread of the disease prevents them from selling their animals at all. One central Minnesota elk farmer says he's found a way to make money in the struggling industry. But state officials say the farmer's approach is illegal and inhumane. Mainstreet Radio's Tim Post reports.
August 13, 2003 - Some areas in southern Minnesota are experiencing drought-like conditions, and farmers are beginning to worry about their crops. Weather patterns have left the south-western part of the state especially dry. Joining us on the line is Jeff Strock, a soil scientist with the University of Minnesota's Southwest Research and Outreach Center in Lamberton, Minnesota.
August 14, 2003 - For the last three days Missouri River levels have decreased by as much as a foot and a half. In July a federal judge ordered the change in level for the river in Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri. The Army Corps of Engineers complied with the order just this week. Environmentalists call it a victory for endangered species. Mainstreet Radio's Cara Hetland reports:
August 15, 2003 - People in northern Minnesota are gearing up to fight alien invaders. Plants that don't belong in Minnesota's forests are creeping in. This weekend, about a dozen people will spend a day learning about non-native invasive plants. The U.S. Forest Service is hoping to create a small army of amateurs to help them keep the weeds under control. Mainstreet Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports. {
August 18, 2003 - MPR’s Jayne Solinger talks with Tom Brown, with the U-S Coast Guard in Duluth, about high waves that caused unusually strong currents in Lake Superior. The dangerous conditions prompted the closing of beaches in Minnesota and Wisconsin for the day.
August 19, 2003 - Pollution experts are unsure about the sources of fecal bacteria that's closed several Lake Superior beaches this summer. Geese, seagulls and municipal sewers are all likely suspects. But some people wonder whether people play a more direct role. They say a shortage of restrooms near some popular Duluth beaches forces visitors to go where ever they can. Mainstreet Radio's Bob Kelleher reports.
August 20, 2003 - Several areas of Minnesota finally got a much-desired sprinkle of rain over the past twenty-four hours. Rainfall last night ranged from 1-point-4 inches in Windom to point-3 inches in Minneapolis. But don't put away the hose just yet. Pete Boulay is an assistant state climatologist. He says a short rainfall is not nearly enough to reverse effects of the long dry spell statewide.
August 21, 2003 - A live broadcast from the Minnesota State Fair. Gary talks with meteorologist and climatologist Mark Seeley about Minnesota weather phenomena. Seeley also presents the answers to his weather quiz.