Climate change, industry, parks, air and water quality are issues that are debated in congress, compete for funding and enpassion many Minnesotans.
August 21, 2003 - The power blackout a week ago in New York and other eastern cities left most of us feeling lucky to have our lights on. But there's that nagging question about whether such a thing could happen here. Several new tranmission lines are proposed for Minnesota and Wisconsin. Power companies say the new lines would help prevent regional breakdowns. But critics say it would be better to build small, local generators. Mainstreet Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports. Once upon a time, every region of the country had its own power company. The local utility generated the electricity, and transmitted it from the power plant to its customers.
August 27, 2003 - The sport known as Geocashing combines high tech gadgetry with the ancient lure of treasure hunting. Geocachers use hand held global positioning satellites, or GPS units, to search for token objects ---toys and other small trinkets --- hidden by other geocachers. In this week's edition of our series, The Enthusiasts, Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure goes geocaching with Pam Combs, a board member of the fast growing Minnesota Geocaching Association, and Pam's husband, Dave Combs.
September 1, 2003 - As summer comes to an end, anglers in Minnesota have plenty of tales about the fish they caught. They probably have many more about the ones they didn't. But for some the memories are not hooking a fish, but how they hooked themselves. Most times getting stuck with a fish hook is a minor nuisance, but it CAN mean a trip to the emergency room. People in Alexandria's ER have a creative way to keep track of fish hook incidents. Mainstreet Radio's Tim Post has more in this story.
September 5, 2003 - Duluth is home to three growing colleges and universities. More than 10,000 students move to the city every year. And less than half of them live on campus. The rest crowd into residential neighborhoods across the city. That's made for some bad feelings. As Mainstreet Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports, the traditional "town and gown" friction is more complicated than usual in Duluth.
September 9, 2003 - Today's (Tuesday) rain was a relief to many in Sioux (SOO) Falls. For a few hours in the middle of the day, the skies turned grey and the smell of rain caught everyone's attention. Sioux (SOO) Falls is four and a half inches behind normal rainfall amounts for the summer. But today's precipitation may not be enough to lift lawn watering restriction. That's because the city's main source for drinking water is drying up. Mainstreet Radio's Cara (CARE-uh) Hetland (HET land) reports:
September 11, 2003 - The U.S. Agriculture Department confirmed today what Minnesota farmers already know: drought has damaged their crops. The USDA's latest estimate describes a shrinking soybean crop and smaller corn yields compared to what was expected in August. But even with the gloomy numbers, there was good news this week for some livestock farmers. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports.
September 11, 2003 - In a report released this morning, the U-S Agriculture Department is cutting its estimates for the soybean crop by eight percent from last month's projection because of the drought in the Midwest. The projection for the corn harvest has dropped by one percent. Joining us now is Michael Hunst, Minnesota's agricultural statistician. That is Michael Hunst, Minnesota's agricultural statistician.
September 12, 2003 - A dry spell lead people to hope that the dormant mosquito eggs were killed off, but that's not the case. Jim Stark, with the Mosquito Control District talks more on the mosquito hatch and potentials for West Nile Virus.
September 25, 2003 - A divided Minnesota Supreme Court ruled game wardens may inspect fishing boats without probable cause that an angler is violating fishing regulations. However, a dissenting justice said the ruling opens the door for warrantless searches by any police officer on the mere suspicion that the individual is, has, or will hunt or fish. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports:
September 26, 2003 - With just four days left in September, how can we characterize the month's weather Most places have reported warmer than normal conditions, with average monthly temperatures from 1 to 3 degrees greater than the historical average. The highest temperature in the state was 97 degrees F at Browns Valley on the 6th, while the lowest was 27 degrees F at Embarrass on the 16th. However it appears even colder air may affect the state on the 29th and 30th.