March 24, 1997 - DFL-ers in the Minnesota legislature have released their spending priorities for the biennium. It's the blueprint members of the DFL caucus will work from as they try to move ahead this session with decisions on how to fund legislation. But As Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports...the difference between THEIR plan and what the GOVERNOR wants to spend is about 350-million dollars...and it sets the scene for what could be a showdown in the remaining weeks of the session: The DEMOCRATS want to spend MORE. More on just about everything than what the Governor outlined in HIS 20-point-three billion dollar budget for the biennium. Two MAJOR differences are, the Democrats want to
March 24, 1997 - Legislation to have the state subsidize a new Minnesota Twins stadium made some progress at the Legislature, despite lawmakers' misgivings. MPR's Martin Kaste reports that the fate of the Twins Stadium bill had fallen into the hands of the members of the Senate Local and Metropolitan Government Committee…and they were none too happy about it.
March 24, 1997 - The Minnesota Gopher mens basketball team makes its first ever appearance in the NCAA Final Four Saturday. Minnesota plays Kentucky in the semi-final game. The Gophers' electrifying play through the initial rounds of the tournament has been matched only by the enthusiasm of fans who have followed them hundreds of miles to watch them. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Wareham has a report.
March 24, 1997 - MPR’s Karen Louise Boothe reports that hundreds of people rallied at the State Capitol on behalf of a bill that would restore the cuts in benefits to legal immigrants in the new federal welfare reform law.
March 25, 1997 - With the Minnesota Gophers Basketball team appearance in 1997 NCAA Tournament’s Final Four, Midday discusses intercollegiate athletics and Gopher teams with guest Mark Dienhart, University of Minnesota Men's Athletic Director. Program also includes listeners call-in questions.
March 26, 1997 - Midday discusses the U. S. economy with author and well-known economist Lester Thurow, a professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Topics include interest rates, inflation, stock market, health care, labor market, and monetary policy. Thurow also answers listener call-in questions.
March 26, 1997 - With all the predictions of severe flooding this spring, some Minnesotans are considering taking rather extraordinary precautions, such as flooding their basements themselves before murky flood waters can penetrate them. In the southwestern Minnesota town of Dawson, the local fire department has told residents it will fill their basements with clean water when flood waters begin to rise. The idea is to equalize pressure inside the home to protect foundations from crumbling and prevent the muck from gathering in the basement. We contacted Duane Hoeschen (Hession), regional coordinator in Mankato of the department of public safety's division of emergency management, to find out what he thought of the strategy and to explain it in a little more detail. Duane Hoeschen, regional coordinator of the state's divisio
March 26, 1997 - A new study shows a 25 percent drop in the rate at which mercury is accumulating in Minnesota lakes. The decline comes despite the fact that mercury contamination levels worldwide continue to climb. Like acid rain, mercury pollution is hard to fight, since it can spread thousands of miles from its source. The study, published in the April issue of Environmental Science and Technology, offers some of the first evidence that local cutbacks in mercury emissions are paying off close to home. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.
March 26, 1997 - A key Minnesota house committee today approved legislation that would require snowmobile owners to have liability insurance on their snowmobiles. This bill is one of many this year fueled by the 32 snowmobile related deaths this year in Minnesota. The House Financial institutions and Insurance Committee passed the requirement after hearing tearful pleas from the mothers of two children killed by snowmobilers this year. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin has more.
March 26, 1997 - Today is crunch time at the state capitol, as lawmakers rush to get their pet bills past the first major deadline of the legislative session. One of the bills that didn't make it was the "right-to-carry" bill, legislation that would have made it easier for law-abiding Minnesotans to carry concealed handguns. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.