January 9, 1998 - As the annual flood of tax mailings enters the mailstream...state education officials are spreading the word about the state's new tax credit and deduction law. The new law allows low income families to take a dollar-for-dollar credit for educational expences incurred this year...and increases the deductions available for all families. They'll actually see the money in next year's tax refunds...but education choice advocates who helped pass the controversial law say they now want to make sure people are using it now. Businesses providing some of the services eligible for the tax breaks are also gearing up for the law's potential impact.
January 11, 1998 - Twenty mushers expect a good trail and cold temperatures today as the 15th annual John Beargrease Sled Dog Race gets underway at 1:00. A snowfall of 4 to 6 inches on Friday was too little too late for race officials. A lack of snow earlier forced race officials to move the start and finish of the race north to Grand Portage. Officials also shortened the course by about 200 miles. Vicki Trauba is the Executive Director of the Race.
January 12, 1998 - The president of the state Board of Education concedes there's little hope of saving the controversial diversity rule for Minnesota schools. Board members are expected to kill the rule at a meeting today. The proposed rule aims to improve test scores of minority students in schools where they've fallen behind their white classmates. But opponents say the rule tries to do too much and would impose cumbersome mandates on schools. Governor Carlson opposes the rule, and his recent appointment of three new board members appears to ensure its death.
January 13, 1998 - Jamie Nelson of Togo, Minnesota, won her fourth John Beargrease Sled Dog Race today. The defending champion crossed the finish line in Grand Portage at 10:25 this morning. This year's race was just a bit more than half the usual distance. Lack of snow forced organizers to move the race from Duluth to Grand Portage, and shorten the route. Nelson says mushers and dogs still fought hard to cross the two-hundred and sixty two miles to the finish line.
January 13, 1998 - At first blush, a plan to take a century-old theater in downtown Minneapolis ... put it on a giant truck and move it three blocks down Hennepin Avenue, sounds a little crazy. But the group that is pushing the plan has a knack for the gargantuan. Artspace Projects which already operates the Hennepin Center for the Arts wants to save the historic theater from demolition and provide the city with a new performance space. Whether that makes financial sense is still a question. But as Mary Stucky reports, Artspace has acheived the near impossible before.
January 13, 1998 - President Clinton has announced plans to spend nearly 30-million dollars on training more computer programmers. According to a study conducted by Virginia Tech, one out of every 10 technology jobs in the United States is left unfilled. The President's plan comes as welcome news to many Minnesota employers who have been scrambling to find enough computer-literate employees.
January 14, 1998 - MPR’s Leif Enger reports on cold weather tourism on the Gun Flint Trail, and the debates of what exactly that should be. Report includes various interviews and commentary.
January 14, 1998 - State legislators are considering ways to even the spread of funding available to school districts. Officials in suburban and rural districts with low property values say they're falling further behind the property-rich districts. Some lawmakers and educators say the state's budget surplus makes this a good year to try to fix the problem.
January 16, 1998 - Music, English, Drama and Religion scholars will gather at Stanford University to deconstruct the work of one of Minnesota's most famous sons, Bob Dylan. The conference is billed as "The First U.S. Bob Dylan Conference" and will focus on Dylan's art and cultural legacy. MPR’s Lorna Benson interviews Tino Markworth, organizer of conference.
January 16, 1998 - Half-way into the school year, teachers in almost two-thirds of Minnesota's school districts are working without a new contract. Part of the reason is the one-time removal of a state-mandated contract deadline. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports teachers are increasingly concerned about the slow pace of this years contract negotiations.