April 24, 1997 - State lawmakers have yet to approve a new stadium for the Minnesota Twins...but Minneapolis business leaders have already begun the push for ballpark-related development. The Minneapolis Downtown Council announced today it will form a task force to come up with ideas for stimulating development around a stadium. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Wareham reports: When the Metrodome was on the drawing boards in the 70's...many assumed it would act as something of a development magnet...attracting entrepreneurs eager to capitalize on the millions of people who would visit the facility each year. But 15 years after opening...there's little to distract a fan on his
April 24, 1997 - The National Weather Service is taking some heat over its failed Red River crest prediction. Minnesota Public Radio's Lorna Benson reports: The Mayor of East Grand Forks is blaming the National Weather Service for failing to give residents along the Red River "adequate warning" to prepare for this spring's massive flooding. Mayor Lynn Stauss told a group of flood victims staying in Bemidgi it wasn't their fault they did not buy flood insurance or protect their valuables. Stauss says residents trusted the weather service and its 49 foot flood crest prediction: STAUSS: "They not only missed it, they blew it big. Now they expect that everybody should have flood insurance or they're not going t
April 24, 1997 - Even though the public's attention is focused on the devastating flooding in the Red River valley, it wasn't long ago that places like Granite Falls and Montevideo in southwestern Minnesota were the center of attention. The clean-up is well underway in those cities overrun by the Minnesota River earlier this month. Busloads of Twin Cities residents have been making the daily trek to help area residents for more than week...and will continue to do so until they're no longer needed. Minnesota Public Radio's Perry Finelli went along for the ride...and has a report... 8505 sfx...bus rider commenting on what he sees as the bus travels through Montevideo...
April 24, 1997 - The Minnesota House and Senate both finished their K-through-12 education spending bills last night (Wed). Both bills are meant to improve schools and raise slumping test scores, but they take different approaches. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports: --------------------------------------------------------- | D-CART ITEM: 8617 | TIME: 3:21 | OUTCUE: "...soc at the cap --------------------------------------------------------- When the legislative session started in January, the pressure was on for lawmakers to do something about Minnesota's schools. Lower-than-expected standardized test scores had added ammunition to Governor Carlson's attacks on teachers unions and school bureaucracies. Four months later, the Senate has responded with what may be the most radical change in school funding in three decades. Senate K-through-12 chairman Larry Pogemiller says his bill is designed to succeed where years of court-ordered desegregation and open enrollment have failed:
April 24, 1997 - When the water recedes from Grand Forks and other flooded towns, residents and business owners will find their homes and stores covered in an unpleasant, stubborn sludge. And they will find legions of volunteers and government agents offering relief from misery. For a peek at what might be in store for the people of North Dakota and Minnesota, Minnesota Public Radio's Jon Gordon talked with victims of recent flooding in Kentucky. Here's his report. On the first day of March, heavy rains caused the Ohio River and its tributaries to swell far beyond their banks. Thousands of Kentucky homes and businesses were destroyed. President Clinton declared much of the state a disaster area.
April 24, 1997 - For families affected by flooding in the Red River Valley, their first stop may be the Salvation Army's disaster headquarters in Fargo. A vacant building near the West Acres shopping center has been converted into a makeshift supermarket with emergency supplies. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports... (nat) A f
April 25, 1997 - Mainstreet Radio’s Catherine Winter talks with northern Minnesota painter Liz Sivertson about her work and what forms her creative inspiration. They preview and exhibition of paintings by Sivertson: colorful, whimsical pictures she did for the children's book “North Country Spring.”
April 25, 1997 - (to run out of Koenig piece) I'm Laura McCallum in Moorhead. There's an on-going "reunion" of residents of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks taking place in the Moorhead State University ballroom. Evacuees can watch videos of their flooded town, have a cup of coffee, and check a wall covered by hand-written messages with people's whereabouts. A huge map of the community sits on an easel, and people who stop by mark the spot where their home is located. About thirty families from East Grand Forks, and nearly
April 25, 1997 - One of the biggest challenges for people who left the Red River Valley because of flooding has been getting information about their homes, towns and loved ones. Communication for evacuees who fled in every direction has been set up through the internet, ham radio, cellular phones, videos and teleconferences. We have two reports on communication efforts. In a moment we will hear from Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum about a grass roots communications center, but first Minnesota Public Radio's Christina Koenig looks at a high tech approach to disaster communications.
April 25, 1997 - A fundraiser organized by Twin Cities radio stations brought a flood of donations this morning in Minneapolis. More than 20 semi-trailer trucks filled with soap, towels and other goods are headed for people in the Red River Valley affected by floodwaters. Organizers estimate money raised from the event will top half a million dollars. The money will be split by the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson has more. tape . . . sfx 9:00 help you unload? With the sun just peeking over the Minneapolis skyline organizers of the fundraiser got a hint of what they had created. A stream of vehicles grew into two lanes of traffic with volunteers racing to un